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Wake up in 1974 on New Year’s Day

AMC-Hornet-in-The-Man-with-the-Golden-GunWake up this New Year’s Day and tie a yellow ribbon around your old oak tree, cue your funky bass line and wear your widest collar. WRCT-FM (88.3) will once again celebrate the new year by returning to the golden age of glorious AM radio when it flashes back to the 1970s.

In a sickening radio tradition that’s now in its 11th stultifying year, WRCT’s resident oldies guru, Jay Thurber, will roll back the clock 40 years on Wednesday, Jan. 1, to count down the top tunes of 1973.

This year’s broadcast will air from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and also will be available online at www.wrct.org.

On Jan. 1, 2014, Jay will fire up the six-cylinder flux capacitor in WRCT’s time-traveling AMC Hornet, speed down Forbes Avenue at 88.3 MPH, and head for Carnegie Mellon’s old student union, Skibo Hall, in 1974, when the station was still at 900 kHz AM.

Kindly Uncle Jay, Your Radio Pal™, who hosts an oldies program on WRCT on Saturday afternoons (www.jaythurbershow.com), will count down the top songs of 1973, interspersed with news reports, commercials and other announcements.

The “number one song of 1973” — as calculated by Jay from a completely scientific (ha! ha!) formula — will be unveiled just before 12 noon.

Listener mail: How do I get a show on WRCT?

A listener writes:

I imagine you are one of the more seasoned announcers on WRCT. I have some radio experience … I was wondering how I can get an air shift. How important is it to keep a music log?

01_02I guess I am seasoned if you count Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Salt!

FWIW: I’ve been around the station for about 11 years. In that time, the things I’ve seen get people kicked out have included 1.) failing to show up for airshifts, 2.) failing to fill out paperwork, 3.) stealing or damaging music or equipment, and 4.) misrepresentation (for instance, trying to scam freebees out of record labels or sports teams).

Using the station to try and run a commercial business has also gotten a few DJs in trouble. WRCT is a non-profit organization, and using it for commercial activities would jeopardize its FCC license and its relationship with CMU.

Being a DJ at WRCT is a privilege, and getting that privilege means you have to be willing to fill out paperwork and follow the rules. The station needs to have a way to make sure DJs are complying with federal regulations as well as CMU’s policies. (It also needs a way to weed out irresponsible DJs. If someone isn’t bothering to fill out the required forms, they’re probably doing other bad stuff.) So, yes, music logs are extremely important, as are program and transmitter logs.

Music logs are important, too, because WRCT is a “reporting” station for a bunch of independent record labels and music magazines, including CMJ, and they want to know if their artists are getting airplay.

And they’re important because WRCT reports to the three big music publishing agencies (ASCAP, BMI and SESAC) that collect royalties for songwriters, and those agencies need to have an idea of what music WRCT (and all of the other licensed radio stations) is playing in order to proportion royalties. (After all, you don’t want the estate of Michael Jackson missing out on its 0.0001 cent royalty whenever WRCT plays a Beatles song.)

Another key thing at WRCT is making sure to do the required number of public service announcements, promotional announcements, etc., per hour, as well as playing a certain amount of new music (minimum three songs) per hour.

Most DJs regard those as a PITA. I’ve tried to make them fun (or at least interesting) for the listeners.

Vote Tricky Jay on New Year’s Eve!

nixon_now_more_then_ever_1972_button_11311_aGet out your platform shoes and your Roberta Flack records. Despite popular demand, WRCT-FM (88.3) will once again return to the golden age of glorious AM monophonic sound this Dec. 31 and flashback to the final day of 1972.

Yep. It’s that time again.

In a much-tolerated New Year’s radio tradition dating back a decade, WRCT’s resident oldies guru, Jay Thurber, will again roll back the clock 40 years. This year’s broadcast will air from 12 to 3 p.m. and will also be available online at http://www.wrct.org.

On Dec. 31, WRCT’s time-traveling Plymouth Valiant Scamp will rev up its slant-six flux capacitor to 88.3 MPH and head for Carnegie Mellon’s old student union, Skibo Hall, in the era when the station was still at 900 kHz AM.

Kindly Uncle Jay, who hosts an oldies program on WRCT on Saturday afternoons (www.jaythurbershow.com), will count down the top songs of 1972, interspersed with news reports, commercials and other announcements from the era when the Pirates, not the Steelers, were the “champions” of the Steel City.

The “number one song of 1972” will be unveiled at 3 p.m.

Past broadcasts aired from 9 p.m. to midnight on New Year’s Eve. Thurber claims this year’s earlier broadcast is designed to make it easier for people to listen — though station sources claim he moved the show to an earlier time slot because his increasing decrepitude is making it harder for him to stay up past 9:30.

Show notes, June 2, 2012

Remember, if it’s news to you, it’s news to the Channel 9 Investigators:

New this week:

  • “Baby Oil and Iodine” from Shake-A-Baby by Neverever
  • “Sham Time” from Love, Peace, and Soul by the Don Byron New Gospel Quintet
  • “All I Want is You” from Freudian Slip by Nous Non Plus
  • “Stand Up” from Handmade by Hindi Zahra
  • “I’m Shaking” from Blunderbuss by Jack White
  • The Theme from “Andhera” by Sonik Omi from Bollywood Bloodbath
  • “You Make Me Happy” from No Play No Work by Chris Joss

Jay’s Pick to Click:

“Blunderbuss” by Jack White