Frank Gutch Jr: Before Radio Was Radio, It Was Television, Part Two… Plus Notes

If I hadn’t known rock radio was cool before I saw Gentleman Jim Hunter, drivetime disc jockey for KRKT Radio in Albany Oregon, lean out and wave to the crowd which had gathered beneath the huge T&R sign, I would have known it then.  The sign was HUGE, the main section trucked in on a double-flatbed , and was the talk of the Willamette Valley as it was erected right next to Interstate 5, then a fairly new project itself.

Doug Thompson: “(WE’RE GONNA) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK” AGAIN

This column is the first of what hopefully, will become more of a regular one on DBAWIS by yours truly.  My intention (and we all know what happens to intentions, especially good ones) is to take a closer look at some of the hit records and hit makers from the rock era using some of my interview archives.

JAIMIE VERNON – WHERE HAVE ALL THE SOUNDTRACKS GONE

By the time you read this, the latest Tween wallet milking franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Syphillis, will have opened in Octoogleplexes the world over to record breaking box office glory for a second time. Not since someone glued a lightning bolt to Radcliffe’s forehead or sparkles to Pattinson’s nipples has there been such a nauseating ballyhoo from teenaged girls and creepy middle-aged women. Every aspect of the movie has been gleaned, dissected and analyzed by the fodder feeding media including the outrage by fans of the books that inspired the franchise who were shocked to find out that the black characters were portrayed on screen by…black actors!

Cameron Carpenter: The ABC’s Of Rock’n’Roll – The Soundtrack Of Our Lives

No, not the great Swedish band but actual soundtracks. We all have our own individual soundtracks for our lives but what of those that were made for stage and screen? The world has changed since the days of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Webber and Rice and what constitutes a soundtrack for today’s generation is a long way away from “Oklahoma!” or “West Side Story”. For every horrible cash-grab “Glee” volume there is a Trent Reznor-Atticus Ross collaboration on the score for “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” or “The Social Network” to balance the equation. Of course both of those were ‘scores’ which is a somewhat different kettle of fish.