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.
If by going the way of Pacifica, you mean mostly black,(and some whites), untalented, boring, small minded, non inclusive, heads up their asses race based idiots . yeah i agree.
ReplyDeleteYou have summed it up quite well. There was real talent in the hopelessly ill-produced confusion, but they were in the minority. More shameful than the prancing incompetents that dominated was the exclusion of music genres that have far more substance and reflect true artistry.
DeleteWe have much of that in our country, but it does not bring in sufficient money and gossip to please the business-minded decision makers.
That said, the work of helping needy artists that Music Cares is laudable.
I recall a time when what mattered was how you sounded, not how you dressed up and managed to make the no-news press exposure.
Pop music's most embarrassing night.
I see it differently because I have different expectations. I like for the bright, shining moments like Gaga, St. Vincent, Dollie Parton and Gretta Van Fleet. Open your heart to the new kids in town. Most of the show is bullshit -- always has been. Watch with the sound down until something hot happens.
ReplyDeleteGood advice, Ken, but even artists with proven talent come off poorly when tossed into such a mess as these productions have become. I canceled my membership in the Academy decades ago, mainly because I realized that it was being run by people whose commercial interest exceeded artistic considerations.
DeleteI was even embarrassed when awarded Grammys and nominations for work that I, myself, regarded as inferior. Let me add that I was also nominated for better work, but I didn't win.
A curious mind wants to know, what was the work and category?
ReplyDeleteBessie Smith, Billie Holiday and, if I remember correctly, Charlie Parker. One of my Grammys is what they call a Trustee's Award, but I don't know what I did to get it. To compound the confusion, I was a 4th year recipient, preceded by George Solti, Duke Ellington, Robert Moog... followed by The Beatles, Edison. Stokowski. Frank Sinatra, Basie, Copeland, etc.
ReplyDeleteGo figure...