I Really Like Your Enormous Umbrella

Dear Citizens of the rain-soaked mid-Atlantic area:

Unless it is 1809 and/or you are trying to create the first helicopter, you do not need an umbrella with a five foot diameter.

Please stop trying to a) rip my hair out with your broken umbrella's enormous, exposed metal rods and b) blind me or otherwise injure me with your insane stadium-covering, tarp-like protective device.

And here, with the perfectly acceptable level of semi-dryness afforded you by a normal umbrella, are today's playlists:


Log for first part of June 18th, 2009 show

Log for second part of June 18th, 2009 show

P.S. On the first playlist, I don't mean to suggest that my mother is a grizzly bear. Rather, she requested them.

P.P.S. The above image of the flapping man is from a 1908 early try at the helicopter. It was called an ornithopter. The linked video is of the "Sky Car," from some OTHER year that I don't know.

My Scanner Gets Told

Bits and pieces of our old station equipment are being sold off. If I had money to burn and a lot of space, I'd snap up a few of these items. I can't believe how simple and innocent that console looks to me now. It's really not terrifically different from what we use now in that we're still just moving buttons and levers around to regulate levels and turn machines off and on. Yet, it is cleary from a different era. I miss the feel of the little toggle switches that let you switch from A to B on channels. I am needlessly nostalgic and wistful.

Speaking of nostalgia, wouldn't it be splendid if you could reminisce about all of the songs I've played over the last five weeks' worth of shows? And wouldn't it be nice to reminisce by seeing links to those playlists conveniently lined up in the same post? Heavens! Get out of my head. That's just what I've planned.

What's that, scanner? You say you're broken and I can't scan my playlists and put them on my blog ever again?



Oh, snap!

Here are my playlists from January 24th (yesterday), January 17th, January 10th, January 3rd, and December 27th:



Log for first part of January 24th, 2008 show

Log for second part of January 24th, 2008 show


Log for first part of January 17th, 2008 show

Log for second part of January 17th, 2008 show


Log for first part of January 10th, 2008 show

Log for second part of January 10th, 2008 show


Log for first part of January 3rd, 2008 show

Log for second part of January 3rd, 2008 show


Log for first part of December 27th, 2007 show

Log for second part of December 27th, 2007 show

Don't Call it a Comeback

Here, significantly more slow than a one-two punch, are playlists from my last three shows:


Log for first part of
November 1st, 2007 show

Log for second part of
November 1st, 2007 show


Log for first part of
October 25th, 2007 show

Log for second part of
October 25th, 2007 show


Log for first part of
September 27th, 2007 show

Log for second part of
September 27th, 2007 show


That's right, listeners. I've been back on the air for a few weeks, after a few weeks off. My triumphant return last week was marked by the laziest playlist I've ever compiled. On yesterday's and last week's shows, I played a lot of CDs from my home collection. I figured I'd take it easy and give myself a chance to do less running back and forth to the library. A few listeners called in to say they liked the shows, which was wonderful. I'll admit, I loved them because I got to play songs that I've loved for years and not played for a while. I usually try to avoid my own collection because it's comprised of so much of the music I've played at WVUD over the years. You've all already heard a lot of it if you've listened to the show much.

But for the folks who don't get to listen regularly, and for me, it was a nice diversion. I even played Haircut One Hundred, a favorite band of mine from when I was a kid and put my Walkman to good use on the school bus every day. I distinctly remember Brian Turpin asking me why I listened to jazz on the way home from school (he could hear only the distant shriek of the brass section from his seat near mine). But who doesn't enjoy a little new pop in the afternoons?


In other news, it's marathon season in many cities. I'm pleased
to say that, though I am back on track with my workout routine, I am also participating in a sleep marathon, every night, in my bed. After a solid eight to nine hours of sleep, the world is a pretty simple place. I recommend this strategy to all people. Running actual marathons can flat-out kill you. Instead, break the tape reaching for the snooze button, then exercise in a way that won't make your heart explode. These and other tips for maintaining your health available in my new book, Please Keep in Mind That I Hold a B.A. in Communications.