#697: Take 2.1

OK, since yesterday's suggested radio format went so well (more than 30 views overnight, which is almost a new record for me), how about this one?:

TOP OF THE HOUR.
3 minutes of National & Local News. Then:
Deep Purple -- Hush.
Beatles -- I'm Down.
COMMERCIAL.
Steve Earle -- Copperhead Road.
Charlie Pride -- Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone?
COMMERCIAL.
Afro-Man -- Because I Got High.
Eminem -- Ass Like That.
COMMERCIAL.
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles -- You've Really Got a Hold on Me.
Aretha Franklin and George Michael -- I Knew You Were Waiting for Me.

BOTTOM OF THE HOUR.
2 minutes of National and Local News. Then:
ELP -- Fanfare for the Common Man (long version).
COMMERCIAL.
Bob Dylan -- One of Us Must Know.
Fanny -- Charity Ball.
COMMERCIAL.
Dave Brubeck -- Take Five.
Aaron Copland/Eduardo Mata/Dallas Symphony Orchestra -- Hoedown.
Uriah Heep -- Easy Livin'.

TOP OF THE HOUR.
Into 3 minutes of National and Local News....
(This updated version breaks up the commercials & music a little more -- which maybe most people wouldn't like; they'd prefer the four-track blocks of music in the previous format. But this is probably closer to Real Life radio....)

See how easy this is? Any trained chimpanzee could do it. & there's room for hits from all eras, album tracks, weird stuff, rock, heavy-rock, singer-songwriters, jazz, country, classical, comedy, blues (an area I'm pretty weak on) -- basically anything. It's not hard. It doesn't have to be so far out that listeners get scared away.
So why can't anybody do it?
No reason this format couldn't have "theme" hours -- the "on the road" hour (Born to Run/Running On Empty/Highway Star/On the Road Again, etc), or the "rain" hour (Who Will Stop the Rain?/Have You Ever Seen the Rain?/In the Rain/Rain, etc.) -- though those might get cliched pretty fast. & I'm sure it's been done on FM before. The key would be to have a little IMAGINATION about it -- something that seems in short supply at Radio these days....
Keep those kind donations coming, folks, & we'll make it happen. We want the airwaves!

I've reluctantly decided to delay my big cash-mongering trip to my "local" Half-Price Books store, since today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year so far, here. Don't want my big box full of vinyl to melt on the way there. But I'll keep you posted....

I really love Locus. Really. Even though lately it's become more&more like a list of "Which famous writers have died recently?" But I sure wish it was a lot more like Bookslut....

Still working my way through Hunter S. Thompson's huge selection of early letters, THE PROUD HIGHWAY. It's laugh-out-loud funny in lots of places, and amazingly shows off a lot more personality (and desperation) than his later letters collection FEAR AND LOATHING IN AMERICA (which is reviewed below under the title "Scrambling for $$$"). More on this eventually....

COMING SOON: It's Money That Matters....

#696: Crossection

A suggested experimental radio format:

TOP OF THE HOUR.
Coming out of 3 minutes of National & Local News:
Easybeats -- "Friday on My Mind."
Cheap Trick -- "Surrender."
Eagles -- "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks."
Beyonce -- "Irreplaceable."
COMMERCIALS.
Marvin Gaye -- "Inner City Blues."
Spinners -- "I'm Coming Home."
Stylistics -- "You Are Everything."
Beatles -- "There's a Place."

BOTTOM OF THE HOUR. 2 minutes of National & Local News.
Then:
REO -- "Don't Let Him Go."
Five Man Electrical Band -- "Absolutely Right."
Johnny Cash -- "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog."
Buck Owens -- "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail."
COMMERCIALS.
Fleetwood Mac -- "Hypnotized."
John Coltrane -- "Giant Steps."
Miles Davis -- "It Never Entered My Mind."
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass -- "A Beautiful Friend."
TOP OF THE HOUR, into 3 minutes of National & Local News....

This is just for starters. All the songs could be exchanged for others of a similar genre. SURPRISE should be the format's motto. That and WHAT'S NEXT? Or even WHO'S NEXT?!
Possible changes/additions:
* Replace Beyonce with any GOOD Urban/R&B/Rap/Hip-Hop song from the past decade (your choice). (Outkast's "Hey Ya" for example....)
* Replace Marvin Gaye with any good Motown hit or album track from the '60s/'70s.
* Replace "There's a Place" with any good Beatles B-side or album track.
* Replace Fleetwood Mac with any other good underplayed Mac song.
* Toss in a '70s singer-songwriter to replace The Spinners or The Stylistics -- Joni Mitchell's "Coyote" or "Raised on Robbery," Carole King's "Been to Canaan," Jackson Browne's "The Fuse," Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic," Cat Stevens's "Bitterblue," Jim Croce's "Lover's Cross," Steely Dan's "Gaucho," etc.
* Toss in BOC's "Morning Final"/"E.T.I."/"Astronomy" (IMAGINOS version) to replace REO or The Eagles -- or some other good heavy-rock song: Deep Purple's "Hush"/"Kentucky Woman"/"Highway Star," Motorhead's "Killed by Death," AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," Hawkwind's "You'd Better Believe It," Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away"/"The Rover"/"Immigrant Song," Spooky Tooth's "Feelin' Bad," etc.
* Replace the Country stuff with any other good seldom-heard-on-pop-radio Country song since the '60s ("Six Days on the Road," "The Girl on the Billboard," "Passionate Kisses," "Melancholy Child," "Whenever You Walk in the Room," etc).
* Replace Herb Alpert with Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" or any other GOOD MOR hit from the '60s -- Glen Campbell's "It's Only Make Believe," Petula Clark's "I Know a Place," Fifth Dimension's "Carpet Man," etc. ...or even a REAL Oldie like Louis Jordan's "Barnyard Boogie."
* Toss in other jazz numbers -- Thelonious Monk's "Underground," Miles Davis's "In a Silent Way," Keith Jarrett's "Country," etc.
* Toss in a recognized Classical piece now & then -- Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" or the "Simple Gifts" coda to "Appalachian Spring," etc.
* Toss in a Prog Rock Oldie -- Yes's "The South Side of the Sky," ELP's "Karn Evil 9/First Impression (Part 1)," Genesis's "Inside and Out," King Crimson's "Frame By Frame," etc.
* Keep the Local News in there so folks know if there's an ugly wreck on the freeway or some other emergency.

If I can come up with this format -- which SHOULD work and could potentially please a wide variety of listeners -- in less than 10 minutes, why can't Radio grow some balls and do it?
And if somebody wants to donate lots of cash, I'll make it happen. We'll probably have to BUY a radio station first.... Please make your kind and generous donations below....
Suggestions and complaints are welcome, too....
DO YOU THINK THIS COULD WORK?