Context? XXXVI

As I flipped past NPR's "Morning Edition" on KWMU today, I heard a nurse say, "I didn't go into nursing to try to save lives..."  As I started to switch stations, I thought, "Wait a minute.  I want to hear what she says next."  I turned back to KWMU and heard her say, "I went into nursing to provide care, a shoulder, a listening ear..."

Whew!  This was NPR, so I figured there probably wouldn't be a shocking twist or any callous follow-up statement, such as, "It pays better than my previous job," but when you hear something out of context...

OK to be a subtle announcer

There was one instructor in broadcasting school who typically spoke, even in a small room, as if he were projecting his voice to the back of a 10,000-seat auditorium.  Whenever he listened to my mock radio show tapes, he encouraged me to put more energy into my delivery.  Even when complimenting my tapes, there would be a qualifier.

"This is good, professional, and you'll probably be hired tomorrow," he once said.  "But it can't hurt to stretch and see what else you can do." 

I thought, "I'm sure that's well-intentioned advice, but that isn't me.  I don't typically speak with manic energy, nor would I seek work at a station where that's required."

At another session, he listened to one of my tapes and joked, "Did someone pass out the Valium?" I played that same tape for the next instructor, who said she liked it.  I told her, "(The previous instructor) thought it needed more energy."  "No," she replied.  "That's plenty of energy for me."

I felt vindicated.  I felt even more vindicated when that second instructor became a program director and hired me for her radio station. 

It's good to know that some listeners appreciate a subtle announcer.

Early '90s tech wizardry

It's strange for me to think now that there was ever a pre-Internet time.  I remember an early '90s moment at KCOU when the station had just gotten a new fax machine.  A few of us were talking about how convenient it would be to fax our weekly countdowns of the station's most played songs to CMJ (College Music Journal).  One KCOU executive admitted feeling like a kid on Christmas, wanting to stay up and play with the train set.  Today, that would be an unusual sentiment.  Then, however, when none of us were online, it wasn't.

Tough or determined?

Ever since hearing an interview with singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro, I've been thinking about a perceptive distinction she made.  She said there's a huge difference between being tough and being determined.  I think that's an admirable viewpoint for at least three reasons:

• It's brave.  It isn't easy to admit that rudeness and slights can wound you and make you sometimes take them to heart too much.
• It's accurate.  If you're tough, you can shrug off the slings and arrows that come your way.  If you're determined, you might have a harder time ignoring naysayers, but you might still achieve your goal through persistence.
• It's reassuring.  It's comforting to know that you don't always have to be the strongest person to succeed.  If you work hard and just keep at whatever you're doing, you can still have some measure of satisfaction and success.  

Sometimes, a motivational speech hits you when you aren't expecting it.  It's especially appropriate that this distinction came from Quatro, an entertainer in a field where the chances of success are typically slim; in such a pursuit, one has to be either tough or determined.  It's a relief to be reminded, though, that you don't necessarily have to have both of those qualities in equal measure.

FM dial scan highlights XCIII

Tuesday and Wednesday standouts:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• Alone Again Or-Love (One of the most appealing, spirited odes to loneliness ever recorded and ideal for its era, the late '60s.  Calexico and UFO recorded strong covers of it.)
• You Get What You Deserve-Big Star (To me, the guitar part sounds like a more sobering version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"  That hook induced me to play the tune on KCOU 25 years ago.  Although I'm generally more inclined to listen to "Back Of A Car," "In The Street," or "Watch The Sunrise," this tune holds up well.)
• Walk Between Raindrops-Donald Fagen (This song came to mind this afternoon thought, "This tune fits the atmosphere outside."  KDHX's Dr. Jeff must have had the same thought, as I heard it on the radio two hours later.  It's about as whimsical as any Fagen or Steely Dan song gets.  The cool shuffle of a keyboard rhythm makes the tune.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• God Bless The Child-Freddie Hubbard (A warm, expansive trumpet reading of a deservedly much-covered tune.)
• Country Preacher-Cannonball Adderley (Quiet keyboard underpinning makes this rendition, as well as Roy Buchanan's version, a winner.  The appreciative audience adds to the ambience, as it does on two of Adderley's other best tracks, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Walk Tall.")
• Constant Blue-Juliet Green (Green's alto voice carries this lament effectively; it would segue well with Al Jarreau's live version of "Save Your Love For Me.")
• Mona Lisa-Gregory Porter (Porter's rich voice is ideal for covering this heartfelt Nat King Cole standard.)

W279AQ 103.7 FM, a.k.a. KLOU-HD2

• Through The Fire-Chaka Khan (I was always glad to see "Through The Fire" come up on KNJZ's playlist, as I've always thought Khan sang it with appropriate commitment and devotion.)
  

Excessive tuning

If you play violin, viola, cello, or bass, you know it's customary to tune your instrument to an A note. When I was in high school, however, I once played for a conductor who wasn't content to leave it at that.  He tuned each section individually, string by string.  He then announced to the orchestra, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just spent the last half-hour tuning.  We do not have that kind of time to spare."

I thought, "Everyone in this room was judged to be one of the best high school string players in the state.  Was the ensemble so horribly out of tune that this overly meticulous tuning was necessary, or are you just trying to establish who's in charge for the next four days?  If it's the latter option, the first 30 minutes of tonight's itinerary should have read, 'Feed the conductor's ego.'"

Only in college XXXIX

Related to today's post on my other blog, I remember one of the older DJs at a college station where I worked telling other DJs that a station meeting was "slated to begin" at a designated time.  At the time, I thought, "That's one difference between those of us in our twenties who have a lot less work experience and someone in his forties who has a lot more experience with work-related meetings.  I've never heard anyone in their twenties use the phrase, 'slated to begin.'"