21
Feel Good Friday With Extra Feel Good
Posted by newscoma | Posted in Tennessee | Posted on 21-05-2009
SQ and I were disc jockeys back in the day. We saw Ward Cammack today and I will get to why some of the things he said made us think of when we were back in the days of radio later.
We will do that portion of the show at a date to be determined (probably tomorrow). Now, let’s talk tunes.
So, we met him and then we went to a place that had a juke box that would have made your shoes catch fire as we haven’t seen each other very much lately and it was time to catch up.
Dirk Diggler and I talked about older country music recently which deserves it’s own post because it was one of those cool conversations where we recognized that we really dug some old country music. I told this to SQ which got us started and then the jukebox began to play with some Dylan.
Dang. It was sweet. That jukebox was popping and it was like making love in the rain while a symphony is playing Moonlight Sonata down the street for your own personal background music. (In my fantasy, there is also champagne.)
Now, SQ and I had to play some stuff that some of my younger readers might think was plum bad. And, believe me, some of it was, but there were gems when we worked in country radio before satellite. We spun vinyl and it was cool. I sort of miss it.
We were talking about the best lines ever in music. We agreed that “I shot a man in Reno … Just to watch him die” pretty much wins as Johnny Cash is the best and that line just rules. Then we moved on.
I liked Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman’s verse of ” And I need you more than want you.
And I want you for all time” which is rather simple but really is so simple that it is just exquisite. That song, written by Jimmy Webb is really wonderful. I don’t know why I like it, but I do. (There are other great lyrics out there, but this pertained to our radio days.) This song was so much about longing that it’s simplicity just added to the overall theme.
Sigh.
And don’t even get me started on Roger Miller, because if you say a bad word, I will cut you.
Anyway, we discussed songs we hated and artists that made us stabby that had one or two songs that we liked when we banged it out on the turntable.
And we realized that we liked a lot of stuff we played.
She and I agreed that although we aren’t huge George Jones fans, there were a few songs out there where he hit it out of the ballpark. “White Lightening”, “The Race is On”, and “One Woman Man” just are pretty much incredible. We also talked of how, when we started out that “Swingin’” by John Anderson was just about our most hated song ever.
You play it five times a shift and you would feel the same way.
But, he had a few songs I kinda liked. And there was this one that I still think is just plum spiffy.
Written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, I liked playing this song. It’s haunting and cool. (Knopfler’s version with the Notting Hillbillies is also cool but we are talking old-school radio here so bear with me.)
John Anderson’s version is good. I know, but still, he brought it.
So, there are gems everywhere.
Now, to get my street creed back, go listen to some Beasties and Elvis Costello.
Yeah, we had them back when dinosaurs played poker, smoked cigarettes and ate asbestos for dinner.
Now, you have George Jones, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, John Anderson, Mark Knopfler, Elvis Costello, Ward Cammack, The Beastie Boys and two older yet smashing disc jockeys all in one post.
You can thank me later
