Phenomenal writing as always. Perfectly captures what XRT means to so many and what I fear, may mean for it's future. All hail The Last DJ, My Best Friend in the Whole World. I always would take a moment when he would intone, "It's Great to Be Alive!" It still is and will always be, Lin, as all who have heard you will carry your memory with them!
I went to Valparaiso University in beautiful NW Indiana-and XRT was the jam of choice! Went into the city on a regular basis and saw acts like Tom Waits several times.
"Part of the magic of terrestrial radio is that you are in this finite square of space and time, and you are experiencing something with other people you will never meet who are also in that same finite square, and you are all grooving or tapping together."
Beautiful writing here, Matt!
I can't think of a better (or more eloquent) way to sum up the wonder that is terrestrial radio. I didn't grow up out here, but a lot of people on my TL did, and there have been no shortage of eulogies for Brehmer. A good reminder of how radio-and the DJs- touch our lives in ways we might never think about.
Great article, Matt! On so many angles, too, including Elvis and the song! I don't think any artist has sung about (or has earned the right to address) radio as much as EC. Sorry, of course, to hear about Brehmer (although I'd never heard him work).
I certainly appreciate your scathing, but dead-on accurate analysis of radio thru the decades! Well-articulated, and it's clear your passion for the medium (and sorrow for its demise) is, in part, fueled by your dedication to Brehmer, and all that he inspired.
Your paragraph ending with "you were connected" is a favorite, as you perfectly capture why I loved the communal ritual of pop radio from back in the day. When being driven in Mom's car in '65 at age 10, and falling in love with my first hearing of "Ticket to Ride" or "Paperback Writer" on Houston's KILT-AM, while I wasn't aware of it at the time, I know now, that I was one of many hundreds of thousands in the Bayou City being just as riveted at that precise moment! Thanks for that.
Phenomenal writing as always. Perfectly captures what XRT means to so many and what I fear, may mean for it's future. All hail The Last DJ, My Best Friend in the Whole World. I always would take a moment when he would intone, "It's Great to Be Alive!" It still is and will always be, Lin, as all who have heard you will carry your memory with them!
I went to Valparaiso University in beautiful NW Indiana-and XRT was the jam of choice! Went into the city on a regular basis and saw acts like Tom Waits several times.
"Part of the magic of terrestrial radio is that you are in this finite square of space and time, and you are experiencing something with other people you will never meet who are also in that same finite square, and you are all grooving or tapping together."
Beautiful writing here, Matt!
I can't think of a better (or more eloquent) way to sum up the wonder that is terrestrial radio. I didn't grow up out here, but a lot of people on my TL did, and there have been no shortage of eulogies for Brehmer. A good reminder of how radio-and the DJs- touch our lives in ways we might never think about.
Great article, Matt! On so many angles, too, including Elvis and the song! I don't think any artist has sung about (or has earned the right to address) radio as much as EC. Sorry, of course, to hear about Brehmer (although I'd never heard him work).
I certainly appreciate your scathing, but dead-on accurate analysis of radio thru the decades! Well-articulated, and it's clear your passion for the medium (and sorrow for its demise) is, in part, fueled by your dedication to Brehmer, and all that he inspired.
Your paragraph ending with "you were connected" is a favorite, as you perfectly capture why I loved the communal ritual of pop radio from back in the day. When being driven in Mom's car in '65 at age 10, and falling in love with my first hearing of "Ticket to Ride" or "Paperback Writer" on Houston's KILT-AM, while I wasn't aware of it at the time, I know now, that I was one of many hundreds of thousands in the Bayou City being just as riveted at that precise moment! Thanks for that.