JD McPherson "North Side Gal"

In high school we took a class trip to Washington DC as part of a program called “Close Up.”  It was there I discovered the terrible truth about myself.

I had an accent.  A New England accent.  A strong New England accent.

One of the very smart, interesting things about the “Close Up” program, beyond showing you the sites of Washington, DC, was that they made pairs of kids share rooms with other pairs of kids who were from a decidedly different place.  The week we were there, we New Englanders were paired up with kids from California and Colorado.

Our accent became a point of discussion for the kids from elsewhere.  It was funny sounding.  Stupid sounding even.

I watched in our group discussions, as classmates who were making bright and salient points, could be dismissed for the “dumb” way they sounded, due to their accent.

I realized then and there that if I wanted a life beyond New England, if I wanted to be taken seriously, I had to tone down my thick, thick accent.

And in the ensuing years, I became hyper-conscious of the way I pronounced everything.  By the time I had graduated college, my local accent was mostly gone.

Little things did persist.  I could never get the hang of “drawer” so it didn’t sound like “draw.”  And “figures” remained “figgers” for a long time time.

But most vexing became the words that inadvertantly just made it sound like I had an accent.

A college friend pointed out that she would call it a “door handle,” because saying “knob” just sounded like a New Englander mispronouncing the word “Norb.”

Years later, I became a DJ, and much like being on TV adds 10 pounds, being on the radio has a way of amplifying your accent.

For instance, on my first day on the air, the station owner at WABN pulled me aside to help me straighten out the way I said the call letters.

“What is the first letter of our call letters?” she asked.

“W?” I answered, unsure if this were a trick question.

“Say it again.”

“Dubya,” is how I was pronouncing it.

She wrote the letter in cursive on the piece of paper.

“The letter is actually two ‘U’s put together.  It is a double-U.  Say it like that.”

To this day, it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard when I hear a professional broadcaster pronounce the letter “dubya.”  Or just really fumble any pronunciation.

And in my years in Virginia, I really had to guard against picking up that accent, as it was all around me every day.

It was easy to let words like "fire" rhyme with "car," and "pen" sound like "pin," unless you were vigilant, careful and conscious.

It's a practice I have to continue today.

Which is why I have so much trouble when I talk on the air about JD McPherson.

Initially, I just assumed you pronounced his last name “mick-FEAR-son.”  That’s a pretty common pronouncation.

But then I watched a Youtube video where he introduced himself.

He pronounces it “mick-FUR-son.”

So now when I say it on the air, I try to pronounce it, respecting his way.

But me saying “mick-FUR-son” for some reason sounds, to my ears, like it’s just me mispronouncing the guys name with a Virginia accent.

Listen to me on the air sometime.  You’ll actually hear me stumble, as the professional in me who's trying to say it right, is brawling with the kid in me, trying not to sound stupid.

JD McPherson performs this weekend at the Newport Folk Festival.  For artist previews and mvyradio's Newport Folk Channel, visit the mvyradio Bloggers page.  And hear full coverage of the Festival, with live sets from the stage, on mvyradio.com.


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Bonnie Raitt "Silver Lining"

As part of the Save mvyradio campaign, we've been reaching out to artists, asking them to do things like post about Save mvyradio on their Facebook page (Jackson Browne did), talk to the media about us (Lyle Lovett and Carly Simon did) and record some station IDs for us.

This last one is pretty standard, and no doubt, no matter what station you listen to, you've heard these kinds of things.  "Hi, this is So-And-So, and you're listening to Station XYZ!"

Surprisingly, I've learned a few things from this process.

I learned the proper way to pronounce the last names of JD McPherson and Madeleine Peyroux, because I heard it from their own lips.  (McPherson says it as "Mick-FURR-son" not Mick-FEAR-son"; and Peyroux says her name just like the country Peru).

I learned that Jason Spooner likes Cape Cod Potato Chips.  (Do I smell an endorsement for Mr. Spooner?)

I've learned the Mavis Staples may be one of the best voiceover artists I've ever heard.  I want to hire her to record ALL announcements for mvyradio.  Or read me bedtime stories.

And I learned, much to my shock and delight, that Bonnie Raitt listens to the station!

Barbara got to interview Bonnie by phone, and, unsolicited, while answering a question about how she finds songs to cover, Raitt says that independent radio, including MVY, plays a big role in helping her select songs.  She even called us one of her favorite radio stations, and says she streams it at home on the West Coast, and while on the road.

!!!!!!

To hear Bonnie and other artists talk about mvyradio and why people should support it, hit play on the Youtube video on our main page today.  And for the full Bonnie Raitt interview, catch it when we air it at noon today, or find it in the archives after that.


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JD McPherson "Fire Bug"

One of the things I wonder as I look over the Top 25 of 2012 list, makes me feel a little guilty for casting aspersions.

But I look at some folk's lists and think, "Okay, did you really listen to this album?"

And I say this because I know for certain that there are some folks who have not listened.  How do I know?  Because occasionally, we get votes for albums that aren't even out yet!  The folks are voting for the singles (which are out), but they most definitely haven't listened to the album.

So I take it a step further and assume that many of the votes we get are based on the voter liking the single, but the voter has never listened to the album.

Album listening is increasingly rare, in this digital, singles-driven world.

Hell, I don't always get around to checking out full length albums.

Looking at the voting list, the number of full length albums that I've listened to more than 5 times?  It's pretty short.  I really have to like a full record these days, to give it multiple plays, what with so many records competing for attention.

"Signs And Signifiers" was definitely one of those records.  So I'm glad it made the list.

JD McPherson is #15 on mvyradio's Top 25 of 2012.  Check out the full list (so far)!


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