Bruce Springsteen "Death To My Hometown"

A few notes from the front lines . . .

So Tuesday we announced that mvyradio had 60 days to raise $600,000.  The 92.7 signal would be sold, but we could continue on, online.

Sometime not long after the campaign began, my friend Scott texted me to say "So much subtext in the songs you've been playing lately."  It wasn't intentional.  We (for the most part) weren't picking songs that illustrated our plight.

But how quickly do songs that you've heard a thousand times, take on a new meaning when you hear them in a new context.  "It's The End Of The World As We Know It," "Sitting In Limbo" and "One Breath At A Time" suddenly all seem to refer to our situation.

Every day in the 2pm hour, I've been playing a deeper track off one of the Top 25 of 2012 contending albums.  Yesterday, I played "Death To My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen.  I had a reporter ask me about the track.  I think he was wondering if I'd played it for a reason . . .


As I mentioned on Monday, it's pretty weird to be an interviewee.  But that's what the situation calls for, so I've been talking to reporters from the MV Times, The MV Gazette, The Cape Cod Times and other publications.  I realized that even more awkward than answering questions about "How do you feel?"  (answer:  It's complicated), is having your picture taken.

What is the right pose to reflect the mood?  You don't want to smile, because if it's next to the headline "WMVY Goes Off Air" and you're smiling, you look like a tool.

But you don't want to look overly-serious, because it can come off like "ALL IS LOST."

And if someone, with a lens pointed in your direction says, "Act Natural!" then there is suddenly a zero-percent chance that anything you will do for the next five minutes will mimic how real humans move.


Awkward photo shoots aside, I have to say some nice things about local media.

Traditionally, radio and newspapers in places around the country have all competed with each other, often in a less than friendly way.  (There is an old story about a radio station getting a delivery of free donuts---two hours later, pictures of those donuts, being worn earlier that day by otherwise naked male members of a competing station, were delivered.  It was enough to make me consider not going into broadcasting)

But I have to give credit to the local media, for being extremely kind and respectful to each other, and each others' audience.

WBUR was kind enough to do a news story about mvyradio's Pledge campaign, so that Boston folks could hear about what's going on.  And WCAI (who is in direct competition with WBUR) had Nelson Siegelman of the MV Times on their morning news broadcast.  He did a really great job of reflecting the feelings of mvy listeners who are upset with this news, and went further, to extend sympathies to the folks who work at mvy who could potentially lose their jobs.

It speaks very well of this community that the default position, even in a competitive marketplace, is kindness and compassion.


Finally, just because a couple folks asked, yes, when I wrote last week's post about my last day on the air at WABN, I did already know what was going on behind the scenes at mvyradio.  And I knew I might be reliving that "last day" kind of scenario.

After writing it, I wondered how on-the-nose my bitterness about the loss of that station was, in connection to mvyradio.  I got an email from my old roommate, who was part of the WABN family, who said reading the mvyradio site gave him "the chills" with its decidedly familiar feeling.

Let's hope another community doesn't have to go through what Abingdon, Virginia did . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bruce Springsteen "Rocky Ground"

Sometimes a record label will pick a single off the album and we'll say to ourselves, "Why did they pick that one?"

That was my first thought when I heard that the second single off Bruce Springsteen's album would be "Rocky Ground."

Honestly, it wasn't my 3rd or even 4th favorite off the record.

But, after thinking about it, I do get why they chose it as a single.  On some level, it's a smart choice.

The initial instinct when picking a single can be to pick the song that best represents the artist.  But if you pick the Springsteen-iest Springsteen song every single time, a) the new song invites unwelcome comparisons to previous singles, and b) you create the perception of the artist as a parody of himself.

So why not chose a song that has some pop crossover potential, and really has no antecedent in the Springsteen catalog.

There are more than a few atypical things about it for a Springsteen song, including the fact that it starts with a woman's voice, it has audio samples (of a preacher, preaching), and it has a rap/spoken breakdown, again delivered by a non-E-Street member.

Kudos to the label for trying something different.

But I didn't love it, and when I started considering it for airplay on mvy, my thought was "Maybe we'll pick something that's not the single.  What are my favorite songs on the record?"

The two standout tracks, for me, are "Wrecking Ball" and "Land Of Hope And Dreams."

Immediately, I could see why the label didn't necessarily go for these.  Both tunes are long for radio singles, at nearly 6 minutes and nearly 7 minutes, respectively.  And both, particularly "Land" are Springsteen at his Springsteen-iest.

It's probably no coincidence that these two tracks, my favorite two, just happen to be the two songs on the album that have Clarence Clemons playing saxophone.

So what do you think?  Give all three a listen.  Which one is the mvy-iest, do you think?



Hear "Rocky Ground" on Youtube.


Hear "Wrecking Ball" on Youtube.


Hear "Land Of Home And Dreams" on Youtube.

Dawes "A Little Bit Of Everything"

Over the weekend, I went out to dinner with my wife and two other couples.

These folks are new-ish in my life---the friends you make when your kids go to (pre)school.

One of the husbands is a builder. We talked a lot about the zero-carbon-footprint eco-Home that he is working on. Fascinating, world-bettering stuff.

The other husband is a scientist. He is literally working on a cure for cancer, via marine biology. Fascinating, world-bettering stuff.

I love being a DJ. But it doesn't necessarily feel like I'm bettering the world.

The same day, I got this letter from Brooks, who's an avid mvyradio listener.

It's nowhere near as important as saving lives or saving the earth, but it feels great to be able to share something that touches hearts and souls.

-------------------------

Hi, PJ.

Quick MVY story for you:

Walked back into my office on Monday and a song I had never heard was playing on MVY. “Is that Jackson Browne?” I wondered, but quickly realized it wasn’t. I was drawn into the lyrics immediately, checked your website for the “Now Playing” feature, and will now always remember where I was the first time I heard A Little Bit of Everything and Dawes.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. Was leaving on a long trip to Maine with 9th grade son the next day and figured I’d buy some new music for the drive. Obvious choice was Wrecking Ball- perfect chance to digest new Bruce. Fact is, I didn’t really feel any urgency about it- I know I’ll get to it eventually. What was exciting was taking in a band I heard for the first time the other day and all signs (90 second itunes clips, you tube video, MVY endorsement) pointed up. So downloaded Nothing is Wrong and keeps getting better with every listen. Some incredible writing- A Little Bit of Everything is powerful and that level is consistent through much of the album.

So just wanted to thank you and MVY for one of the most important things you do- introducing us to artists and their music.

Brooks

mvyradio is playing "Nothing Is Wrong" in its entirety tonight, as our Album Of The Week.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bruce Springsteen "Jack Of All Trades"

My two year old son is a shockingly opinionated music listener. Though he only knows about 20 words at this point, if he hears a song he likes, he will smile and bob his head (he's got rhythm, unlike his Dad). And if he doesn't like the song, he's been known to stick his fingers in his ears.

In the spirit of Bil Keane, turning over his comic to Billy, here now is my 2 year old son's partial review on the new Bruce Springsteen album "Wrecking Ball," which we listened to on Saturday morning.

"We Take Care Of Our Own"
He liked this one, smiling and nodding throughout. And when it was over, he shouted "Again!" (But he only shouted it once. When he really likes something, like The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy," he'll actually scream if you don't play it again)


"Jack Of All Trades"
We got about one minute into the first slow track on the record, before he shouted "Noooo!" several times, until I skipped the song. When I did, he smiled.


"Wrecking Ball"
The Irish beat inspired him to run off to his bedroom and get his drum so he could bang away. However, once he got in his room, he got lost in his own beat (and his toys) and lost interest in Bruce.


And thus ends my 2 year old son's first music review.

Bruce Springsteen "We Take Care Of Our Own"

After a couple of quiet months, with barely any new music coming in, this week started a flood of new CDs and tracks. But one caught me off guard.

I got a notification in my email, early Thursday:

"Bruce Springsteen - "We Take Care Of Our Own" Music Delivery"

I knew he had an album on the way, but somehow I missed that the new single was coming in this week.

I downloaded it immediately, and played it 3 times over.

It's fun to discover a song. It's anthem-ic, but what's he getting at? At first it seems like a "Yay! America!" song, but what's with the reference to The Superdome? Is this a Katrina thing?

I'm sure after repeated listens, I'll figure it out what it's about (don't tell me!). But as I was digging into those first few listens, I was struck by how much joy I still get from that initial first blush.

After 20 years in broadcasting, I could be numb to it all. But I'm not. Watching a song unfold before me made me look forward to this long year full of new discoveries ahead.


Hear the song on Youtube.