It is National Poetry Month. I love songs and poems that mention radio. Here are excerpts of some from The American Academy of Poets’ poetry.org site. from Cognitive Deficit Market, by Joshua Corey . . . . Meanwhile above it all she’s setting out the tea things: ceramic cup and saucer, little pewter spoon, pebbled […]
Archive | Op-Ed
Opinions, editorials and fun stuff.
Did Ralph the Talking Computer do a Mike Daisey on Harry Shearer?
Following a monologue on the latest developments in Afghanistan and Iran, Harry Shearer had his semi-regular guest, Ralph the Talking Computer, on the March 25 edition of his podcast: Le Show. Looks like Harry thought that he and Ralph needed to talk about journalistic integrity (the chat starts around 10 minutes into the program). One […]
Falling, falling cats, and Radiolab Season 8, Episode 3
A remarkable moment in the annals of cats brought me to an excellent episode of Radiolab this week. First the cat story. US News and World Report says that Sugar the Cat, a resident of a high rise apartment in Boston, decided to trip the light fantastic on Wednesday. The fluffy white feline stumbled from […]
Unlicensed low-power transmitters fuel SXSW Decentralized Dance Party
The great thing about radio technology is that it’s one of the most efficient ways to broadcast a message. Less than a watt of power can send a signal to hundreds of people over an area the size of a city block or two with ease. By comparison, if you tried to text a few […]
Rush Limbaugh apologizes for calling Georgetown student a “slut,” but that doesn’t mean his misogynistic approach will change
Last week conservative radio blow-hard Rush Limbaugh bit off a bit more than he could chew when he went on a couple of tirades over the course of his Wednesday and Thursday shows wherein he lambasted Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke who was denied an opportunity to testify in front of Congress in support […]
McDonald’s Pit Bull radio snafu takes on life of its own
Hell hath no fury like 12,277 Pit Bull owners on Facebook scorned. Despite McDonald’s apologies for running a radio advertisement calling petting a stray Pit Bull “risky,” pro-Pit Bull activists are still pushing for further amends. They’ve even got a demonstration in the works. Here’s the petition being circulated by the Pit Bulls Against McDonald’s […]
Retro-Fi iPhone app makes Wall of Voodoo actually sound like Mexican Radio
I’m not sure exactly why, but the recently released Retro-Fi app by Romanian company Onyx Apps makes music on your iPhone sound like it’s on an old AM radio. Don’t get me wrong, I have a soft spot in my heart for music on AM radio, at least partly fueled by memories of listening to […]
Public radio station KCRW to roast Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is a Gen X renaissance man, starting out as the former lead singer of the seminal hardcore punk band Black Flag, in addition to being an author, actor, spoken word artist and perhaps the man with the most independent music documentary appearances on earth. On top of all that, Mr. Rollins is also […]
WTF podcast is platform for comedian’s coming out, marks a milestone in podcasting
It used to be when a politician, celebrity or someone in the entertainment business had a big announcement to make that person would make an appearance with the likes of Barbara Walters or Larry King. A comedian or someone a little less famous in the mainstream might take it to Howard Stern or another syndicated […]
They can take the radio out of Clear Channel (but that won’t take Clear Channel out of radio)
Friday the 900 lb. gorilla of commercial radio announced that it is changing its name to Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, striking the word “radio” from its name. Even though the company still owns 850 terrestrial broadcast stations–down from its post-1996 height of 1200–Clear Channel is trying to emphasize its belated focus on the internet, […]