Klarinet Archive - Posting 000942.txt from 2002/11

From: "mlmarmer" <mlmarmer@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Music for Dogs
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 18:08:43 -0500

Since most of you don't know these "terrible" announcers at WGMS, Dennis
Owens, who is retiring tomorrow, after 36 years on WGMS, was nominated for a
Marconi Award this year, for one of four finalists in the category of "Best
Morning Host". In speaking to Dennis he knew he wouldn't win, because he is
a classical music announcer and he lost to a guy named "Big Boy", which I
can image what Stern like material he is doing on the air.

Might be a show worth listening to, so you can judge for yourself.
www.wgms.com 5:30a.m. to 10 a.m., EST.

So how about your take on James Bartel, who is taking over for Dennis?

Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: <LeliaLoban@-----.com>
Subject: [kl] Music for Dogs

> Jim Fay wrote,
> >Had a weekend WGMS announcer last year in my
> >Community College Music History class (forget his
> >name, he does sat evenings).
> >
> >He said the Program Director picks all the music,
> >announcers have little say, and that they won't carry
> >Peter Schikele's show because it doesn't suit the "mood"
> >of WGMS!
>
> The suits making these decisions must have boogers for brains. One piece
of
> good news: Two Washington area stations do carry PRI's "Schickele Mix."
> It's on Saturday mornings at 11:00 a.m. on Washington D. C.'s WETA FM,
90.9
> and also on Hagerstown, Maryland's WETH FM 89.1.
>
> Someone asked about Schickele's program content: eclectic, "dedicated to
the
> proposition that all musics are created equal." His other motto is my
> favorite quotation from Duke Ellington, "If it sounds good, it is good."
> There's some humor (sometimes a bit too self-consciously, deliberately
lame
> and corny for my taste) on the program and Schickele sometimes tosses in
an
> example from the ouvre of P. D. Q. Bach, but mostly he makes interesting
> connections between different kinds of music. For instance, he aired one
> episode devoted to music in 5/4 time. He'll put an example from Beethoven
> right next to an example from Bang On A Can if he damn well feels like it.
I
> think it's a brilliant program, one of the best things on the radio.
>
> A couple of years ago, WETA cancelled "Schickele Mix" -- a bizarre
decision,
> considering that he's *local*. He lives in Arlington, Virginia and tapes
the
> broadcast out of his home. I've never met him, but from everything I've
> heard, he's well-liked and well-respected by many people around here who
do
> know him personally -- and the local musical community took it personally
> when WETA cancelled his weekly broadcast. The station earned enemies and
> lost supporters with that move. Fortunately, when Schickele's fans quit
> acting like meek little puppies and made like pit bulls, WETA realized it
was
> getting badly bitten and reinstated the program before the next
beg-a-thon.
>
> Speaking of classical WGMS 103.5 (also allegedly non-commerical, although
the
> messages from "supporters" that just happen to be businesses have been
> allowed to grow to such a length that pretending they're not commercials
is
> nothing but a lie so transparent it makes these stations look bad, IMHO),
> that station, in addition to not broadcasting Peter Schickele, does
broadcast
> another of my least-favorite announcers, Dennis Owens. Though his timbre
is
> a well- trained baritone, he's got a weird, melodramatic, Old Time Radio
> delivery. That oily unctuousness makes him sound like one of those
> over-the-top "Ghost Hosts" for cheesy old horror movies on late-night TV.
I
> love cheesy old horror movies, but I can't stand to listen to Owens on a
> classical station at 9:00 a.m.. Too bad, because he's knowledgable and
the
> programming on his broadcast pleases me far better than most of the
playlists
> on that station (less of the Top Forty, with more variety; his programming
> reminds me of Judy Gruber's). But then, I've pretty much given up on
WGMS.
>
> Bark bark bark bark bark!
>
> Lelia
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

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