They Got Me Again

I got rather a surprise when I went out to my car at lunchtime today. When I turned it on and started to drive, the song that came on my radio was exactly the same as that that had been playing when I'd parked there in the morning. And it started in right at the point where it had cut-off earlier.

It was the song Black-Throated Wind, performed by the Grateful Dead. It was part of a run of songs from a show (I think in 1977?) featured today on the Today In Grateful Dead History show on Sirius Radio's The Dead channel.

I had tuned in around 7:30 this morning (after listening to news for most of my commute). I came in during the jam between China Cat Sunflower and I Know You Rider (China/Rider to aficionados). The final song in the run was Black Throated Wind, but I had to cut it off during a second time through the chorus:

The black-throated wind keeps on pouring in.
And it speaks of a life that passes like dew.
It's forced me to see that you've done better by me,
Better by me than I've done by you.

That must have been at about 7:36 a.m. As it happened, I came back out just at 11:36 and turned the car on at exactly the same spot in the song. It freaked me out for a moment until I remembered that This Day in Grateful Dead History runs at 7 and 11 in the morning, and at 7 in the evening.

So I got to listen to the rest of the tune, including one of my favorite lines:

You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know.

New Blog (and New Radio Station?) in Delaware

I just stumbled across a new Delaware blog -- WKNZ - Z88.7fm, Harrington, DE -- which will chronicle the effort of a group of local Christian folk to build and run a "25,000 watt HD Christian radio station."

The blog appeared June 10 after the group got its FCC construction permit. That alone took 10 years; the FCC is a slow beast. How long the next steps will take is uncertain, but the permit itself is a large step forward:

We are humbled, blown-away, and a little over whelmed, but after nearly 10 years, the FCC has finally given us the approval to begin building a very powerful Christian radio station on 88.7fm in Delaware. The tower will be in Harrington and the studios in Milton, DE (at least that was the plan 10 years ago!). We are currently in the process of dusting off those plans. Lots has changed in 10 years!

The blog-writers are Bill, Andy, and Elbert (with an "E"). I think Bill is likely Bill Sammons, who I used to know in conjunction with the Delmarva Poultry Industry and who I recall was leading an effort to found a Christian station some years back. I assume this is he and this will be that station, but I don't always pay as close attention as I should and so may be completely wrong.

There's a survey up now, looking for input on what sorts of things to program. I think I'll take it. I'm not particularly Christian, though the Lovely Karen is a woman of faith and we have friends among the Christians, but I applaud diversity on the airwaves. And I don't think we should automatically assume that a Christian radio station will automatically hew to the worst extremes of the "christian right."

The musical choices could be interesting. I'll make the argument, for example, in favor of playing some of the Grateful Dead catalogue. Seriously. One of the things that fascinates me about the Dead's music is the widespread use of the Bible as lyrical source material and inspiration. And their deep exploration into folk music and folk traditions included mining a vein of moral stories and cautionary tales that could fit in the new station's format.

That's my view, anyway.

Say it Sadly: "Yoi!"

Myron Cope has died. The gravel-voiced sportswriter and broadcaster was a tradition in Pittsburgh, where he was remembered by an editorial writer at the Tribune-Review:

Myron was made in Pittsburgh. Unabashedly a hometown fan, he parroted no one's ideas or sports cliches and copied no one's broadcasting style. He was, for good and occasionally for bad, true only to himself.

I'm a Redskins fan, but I appreciated Myron Cope, and I'm sorry to see him go. (Via: My Blog is Your Blog Too)

Sussex County Delaware Land Use Issues Smack-Down! (on public radio)

Friday morning will see a one-hour (I think) forum on Sussex County Land Use issues on the Salisbury, Maryland, public radio station WSDL (90.7 FM). The Public Radio Delmarva news staff plans to discuss the pending proposals for housing and commercial developments at the corner of Gills Neck Road and Kings Highway, just outside of Lewes, with two gents who are "fer it" and two who are "agin it."

This proposal has stirred up local concern like no other has lately. Opponents are organized and angry and have peppered the local paper with letters to the editor on the subject. Two of the leaders of that movement will be on the WSDL panel. Dave Ennis, a former State Representative who has a house just outside of Lewes, and John Mateyko, an architect and Lewes resident with strong (and usually informed) feelings about development issues, will face off against two who support development interests. Those gents will be Dave Kenton, a local real estate broker who has written several recent editorials extolling the benefits to be gained from letting developers work more freely, and Rich Collins, who recently read a book by Alan Greenspan and lately likes to whip that out at public meetings.

Rich Collins is Executive Director of the Positive Growth Alliance, a local pro-growth advocacy group that he has made his full-time job over the years. I've had occasion to doubt Mr. Collins' accuracy before.

This should be interesting.

Welcome Back, Jack

Jack Renault is returning to WGMD, an FM radio station outside of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach here in coastal Sussex County Delaware. Jack was a sales guy at WGMD when I worked there back in the mid-80s. He's apparently about to take on the job of General Manager of the station.

Jack always seemed a classic radio "voice" to me, and a salesman of the old school. He and Bob Smith, who unfortunately passed away three years back, taught me a great deal about that business.

Over the years, I've seen Jack around here and there. He was sometimes selling for WGMD and sometimes focused on his Jack Renault Advertising Specialties business.

I'm not a WGMD listener, but I wish Jack well in his tenure running the place. I always enjoyed spending time with him.

SiriuXM? I Say "Yes!"

There's word this evening that Sirius and XM, the two satellite radio competitors, plan a "merger of equals." Looking at this from a purely personal standpoint, I think this could be a very good thing.

Sirius and XM said as a result of the merger it hoped to offer listeners an "a la carte" option, allowing them to pick and choose the channels they wanted, such as Sirius' "Martha Stewart Living Radio" or XM's "Theme Time Radio Hour" with music legend Bob Dylan.

I like this idea. I chose Sirius based on their jam-band and NPR offerings. I regret the fact that all the baseball games are on XM, now maybe I will have a chance to get those as well.

Some object to this merger based on the idea that it would create a monopoly which might result in higher costs to consumers. That's a valid concern, but I think it would be worth it if we, as listeners, get a wider range of choices.