tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post977229588518686358..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Weekend PostBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32670797853035114082022-06-28T11:20:18.371-07:002022-06-28T11:20:18.371-07:00Honestly, it's refreshing to hear any broadcas...Honestly, it's refreshing to hear any broadcast stories from the 21st Century about fucking around and getting away with it.Caleb Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09808270056236671679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19228645878428818862022-06-27T19:08:02.841-07:002022-06-27T19:08:02.841-07:00On The Michael Kay Show (WEPN-FM98.7) in New York,...On The Michael Kay Show (WEPN-FM98.7) in New York, their traffic girl is Brandi Scott. However, her reports are prerecorded so when they introduce her, they will use a humorous non-sequitur. It is reminiscent of pre-recorded interviews that publicists used to send out where the answers were pre-recorded but the local DJ's would supply their voices for the questions.<br /><br />While TMKS is simulcast on YES, the traffic reports are not, so you must be listening to the radio to hear the introductions as well as the reports themselves. Also, if 98.7 sounds familiar, they used to market themselves as 99X and Jay Thomas worked there 1976-79.ScarletNumbernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11021756067342451782022-06-27T18:11:10.359-07:002022-06-27T18:11:10.359-07:00"Robbie Lewis said...
They should be ashamed ...<i>"Robbie Lewis said...<br />They should be ashamed for appropriating the title of one of Joe Orton's better plays."</i><br /><br />Well, he only wrote 3 full-length plays before that jealous bastard beat his brains out for the crime of being far more talented than he was. Yes, he had a few one-acts, but <i>Entertaining Mr. Sloan, Loot</i> and <i>What the Butler Saw</i> are the primary plays, and all three are pretty damn great, though I think there is a rising quality level. <i>EMS</i> was clearly heavily influenced by Pinter, whereas in he found his own form and voice.<br /><br />Orton is one of my heroes. One of my plays is dedicated to him, and when I visited London, I made a point of going to the place where he lived and died. It's not a tourist site, so I couldn't go inside, but it was enough to be outside his window, mere feet from where he wrote and died.<br /><br />"Fun" Fact: <i>Entertaining Mr. Sloan</i> is the only literary work I know of to have been dedicated by its author to its author's murderer.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65776177803357432682022-06-27T14:47:06.309-07:002022-06-27T14:47:06.309-07:00They should be ashamed for appropriating the title...They should be ashamed for appropriating the title of one of Joe Orton's better plays.Robbie Lewisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9873453316147263582022-06-27T11:37:23.085-07:002022-06-27T11:37:23.085-07:00Reminds me of Les Nessman beating on his chest to ...Reminds me of Les Nessman beating on his chest to sound like a helicopter for traffic reports<br />Mitchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1395077440767437002022-06-27T07:37:06.602-07:002022-06-27T07:37:06.602-07:00Ken,
Was there an LA station tagged with the term...Ken,<br /><br />Was there an LA station tagged with the term Chicken Rock? <br /><br />In New York, it was 66 WNBC during the early '70s after it dropped talk and before it got serious about playing Top 40 under PD Mel Phillips.Mike McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06369457898152250682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6287342356623930932022-06-26T23:27:14.342-07:002022-06-26T23:27:14.342-07:00I'm waiting for "Better Call Saul" t...I'm waiting for "Better Call Saul" to end, so I can binge it. In 2013, I watched ALL of "Breaking Bad," over three days. A wonderful experience.<br /><br />I've decided to revisit "MASH," after almost forty years. 1980 - 82. Tulane University. I was in the coed dorm both years. EVERY night, thirty of us would gather in the rec room, and watch the reruns. Sacred. By the time the finale aired, I was at The University of Miami. There were about FIFTY of us, watching, that night.Leightonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77789280642409646252022-06-26T23:02:58.137-07:002022-06-26T23:02:58.137-07:00Ken,
I just reread your review of "Hacks,&qu...Ken,<br /><br />I just reread your review of "Hacks," from a year ago. I couldn't agree more. Just BRILLIANT. Hope Smart gets a second Emmy. She has been fantastic in "Designing Women," "24," "Frasier." Yes, she was in that dud series, "High Society." Regardless, she is amazing...Leightonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30175855457816466862022-06-26T22:46:15.990-07:002022-06-26T22:46:15.990-07:00Is anyone watching "Loot," on AppleTV+? ...Is anyone watching "Loot," on AppleTV+? Kinda hating it. Isn't it essential, that you "like" at least one character? And they're filming at that godawful architectural monstrosity, "The One." DAMN, that place is tacky. $250 million price tag, I think.<br /><br />The series can't decide if it's knocking obscene wealth, or glorifying it. <br /><br />I just find the whole enterprise, obnoxious as hell.<br /><br />I also hate the Canadian series, "The Lake." You just want to punch everyone. <br /><br />Leightonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16582046265708898762022-06-26T17:43:24.563-07:002022-06-26T17:43:24.563-07:00"Buttermilk Sky said...
Mr. McEwan, you know ...<i>"Buttermilk Sky said...<br />Mr. McEwan, you know literally everyone. I wonder how many listeners got the joke."</i><br /><br />Not everyone. Never met my three favorite actors, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price or Peter Lorre.<br /><br />Francis Gary Powers, who was a lovely person (I spent a lot of time with him), joined us and did that line in 1972, a mere 12 years after he was shot down over Russia. Everyone got the joke. We hadn't yet been inflicted with the Cultural Amnesia that the post-Boomer generations have. Later, when Rudolf Abel, the Russian spy we traded to get Frank back, died, I wrote another line for Frank. "Now that Rudolf Abel has died, does this mean I have to go back to Russia?"<br /><br />Frank died a hero. His helicopter ran out of fuel when he was covering a fire, both on the air (For KNBC News then), and for the firefighters. He <b>could</b> have landed it, but the only place he could land it was a field where children were playing baseball. As he could't warn them he was coming in, he intentionally crashed his helicopter on unoccupied land, sacrificing his life and the life of his camera man rather than risk injuring or killing some of those children.<br /><br /><i>"Mike Bloodworth said...<br />What a coincidence @D McEwan. In 1979 I did a college internship at KGIL. "Sweet Dick" Whittington had left by then. Tom Brown was the afternoon D.J. and Dick Spangler did the news. But I digress. On my last day I got to ride in the KGIL Sky Watch plane. I apologize. I can't remember the name of the pilot/reporter, but it was not Francis Gary Powers at that time."</i><br /><br />Well, of course it was not Frank in 1979, since he died in 1977. And he'd left KGIL for KNBC News in '75 or '76.<br /><br />I knew Tom Brown well back then, and Dick Spangler was a gentleman and a scholar. Dick S. used to take me along sometimes on stories. Thanks to Dick Spangler, I got to meet George McGovern and Ted Kennedy. I had a long chat with Sweet Dick via phone just two weeks ago. He'll be 93 on Saturday. He no longer drives, but his mind and wit are just as sharp as ever.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43723559853480716532022-06-26T14:58:48.496-07:002022-06-26T14:58:48.496-07:00Interestingly, I just found out that the old Memph...Interestingly, I just found out that the old Memphis beautiful music/easy listening station, WEZI, EXISTS once again, but as an Internet station. weziradio.com I had no idea. The original format lasted only from 1973 - 83, and was almost exclusively lush orchestrations. The new version is a bit different.Leightonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72968954052087151722022-06-26T11:38:35.010-07:002022-06-26T11:38:35.010-07:00I can think of two examples of "chicken rock&...I can think of two examples of "chicken rock":<br /><br />* In late 1968, WFBL in my hometown of Syracuse, a middle-of-the-road station, would play the Beatles' "Hey Jude," but only at night. (Its 7:11 length probably gave the DJ time for a quick pee if necessary.) The following year, rival station WOLF returned to Top 40, introducing a pseudo-Bill Drake format. At about 3:30 a.m., the all-night jock would play the 17-minute Iron Butterfly "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," likely enabling <i>him</i> to pick up his order from the 24-hour sub shop, or take care of some, er, other functions.<br />* Fast-forward to mid-1972; I was now in the D.C. area, and one of the stations I listened to was WASH-FM, sort of a blend of adult contemporary and MOR. It played the Carpenters' great "Goodbye to Love" -- but would fade it out just as the loud guitar riffs closed the song, something I bet other stations did as well. (I've often guessed that Richard and Karen hated they were perceived by many as the Tricia and Julie Nixon of pop music, and the guitar exit was their figuratively giving the finger to their rock-oriented critics. "You want 'heavy'? We'll <i>give</i> you 'heavy'!")VincentPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10905736830049897892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26753760814080616792022-06-26T00:04:09.539-07:002022-06-26T00:04:09.539-07:00In between my radio stints [and sometimes during] ...In between my radio stints [and sometimes during] I'd work as a dispatcher for a PD. The heavy duty stuff that came across the computer, I'd leave alone, such as "BOLO for a hitch-hiker dressed in combat boots, all black clothing and using the thumb of the last person that gave him a ride." But upcoming possible severe weather or other mundane stuff I'd re-write big-time. Usually made it sorta dirty but occasionally some like "Wind gusts in the 60s, possibly higher, strong enough to rip the toupee off William Shatner's head, etc, etc" Usually just put it back on the table for the guys to read and I'd hear the captain roaring with laughter. However the police chief had no sense of humor and thought that it was real. Got ordered to stop. I did.....when he was around.YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31167152222983548922022-06-25T22:50:47.045-07:002022-06-25T22:50:47.045-07:00I find it hard to believe that "Chicken Rock&...I find it hard to believe that "Chicken Rock" is "Easy Listening," which ALSO had the radio tag of "Beautiful Music." Around 1984, as a Film/TV/Radio/Commercial major, we had to select a radio station to "survey." I got the "Easy Listening" station. I don't remember the Miami station.<br /><br />Listen, I spent my high school years in West TN, and Memphis had the EPIC WEZI "Easy Listening" station. Yeah, I often put it on in the background, when I studied.Leightonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87184932886016221102022-06-25T19:15:23.239-07:002022-06-25T19:15:23.239-07:00I had a segment about last week's Weekend post...I had a segment about last week's Weekend post on my blog today: The Worst Radio Promo.<br /><br />http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2022/06/weekend-post_01391839620.htmlPeter Athashttps://first-draft.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54634306366934514752022-06-25T17:14:27.789-07:002022-06-25T17:14:27.789-07:00I'm with D. McEwan on this. When I visited LA,...I'm with D. McEwan on this. When I visited LA, I got around fine using the subway. In fact, a resident Angelino told me it's usually faster to get somewhere by subway than it is by car because you avoid all the traffic.<br /><br />When I needed to, I got a cab, but otherwise the subway suited me. Hollywood and Highlandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78195932271662617902022-06-25T15:46:08.014-07:002022-06-25T15:46:08.014-07:00I love this story so much. It made me miss workin...I love this story so much. It made me miss working in radio, and that's hard to do.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591907065793225507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2531195643857796472022-06-25T15:43:27.219-07:002022-06-25T15:43:27.219-07:00@BluePedal - I looked it up, too, and "Chicke...@BluePedal - I looked it up, too, and "Chicken Rock" is what they called A.O.R (Adult-Oriented Radio), or "Easy Listening".maxdebrynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04011731115062645854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58475440705467766182022-06-25T13:34:47.711-07:002022-06-25T13:34:47.711-07:00How things have changed since I was a little kid. ...How things have changed since I was a little kid. Back then radio stations only had traffic reports during the morning and/or afternoon drive periods. And only during the weekdays. Then slowly it evolved into reports all day. Then weekends were added. Now they give traffic reports 24 hours. But of course L.A. has a lot more traffic now than it did in the 60's. <br /><br />What a coincidence @D McEwan. In 1979 I did a college internship at KGIL. "Sweet Dick" Whittington had left by then. Tom Brown was the afternoon D.J. and Dick Spangler did the news. But I digress. On my last day I got to ride in the KGIL Sky Watch plane. I apologize. I can't remember the name of the pilot/reporter, but it was not Francis Gary Powers at that time. It was an incredible experience. I had never flown before, so it was all very new and exciting. We flew all over the city. He showed me Dodger Stadium, the 20th Century Fox ranch, (I saw the "M*A*S*H" set) downtown, among other sights. We also flew past the other traffic reporters. They all knew each other. It's like a fraternity. <br />Not long after that most radio stations gave up their planes and choppers in favor of traffic services. Obviously a cost cutting move. <br /><br />I used to ride the subway when I had improv classes in Hollywood. Mostly because I won't pay to park. I'm not a fan of our subway. The example of going to the Pantages is one of the RARE examples of where the subway is convenient. If you have to do jury duty downtown that might be another example since the station is right across the street from the courthouse. But otherwise, you have to take a connecting bus or walk to your final destination. I used to bring my bicycle with me. I can't tell you how many New Yorkers have said to me, "Your subway sucks!" I can't argue . <br /><br />M.B.<br /><br />P.S. Does Jo Anne Worley know about "chicken rock?"<br /><br />Mike Bloodworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04755626259169126800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82849201251982602952022-06-25T12:48:32.201-07:002022-06-25T12:48:32.201-07:00Mr. McEwan, you know literally everyone. I wonder...Mr. McEwan, you know literally everyone. I wonder how many listeners got the joke.<br /><br />Ken, another request for the definition of Chicken Rock. Please tell us it has nothing to do with children.Buttermilk Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07430011403223875192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58071980900611997222022-06-25T12:36:46.186-07:002022-06-25T12:36:46.186-07:00When three people mention Chicken Rock one one blo...When three people mention Chicken Rock one one blog the Algorithm creates a new music genre, and we might have done just that.Lemuelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35088461061801155202022-06-25T12:34:36.333-07:002022-06-25T12:34:36.333-07:00In all the years I have read your blog I have neve...In all the years I have read your blog I have never been motivated to write anything. I too, worked in radio and did all of the things you have done - - except traffic. Great story!<br />I miss radio, but it is not what it used to be...Coleennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17291772687106799762022-06-25T12:23:52.701-07:002022-06-25T12:23:52.701-07:00What in the world is Chicken Rock? I found a rock ...What in the world is Chicken Rock? I found a rock named Chicken Rock and a bunch of songs about chickens but no genre of chicken rock. My guess is you were a DJ at a chicken farm?<br /><br />BluePedalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10307466431120313073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16998807712447686452022-06-25T12:21:11.423-07:002022-06-25T12:21:11.423-07:00Saw this on MeTV and wondered if you have anything...Saw this on MeTV and wondered if you have anything to add:<br /><br /><b>Ted Danson's toupee practically became its own character on Cheers</b><br />https://www.metv.com/stories/ted-dansons-toupee-practically-became-its-own-character-on-cheers<br /><br />I didn't see a "contact me" button and wondered if the only way to submit something was via a comment to a post?John Q.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00217531932115256484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76559255637951299992022-06-25T11:22:49.402-07:002022-06-25T11:22:49.402-07:00I use the LA Subway system all the time. So it &qu...I use the LA Subway system all the time. So it "rarely goes anywhere anyone would want to go." Oh yeah? When I saw <i>Hamilton</i> at the Pantages, I got off the subway <b>DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET</b> from the Pantages. Went home the same way. "Rarely goes there"? A train arrives there every twenty minutes.<br /><br />Whenever I go to the Ahmanson I take the subway, which lets me off one block away. When you and I have met up at the Ahmanson, I got there via subway, and went home that way also. No one wants to go to the Music Center? When going to the Ahmanson with a friend who drives, we still park <b>FREE</b> at a subway station, and then take the subway. Enjoy paying the Music Center's exorbitant parking fees. I never do.<br /><br />The subway goes to Universal Studios. No one wants to go there? The subway stops under the Chinese and the Kodak Theaters. No one wants to go there?<br /><br />And the subway is <b>FAST</b>. You can get from the North Hollywood station to the Pantages in 10 minutes. You can't do that in a car.<br /><br />But go on mocking it, as you drive your polluting car around, burning grossly expensive gas to keep poisoning our air, and paying to park. I'll take the non-polluting subway.<br /><br />On another topic, I was working at KGIL when U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers became our traffic watch pilot. I spent many hours in that Cessna with him, flying about LA. His first day, I wrote him a line to do on his first traffic report:<br /><br />"This is Francis Gary Powers for KGIL. Traffic on the Kruschev parkway is backed up to the Lenin's Tomb off ramp."<br /><br />Dick Whittington: "Those are Moscow freeways. You're supposed to be reporting on LA traffic."<br /><br />Powers: "I guess I didn't fully get the mission."D. McEwannoreply@blogger.com