FM dial scan highlights LXXXIX

Compelling tunes heard this morning:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• Somewhere In Time-David Mallett (The heartfelt spirit of this acoustic number's lyrics and vocals brings "The Thanksgiving Song" by Fred Holstein to mind.)
• Turtle Dove-Dori Freeman (This new release blends elements of '50s ballads and Linda Ronstadt's vocals appealingly.)
• When I Woke-Beth Bombara (This St. Louis artist's tune, released in March, made an immediate impression on me; its tone and energy remind me of Maia Sharp's "Something Wild.")

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Living For The City-Ramsey Lewis (A smooth instrumental rendition of the Stevie Wonder standout.)
• You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go-Madeleine Peyroux (Shawn Colvin's version of this Bob Dylan tune is still my favorite, but Peyroux's breathy alto vocals and nightclub jazz arrangement serve the tune well.)

KCLC 89.1 FM

• Better-Regina Spektor (I admire the protagonist's resolve to help someone whom she might not be able to reach.)

WFUN 95.5 FM

• I Apologize-Anita Baker (A somewhat underrated low-key track of Baker's, augmented by Take 6's strong backing vocals.  In retrospect, this was one of her more appealing tunes played on KNJZ in 1994.)

Sage advice: Dodge flying music stands

Our high school orchestra once sat in on the rehearsal of a college orchestra in another state.  Our tour guide warned us matter-of-factly about the conductor's notorious temper.

"I'd advise all of you not to sit in the first few rows," he told us.  "He might throw a stand or two."

Fortunately, the conductor threw no stands on that day in the '80s.  Still, it concerned me that our tour guide wasn't being facetious and that throwing stands into the audience was treated as a mere personality quirk.  In an age of so much being posted on YouTube, I doubt that behavior would be tolerated today.

Online radio sampler highlights LXV

Eight noteworthy tunes heard today:

KCLC-HD2 (St. Louis, MO)

• Get Ourselves Together-Delaney & Bonnie (I can't imagine any producer telling these singers, "Once more, with feeling," as there's plenty of grit and soul here.  This is about as close as album rock gets to R&B without being R&B.)
• Omaha-Moby Grape (A fun, fast, of its time, i.e. 1967, romp that should have been titled "Listen, My Friends."  Also recommended: "Come In The Morning" and "Looper.")

WBOM (Rockford, IL)

• Apache-Jorgen Ingmann (A guitar instrumental of a theme seemingly intended for a western filmed in space.)
• Over Under Sideways Down-The Yardbirds (This would segue well, to my ears, with "19th Nervous Breakdown" by The Rolling Stones.)

WDCB (Chicago, IL)

• Lovely Day-Freddy Cole (To me, the Bill Withers original is still the best version, but Cole and company do a fine lounge-tinged, jazzy take on it.  Impressive trumpet work by Terell Stafford.)
• Pannonica (Live)-Peter Bernstein (A good guitar-based rendering, released in July, of a memorable Thelonious Monk melody, with compelling rhythmic support from Brad Mehldau on piano and Christian McBride on bass.)

WKZE (Red Hook, NY)

• It Would Be So Easy-Cassandra Wilson (A compelling case for not leaving your feelings for your significant other unspoken.  Rhythmically, the tune reminds me of the Esther Phillips song, "Home Is Where The Hatred Is.")
• Bitter Truth-Iron & Wine (I suspect that Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaak would also sing this effectively plaintive tune, released in August, convincingly.)

Good advertising, good medicine?

If I ever have to take medication for rheumatoid arthritis, I'll likely inquire about Xeljanz XR.  I have to respect an advertiser whose commercials contain music played on vinyl and feature the Orleans hit, "Dance With Me," which I have on a 45.

Admittedly, that's not an advisable way to choose a medication.  Still, if it's feasible, I'd like to reward such smart marketing.  Bring on the joint pain and inflammation!

Actually, let's not have any joint pain or inflammation.  Let's put it off for a while, at least.

When a song's context is everything

Grappling with Sammy the cat's passing since yesterday has caused an unfortunate chain reaction of memories for me; I've thought back to other difficult times in which previous pets have passed away.  In reflecting on them, I've realized I've become a little smoother--or less contrived, at least--in dealing with the grief that sets in just before the end of a cat's life.

In June 2001, I took a lot of photos of a previous cat, Simon, on his last day.  I thought that as long as he was still alive, I should be preserving his memory.  In retrospect, taking all those photos on his last day wasn't a great idea.  A sorrowful wave sweeps over me whenever I run across or even think about that envelope of photos.

I made a different mistake with Rusty, another cat who passed in December 2000.  Because Rusty enjoyed listening to music, I was determined to play as much music as possible for him on his last day.  He'd often responded well to jazz and swing guitar, as well as piano pieces, so I made sure those genres were well represented.  When I saw Rusty for the last time, Van Morrison was singing the chorus of the William Butler Yeats poem, "Crazy Jane On God."

I know there's no one right way to grieve.  Still, I think simply petting your cats and telling them how much you've enjoyed their company, as I did with Rosie and Sammy, is a better way of handling things than the way I dealt with Simon and Rusty.  Admittedly, there's a certain poignancy to hearing Van Morrison sing the Yeats line, "All things remain in God," at the end of your cat's life.  It's respectful and reassuring--and I haven't listened to it since that day 17 years ago.

In memory of Sammy the cat

2005: Sammy staking out a good post from which to listen to Christmas music.

It's difficult, at best, to write a blog post about a cat who has been part of your life for over 16 years, when he just passed away and you just saw him earlier this morning.  Nevertheless, Sammy was a wonderful family cat, so I'm attempting to put raw emotions to the side and forging ahead.

Sometimes, we forget how much the most important people and pets in our lives enhance our enjoyment of great music.  I'm thankful that the London Symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams will forever be intertwined with Sammy and his calico sister, Rosie.  While looking after the cats at my parents' place one early morning several years ago, the three of us listened to this symphony on SiriusXM.  We all sat relatively still throughout the piece; at its conclusion, we gave it a collective four paws and two thumbs up.

Sammy was not only a music critic, however.  He was also a contemplative cat who pondered all the angles carefully before making a decision.  Nick Drake's "One Of These Things First" struck me as a suitable theme for him; in the song, Drake muses about the various vocations he could have chosen.  If Sammy had been human and pursued a career, I'm sure he would have had comparable reflections.

In most respects, Sammy experienced life at a more deliberate pace than his take charge calico sister, Rosie.  I've written previously about how Carole King's "Really Rosie" fit her personality well. The Call's "Let The Day Begin" captures some of her seize-the-day outlook, as well; granted, some of the "Here's to you"s would need to be changed to "Here's to me," to capture her spirit accurately.

One exception to Sammy's slower pace, however, was the excitement he exhibited when hearing and seeing birds.  When Rosie and he sat in the window and watched birds, Sammy typically took the lead in squealing with delight.  Even on the third go-around, the "Wild Bird Songs" compilation album still made him sit by a stereo speaker and squeal.

Sammy's sudden "Mowwwwwww!" that he would break into before running across the room in his younger years and the lower-pitched, voice-of-experience meow he adopted in later years had a musical quality unique to him.  Our family will never forget Sammy's signature meows or the happiness he elicited from us for more than 16 years.

In memory of Bill Wilkerson

I was sorry to learn of KMOX and KTRS personality Bill Wilkerson's passing on Thursday.  I remember the easy, lighthearted banter that Wilkerson had with KMOX's former Total Information a.m. personality Bob Hardy.  An example from August 5, 1985:

Wilkerson: Now, because of our hours here, I'm talking about in the morning, breakfast is pretty much a late morning affair for us, right?
Hardy: Yeah, I never have been able to crawl out of bed at a quarter to four and sit down to bacon, eggs, and hash browns.  That just doesn't cut it.  I don't think it does for you, either.
Wilkerson: Yeah, (KMOX co-worker) Rudy has been able to, but he's been unable to find breakfast.
Hardy: Nobody serves at that hour, right?
Wilkerson: That's right, and his wife says, "Don't be ridiculous."  At any rate, what I'm getting at is there's a study in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning about something that has been debated for years.  Do you need breakfast?  Yes or no?  Now, you said, "Sure."  You mean you want breakfast.  We're talking about, do you need breakfast?  You always want breakfast, Rudy, but because of the growing interest in the restaurant business with breakfast, you know, everybody's serving breakfast.  As a matter of fact, it says, "Breakfast in restaurants is the fastest growing segment of the dining out trade, according to a 57% increase in business from 1977 to 1984."
Hardy: I'll be darned.
Wilkerson: But according to the studies here, it seems that, as one person says, "If, physiologically, you don't feel you need breakfast, then you shouldn't eat it."  In other words, they can't find any really hard evidence that going without breakfast affects your performance.  Now, you hear children who don't eat breakfast perform below par.  Well, here it says skipping breakfast has an adverse effect on a child's late morning problem solving performance, but he says you can't extrapolate that for adults.  So, apparently, it does affect children somewhat because when children eat breakfast, they perform better in problem-solving situations when attention is critical.  But, other than that, as far as adults are concerned, it seems as though if you don't eat it, it's no big deal.  As they say here, breakfast can either get you off on the right foot or virtually ruin your diet for the entire day, but it's entirely up to you. (It) depends on what kind of person you are.  So there.
Hardy: So, (the) bottom line is, nobody still knows about anything.
Wilkerson: Nobody knows.
Hardy: OK.  Well, it makes sense to me.  You eat your breakfast after you've been on the air for three or four hours.
Wilkerson: Yeah, but...
Hardy: That's really a brunch for you.
Wilkerson: Right, but the longer I go, I'm becoming bored with breakfast.
Hardy: Bored with breakfast.
Wilkerson: Bored with breakfast, yeah.
Hardy: Well, how do you intend to handle that?
Wilkerson: I have no idea.
Hardy: I mean, are we to put in a little kitchen here or something?  You want to do a little something on your own, just to lighten up your life?
Wilkerson: Actually, I prefer to have a grilled chop at this hour, as opposed to your normal breakfast.
Hardy: I'm sorry?
Wilkerson: A grilled chop.
Hardy: A grilled chop.
Wilkerson: Yes.
Hardy: Like a lamb chop?
Wilkerson: Yeah.  Instead of your bacon, your eggs, your marmalade, that sort of thing.  I'm bored with all of that stuff.
Hardy: Find me a restaurant that'll serve you a grilled chop at 10 minutes before 7:00.

I liked that Wilkerson and Hardy talked as if they were two neighbors bantering over the backyard fence about the latest news.

I also listened to Wilkerson calling the infamous Mizzou-Colorado football game, with its erroneous fifth down, on my birthday in 1990.  Even a casual Mizzou football fan must have seconded Wilkerson's frustration that day when he said, "The clock stopped!  Why has the clock stopped?!"

Wilkerson's easy-going demeanor on the airwaves will be missed.  I hope that, if he wishes it, the sunrises in his afterlife look like "grape punch with floating cinnamon sticks."