"Flesh fades, and mortal trash falls to the residuary worm; you and I might as well rock and roll. - Lin Brehmer
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The Reverend of Rock 'n Roll guided my life in a very odd way from 1977 to 1983 or so. At that time, WQBK-FM dominated the airwaves for young listeners of hip rock 'n roll. I considered my ownself one of those folks.
Every Wednesday at Five O'clock in those days. Lin Brehmer of Q-104 FM would conduct the "Hump Day Unusual Moment". He would present some mishmash of audio nonsense designed to ease the angst of his listeners; most of the time it worked. This became a serious highlight of my week, no joke; at 22 or so, I was focusing the entire day around this. The killer was, the guy delivering it at the time was maybe 26. The difference? He was GOOD.
In June of 1982, I was 22 years old, and just starting a now 29-year-long career with Mother Bell. I had just completed a truly lousy day, one which made me really wonder whether or not I would follow my Dad's footsteps in the phone company. I get into the car, leave the parking lot just in time to have JUST missed the unusual moment. I am irked, and not much is helping. The Rev then comes through, with Side 2 of "Terrapin Station" in its entirety, as a salve to my anxiety. Nineteen minutes of the Dead, just what I needed, at just the right time.
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Nowadays, Lin Brehmer is one of the foremost DJs in the country, with gazillions of listeners on WXRT-FM in Chicago. He is an honest-to-God media fixture there, and that is truly wonderful. I get the chance to listen to his work every now and again on the Internet, and I am delighted he has enjoyed the success he has. Like I said, he's GOOD.
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Music is, to someone of my lifetime, a considerable influence. Those who can truly play are to be admired; I hack about on a guitar badly enough for any two people. For those of us of a certain age, the music of our times is just "noise", according to our parents; for those of us who are parents ourselves, I hope to God we have progressed to the point where we appreciate that we have before us.
Music in an influence on the lives of those who have been born after 1950; it just is. It is for those born before that as well, but for those of us born in the rock 'n roll era, music holds a special significance. Personally, I listen to all kinds of music, from rock to soul, to everything in between.
***********
The Reverend of Rock 'n Roll guided my life in a very odd way from 1977 to 1983 or so. At that time, WQBK-FM dominated the airwaves for young listeners of hip rock 'n roll. I considered my ownself one of those folks.
Every Wednesday at Five O'clock in those days. Lin Brehmer of Q-104 FM would conduct the "Hump Day Unusual Moment". He would present some mishmash of audio nonsense designed to ease the angst of his listeners; most of the time it worked. This became a serious highlight of my week, no joke; at 22 or so, I was focusing the entire day around this. The killer was, the guy delivering it at the time was maybe 26. The difference? He was GOOD.
In June of 1982, I was 22 years old, and just starting a now 29-year-long career with Mother Bell. I had just completed a truly lousy day, one which made me really wonder whether or not I would follow my Dad's footsteps in the phone company. I get into the car, leave the parking lot just in time to have JUST missed the unusual moment. I am irked, and not much is helping. The Rev then comes through, with Side 2 of "Terrapin Station" in its entirety, as a salve to my anxiety. Nineteen minutes of the Dead, just what I needed, at just the right time.
********
Nowadays, Lin Brehmer is one of the foremost DJs in the country, with gazillions of listeners on WXRT-FM in Chicago. He is an honest-to-God media fixture there, and that is truly wonderful. I get the chance to listen to his work every now and again on the Internet, and I am delighted he has enjoyed the success he has. Like I said, he's GOOD.
*********
Music is, to someone of my lifetime, a considerable influence. Those who can truly play are to be admired; I hack about on a guitar badly enough for any two people. For those of us of a certain age, the music of our times is just "noise", according to our parents; for those of us who are parents ourselves, I hope to God we have progressed to the point where we appreciate that we have before us.
Music in an influence on the lives of those who have been born after 1950; it just is. It is for those born before that as well, but for those of us born in the rock 'n roll era, music holds a special significance. Personally, I listen to all kinds of music, from rock to soul, to everything in between.
My boys seem predisposed toward hip-hop, which I don't particularly care for, but not for parent-child reasons. Talented artists, to be certain, but I think they limit their own talents with sheer repetition. My own tastes have always run toward rhythm and melody, and I have always held a very special place for those who could tell a great story in song. Whether it's Bruce Springsteen describing the difficulties of the working man, or James Taylor going from Stockbridge to Boston, the great songwriter and lyricist has always struck me as one of the most important individuals in our society.
To me, what makes music great is its constant evolution. The cyclical nature of that evolution isn't lost upon me either. What once was old becomes new again and does so almost every day.
So what's the point of all of this? Not much of one, really. Simply one man's exhortation to, as the Doobie Brothers said, "listen to the music".
Until next time,
Excelsior!
To me, what makes music great is its constant evolution. The cyclical nature of that evolution isn't lost upon me either. What once was old becomes new again and does so almost every day.
So what's the point of all of this? Not much of one, really. Simply one man's exhortation to, as the Doobie Brothers said, "listen to the music".
Until next time,
Excelsior!
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