Pizza tastes great, but let's be more original.

A broadcasting school assignment that has stayed with me: Students were asked to record a one-minute ad-lib about a favorite food or beverage.  I began my ad-lib, "David Letterman once said there isn't a man, woman, or child who doesn't enjoy the taste of a lovely beverage.  My beverage of choice is Dr. Pepper.  Mr. Pibb deserves a nod, too, although given the similarity in cherry-based flavor, I think Mr. Pibb is really Dr. Pepper under an alias..."

The instructor who listened to my tape said, "It was refreshing to hear your ad-lib.  You're one of the few people who chose to talk about a beverage.  I get so tired of hearing one tape after another in which students say, 'My favorite food is pizza...'"

If you're given the chance to ad-lib for an assignment or during an interview, pull the best original thoughts you have out of your mind and articulate them.  Chances are, you'll get a higher grade, and you might just get a job, as a result.

Online radio sampler highlights LI

Standout selections heard last night:

KGNU (Boulder, CO)

• The Green Meadow-Raspberry Jam Band (An endearing, flute-dominated waltz.)
• Love And The Gibson Girl-Nyle Frank (An endearing, intimate piano instrumental.)

WIIT (Chicago, IL)

• Emily-The Mowglis (I've listened to this tune several times since hearing it last night.  Its clap-along, sing-along quality lends itself easily to repeated listening.  Does anyone else remember "Ashes Of My Heart" by The Bad Examples?  WFXB used to play it in 1993, and I used to play it on KCOU.  The Mowglis use a chord progression similar to that of "Ashes...," with tempered lyrics and sunny instrumentation.)

WTJU (Charlottesville, VA)

• Kiko And The Lavender Moon-The Ed Palermo Big Band (The Los Lobos tune, covered ably in an arrangement I wouldn't have imagined until last night.)
• Perfect Day-Duffy King (An energetic smooth jazz/traditional jazz/international/lounge guitar instrumental.  I wish I would have known about this tune when I was compiling my favorite music of 2016 list.)

WTUL (New Orleans, LA)

•  Fortune Teller (Revelator)-Coco Robicheaux (A cool, self-assured spoken word piece with equally cool saxophone/rhythm section/backing vocals accompaniment.  I could imagine it flowing well with War & Eric Burdon's "Spill The Wine.")

WXPN-2 (Philadelphia, PA)

• In France They Kiss On Main Street-Joni Mitchell (This template worked well many times for Mitchell; it's easy to hear elements of "Big Yellow Taxi," "Free Man In Paris," "Help Me," and "Coyote" in this tune.)
• Just Like You-Keb' Mo' (Keb' Mo' sings some of the strongest lyrics I've heard about the common humanity we all share.  This is one of his best songs, in my opinion.)
• Love's In Need Of Love Today-Joan Osborne (When looking for strong material to cover, you can't go wrong with Stevie Wonder's "Songs In The Key Of Life" album.  I can't imagine anyone improving on Wonder's original version, but Osborne's rendition has the necessary gravity and sincerity.)

WYCE (Grand Rapids, MI)

• Cumberland Gap-Courtney Hartman (An appealing uptempo acoustic guitar instrumental that would segue with "In The Long Run" by The Staves.  This is another 2016 track I wish I'd heard before I assembled my favorite music of the year list.)

Rap isn't such a stretch for this band...

After hearing the recently released demo versions of Crowded House's "Hole In The River" and "That's What I Call Love," I'd be curious to hear their take on Blondie's "Rapture."  After hearing their loose, freewheeling versions of those two songs, I think they could pull it off, along with its rapping.

Seriously, where is that lost shaker of salt?

I've listened to "Standing On The Outside," from Leo Kottke's "Chewing Pine" album, several times over the last two days.  If I didn't know otherwise, I'd swear it's a lost Jimmy Buffett tune.  Does anyone else hear it that way?

An overlooked cover tune XX

I've always liked the close harmony singing on Poco's hit, "Crazy Love."  I'd never imagined it with a faster tempo and a bluegrass bent in the vocals and instrumentation.  One day, though, on KDHX, I heard Tina Adair perform it that way, and I realized how well the tune works in that arrangement.  Unfortunately, that's the only time I've heard her version on the radio.  Her reworking of the tune deserves more frequent airplay, so just maybe, this is the catalyst...

...Probably not, I realize, but I still have hope...

Persistent earworm alert XLIV

Since early this morning, Django Reinhardt's version of "Brazil" has been stuck in my mind.  It's a pleasant rendition to have in repeat mode, actually.  While I don't dislike the versions with vocals, Reinhardt's subtle yet brisk guitar instrumental is the arrangement I'd most want to hear.  I used to play it on KCOU and WEW but hadn't thought of it in years.  I have no idea what triggered it, but its melody is starting again in my mind.  "Dum, dum, dum. Dum-da-dum-dum-dum..."  Reinhardt proves that a relaxing tempo doesn't always have to be a slow one.

Mucking out those gutters

One of the most enjoyable parts of broadcasting school was getting to write commercials.  Because most of the commercials a student wrote wouldn't air on any radio station, you could prove you knew how to write ad copy while sometimes incorporating your sense of humor into it.

In a commercial I wrote, I asked, "Want to clean those gutters without climbing a ladder?  Let (company such-and-such) clean the gutters for you.  At (company such-and-such), they'll take the risk of falling and killing themselves for you..."

My tongue-in-cheek commercial elicited some laughs from instructors and students, although one instructor cautioned me, "I take it you know that you could never actually air this commercial.  Obviously, you don't want the audience to say, 'Oh, my God,' while imagining the poor gutter workers falling off the ladders."

Well, yes...I knew that.  Invoking the image of workers falling off ladders isn't exactly humane--or good for business.