"Death Or Glory: Election Year Edition" & Some Thoughts from a Grizzled but Grateful WBNY 91.3 FM Alumnus

    

Your humble host, "Death or Glory" 2015
Photo by Val Dunne/Barkloud Productions

I was again fortunate to take part in the WBNY 91.3 FM Alumni Weekend April 15-17 with my annual “Death or Glory” show; this time “Death or Glory: Election Year Edition,” from the always friendly studios on the Buffalo State College on Elmwood Avenue here on Buffalo’s West Side.

 

     For the past several years, station alumni wishing to take part offer shift bids, with the amounts they bid going to the WBNY Alumni Association to assist the station. I was once again able to get a prime slot, 6-9 PM Saturday, April 16; I have been able to acquire this timeslot for 3 of the past 4 years. I am fortunate because one of the WBNY shows I still listen to religiously, “What You Need” by Robin Connell, runs from 4-7 PM Saturdays, and since we share many musical tastes and dryness of verbal approach, we might share some audience.

Here is my “Death or Glory: Election Year Edition” play list:

 

     6 PM – “Death or Glory,” The Clash; “Heart of the City,” Nick Lowe; “Buena,” Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns; ”God Save the Queen,” the Sex Pistols; “Gloria,” Patti Smith; “Love Comes in Spurts,” Richard Hell and the Voidoids; “See No Evil,” Television; “Little Bit More,” Rosie Flores; “Done Gone Blue,” Los Lobos; “Jack of Diamonds,” the Tarbox Ramblers; “2 AM Tragedy,” Scott Carpenter and the Real McCoys; “Reincarnation,” Nullstadt; “JJ,” Oui73.

     7 PM – “Ether,” Gang of Four; “You Burn Me Up (I’m a Cigarette),” Robert Fripp (with Darryl Hall on vocals); “Poptones,” Public Image Limited; “Soul Love,” David Bowie; “Do the Strand,” Roxy Music; “Intruder,” Peter Gabriel; “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” the Stooges; “Roadrunner,” the Modern Lovers; “Heart Attack and Vine,” Tom Waits; “Baby Doe Rules,” Decay of Western Civilization; “You Make Me Want to Love You,” Pegasonics; “When You Find Out,” the Nerves.

     8 PM – “Showroom Dummies,” Kraftwerk; “From the Air,” Laurie Anderson; “Sex Bomb,” Flipper; “Vol au Vent,” Chris Knox; “12XU,” Wire; “Gigantic,” the Pixies; “Down in the Park,” Gary Numan; “Why,” Steve Wynn; “Order,” the Fems; “Boxcars,” Joe Ely; “Up the Neck,” the Pretenders; “Turn on the News.” Husker Du.

     Some people may wonder why, 32 years after my first DJ shift at WBNY, I (and others) am still so excited and moved by being able to play music mainly from my time at the station and the decade or so after it. It shouldn’t be surprising that music has meant and still means so much to me.

    Yes, I was one of those virtual clichéd kids born in 1960 who got to listen to the Beatles, Supremes, Kinks, Who, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin and much more music on first AM radio, including sneaking my old boxlike transistor radio under the covers with me until I fell asleep. Then, the 1970s turned into FM, longer, more complicated and darker songs and then, at least for me, the liberation of punk, new wave and affiliated music, groups, radio stations and publications. Along with this liberation, I felt a responsibility to spread the word on this and other styles of music, something I have now done in print, online, etc., for more than 35 years.

     But while I immensely enjoy and cherish the opportunity to comment on music, spark discussions and hopefully open people up to new, “good/great” and often challenging music, there is a certain creativity to being a DJ, whether live or prerecorded on the radio, programming icloud or web casts, parties, dance clubs, etc. Yes, creativity; a good DJ knows and works on creating anything from moods and patterns to emotions, sounds and human experience. It is so many things, from what music you play, how you present and describe the music, not only what artists but what specific songs you play by the artists, how you group songs together, what artists you play and play together, and many other situations. I am an amateur college DJ who fortunately had some very good training and mentors, an educated audience and a love and thirst for knowledge of music.

     A DJ can spend hours preparing for their shows or performances, and make their show sound either prepared in a good way or bad way, or effortless, or even make a lack of planning sound part of the entire experience. My once-a-year WBNY Alumni Weekend shows normally sounds pretty frantic, fresh, and at first ragged, until, as my lovely wife Val Dunne not only points out but convinces me to do, I calm down and get into a rhythm. Of course, this all takes place over three hours, so it feels breathtaking in good and bad ways and a bit frightening.

     But I wouldn’t have it any other way; I absolutely love to present the music I grew up and became an adult with, music that changed my life for the better and still serves as a release, joy and catalyst. I hope over the years I have been able to present some of this excitement, great music and sense of life to my listeners, and I look forward to next year’s WBNY Alumni Weekend and thank the staff of WBNY, WBNY Alumni Association President Andrew Kat, the other alumni who participated and everyone else who took part.