The theme of my WBNY Alumni Weekend show this year, “Death or Glory,” went through a last-minute change due to some sad, unforeseen circumstances, and became “Death or Glory: Requiem for Friends.”
This is due to the recent deaths of three friends, all with strong
connections to Buffalo’s music community: Tom Connolly, one of the originators
of WBNY and continued supporter and air personality for years; Thelma Lee
Ballard/Bad Penny, uber-fan and nicer person than many realized, and most
recently Susan Tanner, who worked in the music industry for years, both
nationally and at Righteous Babe Records here in Buffalo, remained a strong and
knowledgeable supporter of music and was a host for bands at the home she
shared with her husband, Marty Boratin.
My original theme for this year’s edition of “Death Or Glory” was
originally planned to be “Think! It Ain’t Illegal Yet,” responding to the
political atmosphere of stupidity, deception/outright lying and savage
right-wing ideology being applied by the current president and his political
allies. It was to be a broadcast call to arms on how artists of all walks are
part of what could be called the best of the resistance. Even if you are not a
lefty, opposing political dishonesty, mean spiritedness, anti-intellectualism
and corruption through arts and other acts should appeal to all who believe
freedom of expression is a precious and powerful freedom.
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| Your author/radio host, kvetching. Photo by Val Dunne Photography |
But with the deaths of the three friends mentioned above and so many
other musicians and artists, I believed that my overactive, weary mind needed
to take a look at how music and its addressing and illustrating of death, loss,
the end of relationships and circumstances affected me and no doubt others.
There is an amazing amount of great music that addresses these and other
related issues, some quite directly and some more implied or indirect, and I
was only able to scratch the surface in the three hours of music and talk that
I had. But I cut down a bit on the talking and got to a lot of music, and I hope
the playlist below shows some sort of understanding of the issue and provides a
bit of solace and understanding to people going directly through death of
relatives, friends, etc., and its effects.
I have written articles/appreciation of Tom Connolly and Penny/Thelma
Lee upon their deaths, and I am working on an article about Susan Tanner, but
her death seems to have floored me more than the others. I will publish such an
article soon, but one longer than normal mic I took during my WBNY Alumni weekend
show involved Susan. I played “Hello Birmingham” by Ani DiFranco in Susan’s
memory. While Susan worked for Ani and Righteous Babe for years, the real
reason I played the song for her was because Susan had been a longtime patient
of Planned Parenthood, and it was the talented medical staff there that
diagnosed Susan’s inflammatory breast cancer and helped her live for so many
years after the diagnosis. “Hello Birmingham” was a spare, aching tome to
Birmingham, Alabama, which in the late 1990s underwent the bombing of medical
clinics that performed OB/GYN services, including abortions. Buffalo had
sustained the vile, intimidating, freedom violating abortion protests of the
Spring of Life, and then Dr. Barnett Slepian’s murder/assassination in 1998.
Susan strongly defended Planned Parenthood not only for the life-lengthening
medical care she received from it, but for the thousands, if not millions, of
people who received primary and other medical care there, including the small
number of abortions performed. She defended and praised their work, and while
Susan did this willingly, forcefully and honestly, she and others should not
have had to defend Planned Parenthood from unwarranted attacks for so long. As
the son of a 20-year breast and lymph node cancer survivor, friend and admirer
of Susan and hopeful defender of reproductive and health care rights, I took
the liberty to defend them through this song and story about Susan and to
attack those vile, ignorant and/or awful people attacking these rights.
This is my playlist, by the hour, from ”Death or Glory: Requiem for
Friends:”
6-7 PM – “Death or Glory,” the Clash; “Black Cadillac,” Rosanne Cash;
“Long Black Veil,” Johnny Cash; “Come into the House of the Lord,” Marty Stuart
and His Fabulous Superlatives; “Killin’ Time in Texas,” Gurf Morlix; “Gloria,”
Patti Smith Group; “Marquee Moon,” Television; “Heaven,” Talking Heads;
“Innocent When You Dream,” Tom Waits; “Wall of Death,” Richard and Linda
Thompson.
7-8 PM – “The Suit,” Public Image Limited; “This Is It,” the Jumpers;
“While the City Sleeps,” the Ramrods; “Last Regrets,” Mark Norris and the
Backpeddlers; “Wintertime,” Scary Chicken; “Hello Birmingham,” Ani DiFranco;”
“Broken English,” Marianne Faithful; “From the Air,” Laurie Anderson; “It’s No
Game,” David Bowie; “Heroes,” David Bowie.
8-9 PM – “Showroom Dummies,” Kraftwerk; “Symphony No. 6, 2nd
Movement,” Glenn Branca; “The Black Angel’s Death Song (Live),” Velvet
Underground; “Little Angel, Little Brother,” Lucinda Williams; “Cold Cold
Ground,” Tom Waits; “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” Hank Williams; “Reload,”
Tension; “Ghost Bitch,” Sonic Youth; “Love Comes in Spurts,” Richard Hell and
the Voidoids; “Walking Out on Love,” the Beat; “Rockaway Beach,” the Ramones;
“Turn on the News,” Husker Du; “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory,”
Johnny Thunders.
