I think these questions were originally intended for the Shell Answer Man, but since he’s busy trying to get Platformate stains out of his lab coat, I’ll have to do.
Mike writes:
Hi Jay,
Long time listener, first time emailer…
Hey, my eight-year-old son and budding radio enthusiast (he wants to have a show on WRCT someday) requested a radio/CD player for Christmas, “So I can listen to WRCT at home.”
The thing is, my car gets great reception of 88.3 but in the house, I have an old receiver with extended antenna that aren’t so great. We live in Brighton Heights.
Any recommendation of a brand that is good for reception? Everyone says Bose but I have no experience with it.
Listening to the new format on one of the local AM radio stations this morning made me wish for a thunderstorm. Loud static would have been more enjoyable
Starts Friday at a drive-in near you. Parental Guidance suggested.
Today’s get-up-and-get-moving jam is from the little-known 1978 disco movie, “Thank God It’s Friday,” starring West Homestead’s own Jeff Goldblum and Donna Summer:
I wouldn’t know the song if it weren’t for Barry Banker, formerly at WHJB (620) in Greensburg, who used it on Friday mornings.
Set in a fictional Los Angeles disco called “The Zoo,” the movie was more or less a box-office bomb. The film was produced in part by Motown Records, and it definitely proved that Motown should stick to records.
Today’s trivia question: What movie critic, reviewing “Thank God It’s Friday,” said, “When you describe it, it sounds like a lot more fun than it is when you see it”? Answer at the end.
Speaking of radio: Over the pandemic lockdown, when I was working from home every day, I discovered that 910 AM in Apollo, Pa., had switched to an oldies format and was billing itself as “Westmoreland Gold.” Believe it or not, even though I do an oldies show, I generally don’t listen to oldies during the week, but I enjoyed what they were doing — which included local newscasts and DJs.
A few months ago, the station and a sister station in Latrobe were sold to something called “Disruptor Media,” which promised to convert the stations to “conservative talk,” because Lord knows, there’s not enough conservative talk radio in the United States.
I punched the station up this morning and caught a little bit of the “John Frederick Show,” where I learned that Hillary Clinton is a Maoist who wants to put Republicans into re-education camps “just like the KGB did.”
(This was prompted by an interview that Clinton did with CNN in which she compared Trump’s followers to members of a cult. “Maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members, I don’t know,” she said.)
Frederick’s guest said, “She’s been spouting Sal Alinsky ever since she was a kid.” I think he meant “Saul,” but who knows, maybe he meant “Sal.” Considering that Hillary Rodham was a volunteer for Barry Goldwater’s campaign and a member of the Young Republicans in high school and college, that information surprised me a little bit, but I continued listening.
On Saturday, I learned that something in Southwestern Ohio hates me (besides Trump voters, hey-yo!).
Dayton Hamvention is held at the Greene County Fair Grounds in Xenia, Ohio, and a windstorm came up Saturday afternoon. Suddenly my nose started running and I couldn’t stop sneezing. It’s been like that for about 48 hours, although over-the-counter antihistamines are helping. (I did test for COVID-19, just in case, but I’m negative.)
What else happened during the big weekend besides sneezing and wheezing? My big purchase was an Internet radio — meaning a radio set up specifically to easily tune in Internet streams.
I’ve been skeptical of stand-alone Internet radios. For one thing, I doubted they were easy to use. For another, I doubted they really had access to a wide range of stations. And finally, as someone who really loves AM and FM radio, it seemed like cheating.
It seems odd for me to have those prejudices, considering I help run an Internet radio station, but my feeling was, it was easy to tune in Internet radio on a phone or laptop — who needs a special device?
I got a free trial of SiriusXM radio, and I’ve been dipping into the international stations — especially the French/Quebecois rock station, called “Attitude.”
I speak only a few words of French, and badly. Mostly I can say “en anglais s’il vous plait.” But I listen in case I hear any new songs I want to add to the playlist, and also because I enjoy hearing bands that don’t get played on U.S. radio.
I got in the car last night and to my surprise (and delight), “Attitude” was carrying the Montreal Canadiens game … en français.
