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An unvarnished blog that dips into the past and comments on the present of WBAI-FM, a once significant, intelligent New York radio station that for years has suffered chronic abuse from within and now nears extinction. Your comments are welcomed and will not be censored.
So the WBAI premiums come from China? No, actually. The Chinese are far more efficient.
ReplyDeleteI have seen Chinglish like that on ebay alot. I always enjoy trying to figure it out.
Anyway, what kind of radio are you looking for? I happen to be able to make some good recommendations. What bands? What price range? Need good sensitivity and selectivity? etc.
SDL
You mean tp tell me that Null's "Red Stuff" isn't from China?
DeleteThanks for offering the shopping help, but I was looking for (and found) a very cheap mini FM with SD, TF and USB slots. I already have one (T-205) and while the audio quality is fifth generation mono, it's better than that of the current Radio Unnameable. I use it strictly for keeping an ear on things while moving around in my apartment. Easier than bluetooth. :)
I think the Chinunists are more orange or pink than red these days. Maybe Null gets his Stuffs from North Korea..? Brown Stuff should come from Washington, D.C., though...
DeleteAll joking aside. I would imagine some of the ingedients have to come from China for his Stuffs. However, I think the Stuffs are assembled/mixed here.
Speaking of radios. I hope you don't mind me posting a great deal to be had. The Grundig S450DLX AM/FM/SW radio has just gone out of production because of a new much more expensive model that seems to be no better. Anyone in the market may want to grab one before they disappear. For the price, it's a steal. Well, a legitimate steal, not a WBAI style steal...
http://www.amazon.com/Grundig-S450DLX-Deluxe-Shortwave-Radio/dp/B004FV4ND0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410473546&sr=8-1&keywords=grundig+450
I wonder what surprises Radio Unlistenable will have in store tonight...
SDL
That looks like a great deal, especially for a Grundig.
DeleteTonight's Ulistenable? The sad fact is that, at this stage of Fass' stagnancy, it would be painful, even with superb sound.
For once I enjoyed From The Vault. That 1971 interview they played with Fanny was the way a band SHOULD be interviewed - more like a conversation with depth. I always somewhat liked Fanny, so hearing that was interesting. I remember the awful interview shows on commercial rock radio I grew up with. They were all just tightly controlled puff pieces with the same old questions & answers.
ReplyDeleteGood to see Mario Murillo awake early and doing his job. Morning man IS his job, right? Anyway, better than solo Hay-tie and his usual coterie of morons. At least we're getting some news and current affairs.
I couldn't listen to more tha 40 minutes of Fass. Usual rambling with added over-modulation. It was actually painful to my ears.
Finally, did you catch Where We Live last night? Total conspiracy lunacy about how every Muslim in jail is a political prisoner yadda yadda yadda shish boom bah blah blah blah.
SDL
I agree, they did an excellent job on Fanny and I would say the same for Dred Scott Keyes' hour-long program on two 9/11 survivors, which was aired in yesterday's 10 a.m. "rotating music" slot. His reputation among people with long-standing WBAI ties somewhere between the gutter and hell, but he is one of the station's few producers who knows how to do it. That is probably why his regular air time is 5 a.m.
DeleteI have not given this morning's show more than a cursory listen, but Murillo has clearly told Haskins to sit in the corner while he takes the station below the border. He is professional, Haskins remains a dabbling dilettante—the contrast is black and white, as it were.
Fass? As predicted: rambling, shallow, technically embarrassing. At this point, I don't think there will be much protest, if any, should he be retired.
Where We Were is pure propaganda for the Mumia Poo Poo crowd—small, hateful minds.
I just thought of the perfect guest for Fass - Ozzy Osbourne. Imagine those two yapping away? Would be the end of radio as we know it.
DeleteSDL
That makes it more readily nameable: "The Ozzy and Fassy Show" or "Beyond the Cringe." :)
DeleteSeriously, the studio in a home thing has replaced all natural ingredients. Bob should have faced reality and seen that "off" switch on the microphone. I tuned out around the time you did, so I don't even know if his three regular listeners called in.
Radio as we hoped we would never have known it.
I can just see it...
DeleteFass "And when the Wobblies were-"
Ozzy "Yeah, like we were wobblin' on the acid on stage that night..."
You remember the old Edward & Pegine Fitzgerald show on WOR? They did that show for decades from their home without problems. Now, we're talking the days when you used the phonelines for your feed. That's what makes it so absurd.
Anyway. Any older listeners may want to go have a look in the "pix" section of Jim Freund's website (hourwolf.com). Lots of pictures of WBAI and its personalities through the decades. Memory lane...
SDL
I know, the regression is amazing. I used to live in a home studio, actually. It was a basement apartment at 272 West 84th Street, in a house once owned by Norman Brokenshire, whose CBS radio show often originated there. The walls and ceiling were still acoustical tiling and the floor board on one side still had line inputs. I give more details here:
Deletehttp://stomp-off.blogspot.com/2009/08/high-in-basement-penthouse.html
Were you still tuned in this morning when Bob Fass mumbled something about the audio problem having hit other ("I won't name them") New York stations? Not true, and I doubt if anyone who happened to be tuned in believed him.
No, I didn't hear about alleged bad audio elsewhere. However, I would say stations like WABC, WOR, etc. suffer from programming problems. Fass probably doesn't even listen to other stations and was told this canard by someone, looking to rationalize the audio trouble. It's all a conspiracy, after all. Ask Geoff Brady...
DeleteSDL
SDL--Frank Zappa once defined rock journalism as "people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read", or something to that effect.
ReplyDeleteYour idea about Fass and Osbourne is hilarious. It would indeed be "the end of radio as we know it"--and their careers.
Chris--His ability to keep Haskins in check is reason alone to listen to Murillo. Let's see how long he lasts....
I agree, Justine, Murillo offered a welcomed change—let's hope that he broadens the scope of the program, discourages yet another airing of the late Mr. Haskins' fatty recipe, keeps Mumia Poo Poo's harebrained "commentaries" where they belong (your choice), has Haskins undergo a course in basic audio engineering, etc. The show going from black to brown is not a solution in and of itself. It should address the morning radio needs and intellect of all New York area residents, not just a small segment of the racially locked-in.
DeleteMurillo has apparently signed on for 6 months, the length of his sabbatical, so he had better start the clean-up process immediately. If done right, it will not please Berthold Reimers, so we may see a short six months.