Saturday Night
I'm always pissed that I have to work on Saturday nights. Every Saturday night I tell myself "Fuck it. I'm not doing shit tonight. It's my Friday. Fuck these people. "
And then KALW comes to my rescue. 91.7 on your FM dial if you live in San Francisco. How could I put up with Saturday nights without it?
After listening to KPOO (89.5 on your FM dial) for reggae, promptly at 6:30 pm comes Bluegrass Signals on KALW. I get to hear all that shitkickin' country music (not the modern stuff-I think Travis Tritt should be castrated), but the old timey Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Rose Maddox, Flatt and Scruggs, and a whole bunch of fiddling, mandolining, geetar and banjo pickin' whitey music. Gettin' in touch with my inner redneck.
My dad used to listen to the same stuff, and I remember pitying him for his low brow, white working class, terribly unhip tastes. I, on the other hand, listened to college educated folkies who were socially conscious, against racism and war, and who, now that I look back on them, seem like a bunch of pretentious assholes.
There's nothing like barreling down 280 on the way to the Woods or Green division to pick up datapacks and listening to Rose Maddox belting out "If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time."
At 8 pm, the mood shifts. Dore Stein has a program called Tangents, which runs until midnight. It's good American stuff, and good international stuff, and it all comes from Dore Stein's eclectic tastes. You can hear throat singers from central Asia, Bosnian sufis, klezmer, gospel rock, koranic chanting, and stuff that you have never heard before, and probably wouldn't hear, if this program didn't exist.
After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the first two hours of the show were entirely devoted to New Orleans music. Another Saturday, when a charity devoted to the plight of the Roma people (also known as Gypsies) was about to have a benefit in San Francisco's Slavonic Hall, Stein played nothing but Gypsy music from all around the world. From Flemenco to Ottoman to Romanian, to just about everywhere, it was a show not to be missed.
At 11 pm, Stein plays a "mystery artist" and you, the listener, are invited to call in and try to guess the name of the artist, or the country that the artist is from. If you make a correct guess, you can get tickets for any concert that you want, provided that the show is not sold out, or the show is not a benefit. I never win, but I always try. You can only call in three times, (KALW has caller ID) and I've never won yet, but I keep trying.
The BBC news comes in at midnight, but thankfully, that is when my shift is ending, so I don't have to bear it. There is no question that KALW makes my Saturdays go by very nicely.
You should listen in on a Saturday night (you can listen on the web) and if you are so inclined, send a donation. KALW is listener supported.
And then KALW comes to my rescue. 91.7 on your FM dial if you live in San Francisco. How could I put up with Saturday nights without it?
After listening to KPOO (89.5 on your FM dial) for reggae, promptly at 6:30 pm comes Bluegrass Signals on KALW. I get to hear all that shitkickin' country music (not the modern stuff-I think Travis Tritt should be castrated), but the old timey Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Rose Maddox, Flatt and Scruggs, and a whole bunch of fiddling, mandolining, geetar and banjo pickin' whitey music. Gettin' in touch with my inner redneck.
My dad used to listen to the same stuff, and I remember pitying him for his low brow, white working class, terribly unhip tastes. I, on the other hand, listened to college educated folkies who were socially conscious, against racism and war, and who, now that I look back on them, seem like a bunch of pretentious assholes.
There's nothing like barreling down 280 on the way to the Woods or Green division to pick up datapacks and listening to Rose Maddox belting out "If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time."
At 8 pm, the mood shifts. Dore Stein has a program called Tangents, which runs until midnight. It's good American stuff, and good international stuff, and it all comes from Dore Stein's eclectic tastes. You can hear throat singers from central Asia, Bosnian sufis, klezmer, gospel rock, koranic chanting, and stuff that you have never heard before, and probably wouldn't hear, if this program didn't exist.
After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the first two hours of the show were entirely devoted to New Orleans music. Another Saturday, when a charity devoted to the plight of the Roma people (also known as Gypsies) was about to have a benefit in San Francisco's Slavonic Hall, Stein played nothing but Gypsy music from all around the world. From Flemenco to Ottoman to Romanian, to just about everywhere, it was a show not to be missed.
At 11 pm, Stein plays a "mystery artist" and you, the listener, are invited to call in and try to guess the name of the artist, or the country that the artist is from. If you make a correct guess, you can get tickets for any concert that you want, provided that the show is not sold out, or the show is not a benefit. I never win, but I always try. You can only call in three times, (KALW has caller ID) and I've never won yet, but I keep trying.
The BBC news comes in at midnight, but thankfully, that is when my shift is ending, so I don't have to bear it. There is no question that KALW makes my Saturdays go by very nicely.
You should listen in on a Saturday night (you can listen on the web) and if you are so inclined, send a donation. KALW is listener supported.
posted by hans at 3:05 AM
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