Now it can be told! Methods and agendas disclosed in this week's blurb. It's all here.
To begin we have to go back to the very early days of this program, when I decided (a) my library was not enough and (b) I had to chase the ghosts of my past and prove that I could follow the "rules" of my old radio station from undergrad days, which I was never good at doing. There's a lot to unpack there but I'm sure somewhere along the way I have referred to what I often do as LARPing and that is basically the jist of it.
We used to have this rule about "currency," according to which your playlist was supposed to be 30% "current" records. This meant playing discs from the "current" bin, and what was in there had been added by the station (NB: not necessarily "released," just acquired) within the last 3 months. To the extent that I was ever successful at this, it was only just: early on I had a lot to learn from the past and somewhere along the way I decided that the present (at that moment) wasn't up to my standards and apparently I wasn't open to many new experiences. I look back on this as a failure that I have to correct. For whom? The voice in my head of course.
So, anyway, in 2013 or so, when this show was less than ten programs old, I was auditioning lots of new releases on Spotify and building my playlists that way. I would often call this "radio magic" or whatever, but it was a kind of fraud. It helped, but didn't help, that at some point we got this software at the station called DeejayPro that could incorporate Spotify into your broadcast (controversially, I guess).
This created a couple of messes: one was the general fakeness of many programs, even though I was sharing music that I genuinely liked--not to mention the use of that awful, unethical app--and the technical issue of playing those supercompressed mp3s (evident in last week's disaster).
Apparently it took a global pandemic to force me to reconsider, but on this broadcast I said goodbye to the old ways. I would only use actual sound files in my possession, currency be damned--this meant using what I owned and what I was buying, which also meant a deeper commitment, which I consider a good thing. It also meant the return of dynamics and crazy levels, which I guess is also a good thing because it's teaching me to embrace imperfection even though I hate it.
So this particular show features a lot of material I picked up on the very first "Bandcamp Friday," five days prior, as well as things I'd bought recently. But, I have to say--it also included a lot of promotional freebies (including yet another cringeworthy Membranes track--what is it with them?), plenty of channeling 1985 and 1986 (so what else is new), and, let's face it, a big focus on the white past and not the black future. I don't know how it's possible to do a show that's "honest" and at the same time "in bad faith" but I manage.
That said, I really miss old R.E.M. and I did love the then-recent viral video of Michael Stipe singing along to "Underneath the Bunker."
I also miss Richenel and I miss the days when that This Mortal Coil cd blew my little mind; now it's all wrapped up in guilt and regret. Here's hoping someday it will sound fresh again.
Since this program was broadcast, 410 days ago now, I've gone "on the air" 55 times. I have delivered 54 pre-recorded episodes on account of the pandemic. That gives us a lot of time to work through my issues, and there are many of them.
BOMBAST playlist, 2020 March 25, 2100-2300:
Didn't know it was a song you hated to sing
https://www.facebook.com/radiobombast?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/KidCatharsis
Misdemeanors Against Music: Transmission 218, 2015 July 5
At the End of My Tether, I Destroy Years of Hippie Craft: Transmission 217, 2015 July 1
Situations Arise, Irrational and Cruel: Transmission 216, 2015 June 28
U_D_M Detour 13, 2014 October 17
Cruising Altitude Departure 12, 2014 October 25
Olympic Mess: Transmission 215, 2015 June 24
Don't Hang Around Wondering What To Do: Transmission 214, 2015 June 17
U_D_M Detour 12, 2014 October 3
Chasing Voices He Receives in His Head: Transmission 213, 2015 June 10
He Employs All Chances to His Own Advantage: Transmission 212, 2015 June 5
Another Day Is Done, And We're Eating Our Wages Again: Transmission 211, 2015 June 3
The Disappointment of Positive Thinking: Transmission 210, 2015 June 2
Bear With Me, or Continue to Enjoy This, Whichever You're Doing: Transmission 209, 2015 May 31
If You're Looking for Me, Thank You: Transmission 208, 2015 May 30
Like Hypnotizing Chickens: Transmission 207, 2015 May 26
Unruly Boys Who Will Not Grow Up Must Be Taken in Hand: Transmission 206, 2015 May 22
Elitism for the People: Transmission 205, 2015 May 19
Cruising Altitude Departure 11, 2014 September 27
You Take Your Pension in Loneliness and Alcohol: Transmission 204, 2015 May 12
Read Some Pictures and Look At Some Words: Transmission 203, 2015 May 7
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