Together Through Life

It is a shame that there are so few places to buy music these days. Today's buyers of music are quite content to download for Itunes and other sources. I have downloaded as well, but still enjoy the thrill of going to a music store to buy a CD on the day of its release. I am scheduled to work at NJIT for 1 PM - 8 PM so I left home a little early to have time to stop at the Borders by New York's Penn Station to buy it. There were two versions, one with just the CD and the deluxe version including the CD, a bonus CD with selections from the Theme Time Radio Hour. and a DVD of Roy Silver-The Lost Interview. Of course, I bought the deluxe.

I started listening to the CD as a boarded my train and was able to get halfway through it as I arrived in Newark. If I had to describe it in one word is would be "bluesy". For links to extensive reviews please see Expecting Rain. I enjoyed what I've heard so far, but this CD will not have the impact of Dylan's works from 1965-75. I was intrigued by one song titled My Wife's Home Town. I must listen more in depth to determine which of Dylan's two wives is in the song. It is well known that he was married to Sara Lowndes, but a few recent biographies state that he was also married to Carolyn Dennis, a background singer in the late 70s and early 80s. If you read his autobiography Chronicles, Dylan refers to my wife, but doesn't say which one. Please remember, his works are vague and open to interpretation.

Hopefully, my listening to the second half of the CD on the way home will "wipe out" the grumpy conductors and passengers who block the doors. If I finish while I am on the #7 train I can always listen to the Mets, Yankees, Rangers, or Devils.

Love him or hate him, you must give Dylan credit for his longevity. How many people who recored back in 1962 are still in the music business? Probably very few.

My Thoughts on WABC Rewound

My radio enthusiast friends are aware that Allan Sniffen, the moderator of the New York Radio Message Board, made the official announcement today that WABC Rewound that has been played on Memorial Day for 10 years will be heard only on http://wabcradio.com and WPLJ-HD3 this year. To me this brings up the issue of ageism in radio programming which I would like to discuss in detail.

It is true that there is a new program director at WABC who may not value the heritage of the station as her predecessor, but I would not take this decision personally. I would draw an analogy to a long running TV series on a major broadcast network that was relegated to cable TV. Radio and TV programs have diehards and casual viewers/listeners. I would listen to the early Rewounds religiously, but as the years went on, the novelty wore off and my enthusiasm gradually waned. Whether we like it or not, we all have aged and the Rewound audience has aged with the show. I don’t want to go into a long discourse on the hijacking of WCBS-FM in June 2005 and the reincarnation of the station with a classic hits rather than an oldies format. Older audiences are not appealing to advertisers since they are set in their ways and not easily swayed by commercials. Thus radio executives are trying to program to a younger audience. Here is why I feel WABC is wrong in making this decision:

The entire AM band appeals to older listeners anyway. WABC’s brand of conservative talk radio appeals to older listeners. Liberal talk stations have not thrived. WABC let go liberals like Lynn Samuels and Ron Kuby.

Does WABC know that the talk radio audience on a major holiday would be any younger than a WABC Rewound audience? If you are at a family picnic on Memorial Day. Would you rather listen to music or a rerun of Rush Limbaugh?

Is there any guarantee that there will be more ad revenues for talk than for Rewound?
WABC promotes the regular talk radio programming on SNO and did so on past Rewounds.

On the positive side Rewound was not killed completely. I am one of the few people who owns an HD radio, but almost everyone has a computer and can hear the stream. Allan Sniffen said there will be new tapes this year and the 2009 version will be archived. Some of the older shows are available on aircheck sites, but it is possible they will be archived.

The radio executives are out for the almighty dollar. Mark Simone’s morning show now starts at 7 AM because the bean counters thought they could make more money with an infomercial. My gut feeling is that WABC management is happy with the advertising dollars made on SNO. But nothing in this world is absolutely permanent.

Let's take things “One Day at a Time”.

Radio Show on Bob Dylan's Lyrics on BBC2

Please make this announcement on Expectingrain.com

There is a radio show on BBC2 about Bob Dylan's lyrics avialble until Saturday May 2. It can be accessed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jxxyv

The Mets beat the Washington Nationals 8-2 today

We went to our second Mets game today and saw the Amazins beat the Washington Nationals 8-2. The Mets were able to take advantage of 3 errors to score several runs. Recap. The Mets have won both games we have seen at Citifield. At the end of the game there was a Mr. Met dash. As we left the stadium there must have been a line about 3 blocks long of kids with their parents waiting to run around the bases.

Received a Jury Duty Questionnaire Today

Today I received a questionnaire for eligibility for jury duty since the last time I served was in April 2004. I served on a case involving a forgery where we acquitted the defendant. The entire process including jury selection and the actual trial took 5 days. The entire process has streamlined over the years since the time spent in the central jury room has been minimized. I was able to send the cour the questionnaire through the internet. If I am called, it will be like a mini-vacation.

Happy Birthday Karen

Ii rmember when I first met Karen back in 1980 I saw a knick knack on her shelf in the living room saying Taurus. I then found out that our birthdays are one day apart, but not the same day. You will rarely see her surfing the web, but you can't keep her away from crossword puzzles, her favorite activity. I hope she enjoyed doing several of them today, her birthday. I won't reveal her age.

Thanks for all the Kind Birthday Wishes

Thanks for all the kind birthday wishes that came by:

• Facebook posts
• Email
• Phone
• People who stopped by my office

Here is a Youtube video from the 1960s from a group called the Scaffold featuring Mike McGear who is Paul McCartney's brother