Early Radio Archives In Need of Repair

Pacific Pioneer Broadcasting has been an organization that has been interested in the preservation of old time radio memorabilia, recording, and archives.

PPB's memorabilia includes rare letters and scrapbooks, a private Orson Welles collection, rare recorders and microphones, master recordings of such shows as Gunsmoke and Lum and Abner and an extensive Los Angeles radio station KFI-AM history spanning nearly 40 years.

These treasures have been store in the Washington Mutual building at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood for many years. The significance of this location is that it used to be the original location of NBC Radio.

In December 2004 an underground transformer exploded and it is believed cancer-causing PCB's covered and damaged the extensive collection. Restoration of the collection is estimated to be as high as $750,000.

The Thousand Oaks Library plans to build a $35 million American Radio Archives with the PPB collection as a centerpiece. It is non profit and accepts donations.

If you are a fan of early radio and want to help with the restoration effort, checks specifying "PPB Archives" can be sent to the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, 1401 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362. Atten: Steve Brogden, library director.

For more information on PPB, go to pacificpioneerbroadcasters.org

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On...Again

You just knew that I wasn't going to let the day go by without mentioning the earthquake a few miles from my home. If you read this on a regular basis then you know I live in Southern California about 10 miles south of the epicenter of the quake yesterday.

Here's the thing I don't understand about the earthquake television coverage. The epicenter was in the city of Chino Hills. When I tune on the TV to get the latest...they are talking to people in San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Northridge...uh, how about the epicenter? How are the folks in Chino Hills and Chino doing?

Then they kept showing over and over again this building that was reduced to rubble. Again not near the epicenter. Which wasn't retrofitted. It was abandoned. It should have been demolished to begin with. If you were just tuning in for the first time you would have thought they were showing something from downtown Beirut.

Good to see Kent Shocknick back on the horse. If you were living here during the Northridge quake, this was the guy that freaked out while he was on air and dove underneath his desk while his two colleagues stayed in there seat. It made blooper shows for years after. But there he was yesterday, his butt firmly planted to his seat and even while there were aftershocks, he stayed there to his credit.

Here's a note to local DJ's...spare us the quake songs....You know, "I feel the Earth Move," "Whole lot of Shakin' Goin' On"....well you get the idea...last thing our rattled nerves need is a reminder of what happened. And stop interviewing people that were having sex during the quake. "Uh, me and my boyfriend were doin' the nasty in the jacuzzi when it happened and our neighbor poked his head over the fence to see if everything was ok..." TMI baby...TMI

And one more media request. When you realize for the most part everybody is safe and sound and it's just another day at the office for Southern Californians...return to your regular programming...important stuff like All My Children.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Love, Sex, Rock & Roll and Obama

Op-Ed By Allen Bacon, The Daily Bosco

Ok, so I'm perusing the latest edition of Rolling Stone Magazine and the first thing I notice is the sexy, young Senator Barack Obama on the front cover looking very GQ in a suit I definitely gotta get.

Think of the covers of Rolling Stone over the years. There's Yoko Ono and John Lennon on the cover in bed with John in the fetal position. There's John with a cigarette in army fatigues. There's Motley Crue. There's a few covers with Bruce Springsteen. There's a few covers with Madonna on it. In other words, if you are hip and cool in the eyes of Jann Wenner, Annie Liebowitz and company you get to be on the cover. "Gonna see my picture on the cuv-uh....gonna buy five copies for my mutha"

The thing is... I want to believe a lot of young people still read this publication and put stock in it. It's a very powerful lobby. When Jann Wenner writes a huge op-ed piece gushing over Barack and giving him rock star status and throws his mug on the cover, you know a lot of young people and people who grew up with Rolling Stone are going to get out and vote for Barack because he's cool. Barack may be rhetorically speaking, the best public speaker to ever run for President. He talks the talk of change and we want things to change so badly...but he has to start providing some ideas with substance.

I think Wenner and friends need to let the political process run it's course for a couple of months before endorsing anybody. I also think maybe he should bring up the fact to his young readers who never have voted before that we've had some rather charismatic people running for President who caught the public's eye and imagination for a while. Remember Gary Hart? Remember Jesse Jackson? They sound good...but they didn't quite deliver. Even one of the guys who actually got in...John Kennedy...great public speaker, very charismatic...but a great President? Not so fast.

I found it quite ironic that in the same issue that the Stone was glorifying a Woodstock-like concert. It sounded like a great concert but it talked about people on all types of drugs, rolling around in the mud, taking communal showers in sinks. Topless women. I guess you had to be there. This is like 1968 all over again. And Barack Obama is the new Bobby Kennedy. Or Jann Wenner wants it to be 1968 all over again...when Rolling Stone was actually a good and cutting edge magazine.

And while we are on the subject. Caught the Bruce Springsteen re-broadcast on 60 Minutes last night. I don't know about you, but I'm getting really tired of Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, John Mellenkamp, and other performers taking musical and verbal potshots at the current administration. We already know that it has to change. And that's why we are voting. But guys and gals if you really had any balls you would actually run for political office instead of hiding behind your music and guitars. Al Franken, for all his flaws, actually had the guts to do that.

Oh, it's going to be an interesting rest of the summer and early fall.

Is the Sirius/XM Merger A Good Thing?

Stations like Oprah Winfrey's Oprah Channel will now be under the Sirius Channel with the approval of the Sirius/XM Merger. But is the merger really in the consumer's interest?

By Allen Bacon
Editor
The Daily Bosco

You just knew it was going to be a matter of time. XM Sattelite Radio and Sirius are going to be merging. Federal regulators formally approved the merger of the nation's only two satellite radio operators Friday, ending a 16 month stalemate.

Sirius buyout of XM Satellite Radio will mean 18 million plus subscribers will be able to receive the programming from both services.

This is supposed to initially reduce the price for the subscription-based service and add to the programming options. I say not so fast.

What we have here is a monopoly pure and simple. Nobody in their right mind is going to go and setup shop as a new satellite radio company against this juggernaut. And what is going to keep this new entity from jacking up prices in the near future on the basic subscription rate?

Don't get me wrong...I love the services. I was on a flight a couple of weekends ago from Baltimore to Los Angeles. I didn't seem to mind the fact I had no inflight movie because I had XM Satellite radio. I am a baseball fan and having all the major league games at my disposal...live...and in the air (this is satellite radio remember) was a real cool thing.

But why does Sateliite Radio get to play under a different set of rules than the rest of the radio world? Isn't it really just another band. Like the FM band or the AM Band. Why does it have the same model as Cable Television? Shouldn't each of the stations stand alone and be able to sell advertising and just lease the satellite space from Sirius. And while we are on the subject..why doesn't internet radio get to do the same thing?

Do you know what I miss? I guess I am a little old fashioned. I miss traveling from town to town and region to region and listening to the local radio stations in that area. Or trying to pick up the skip at night and listening to AM stations from all over. First it was the mass syndication of radio programming where almost all radio stations coast to coast have the same programs. Then it's satellite radio. Where you can keep your same station on and listen litterally as you drive coast to coast. I miss the old days. It was more fun.

What's So Smart About A Smart Car?

Ok, I kind of get the attraction to the Smart Car, the little car no bigger than a golf cart. They're cute and good on gas mileage. Remember the Volkswagen Beatle?

But seriously, is it really that smart? From a safety factor, I think I have as much chance of surviving a collision if I'm riding a bicycle. From a gas saving and economical factor I don't think it's that great either. Golf carts get better gas mileage. And they're bigger too.

Unless you are a single driver with no passengers this car doesn't make sense to me. Take your average compact car like a Toyota which gets around 25 miles to a gallon in the city... put four people in it (yes, car pool) and you have a total of 100 miles per gallon. The Smart car seats two at the most and gets 33 miles to a gallon in the city. Thats only at the most 66 miles to a gallon.

Better yet take a train or bus to work and take another car off the road. Save the Smart Car for when you are trying to get from the 17th to the 18th hole.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

The Wide Wonderful World of David Byrne

By Allen Bacon
Editor
The Daily Bosco

I was getting caught up recently on one of my all time favorites David Byrne. If you think he hasn't been up to much because he hasn't released an album of new material since 2004 (his opera Grown Backwards)....you couldn't be more wrong.

That's because the world of the former Talking Heads front man transcends much more than music. It's an exploration of art in a wide variety of media.

First of all there is his latest art installation Playing the Building.

This is a sound installation in the Battery Maritime building in New York City. The infrastructure, the physcial plant of the building is turned into a giant musical instrument. Musical devises such as an old organ are hooked up to various components of the building such as the pipes, columns and rafters. The devices don't create the music...they are just a method of accessing the music from the building. The result is extremely fascinating and wonderful.

Playing the building runs until August 24 in the Battery Maritime Building 10 South Street, New York City.

Then there is David Byrne's internet radio station. Byrne has handpicked the music mainly World music and the result is wonderful. It's on a two hour loop and is accessed through his website.

For more inormation on what David Byrne's up to including another art exhibit in Spain, a discography going back to his Talking Heads days log on to www.davidbyrne.com

American League Slides By in the Fifteenth

There's No Tying In Baseball!

Last night's, er this morning's, MLB All-star game was not only the longest game inning-wise and longest time-wise it was also one of the most exciting of the mid-summer classics in recent memory. What a fitting way to send off the old Yankee Stadium as a site for the game.

When Justin Morneau lumbered home with the winning run at around 1:30 AM EST my thoughts quickly flashed back to 1971 at Riverfront Stadium when Pete Rose crashed into Ray Fosse in one of the most controversial moments of the all-star game. But Justin Morneau is not Pete Rose and he avoided injury by sliding just ahead of the tag for the 4-3 AL Win.

A good thing too. That's because both sides were using their last pitcher. The debacle of 2002 where the game ended in a tie was starting to rear it's ugly head. I'm surprised that Commisioner Bud Selig didn't jump into the celebration in the AL dugout. That would have been a disaster, after all the measures to ensure a tie wouldn't happen again, if this game ended in a tie.

Another Disturbing Look at Abu Ghraib

Standard Operating Procedure
Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Errol Morris
5 Tablespoons of Bosco

The events surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison debacle don't get any easier to fathom in director Errol Morris's newest documentary "Standard Operating Procedure". SOP is the latest documentary to try to sort through the mess. While it covers much of the ground as other docs on the same subject, there are still way too many unanswered questions.

This documentary is told without a narrator. Morris's interviewed subjects tell the story very well and show the wear and tear of the incident. The interviews are interlaced with powerful and stylistic recreated images along with the very disturbing actual video and photos. The subjects are edited in jump format which draws you even more to the subject.

Morris won an Oscar for his 2003 documentary on Robert McNamara and Vietnam called "The Fog of War". This film is so well done that it should garner him at least another consideration.

The biggest question is why did this incident ever see the light of day? The simple answer is because of a left-biased Dan Rather and his news organization intent on bringing down the Bush administration and his policies on the Iraq war. But there are far more horrible attrocities and torture going on that are never shown because there are no cameras present. We will probably never know how bringing this to the public attention through documentaries and exposes like this fueled the hatred of the enemy toward Americans and their allies.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Word To America: Slow Down Please!

We have the complete works of Shakespeare in 97 minutes (right) and a faster version of football in the middle of summer when we should be enjoying baseball and lemonade....Are We Happy Yet?

As I have been traveling through America these past two weeks...I visited eighteen states in that period...I was hit with the idea that we, as Americans, need to slow it down a bit. We need to not only stop and smell the roses....we need to pick the rose out, pull it, and take the thorns out first.

OK, OK, I know I'm in vacation mode here, but there were several things that hit me while I was traveling.

When I was going through Minnesota I stopped in Minneapolis St. Paul and was reading a Star Tribune article during breakfast about this new and funny show entitled "The Compleat Wrks of Wllmshkspr (abridged)" where three men in tights attempt to portray all of William Shakespeare's 37 plays in 97 minutes. This is a very amusing thing I suppose...but whatever happened to the joy of going to each play or reading each story in it's entirety and discussing each?

Then I was in Anchorage at a Sports Bar and they had an Arena Football League Playoff game on the big screen and then it hit me. First of all, I love Arena football...it's a cool sport, so don't get me wrong, but first of all we can't wait for football season to come in it's natural time? Like September. Like when the leaves are turning and there is a nip in the air. Not in the middle of summer. And on top of that they cut the field in half. More scoring...Faster...More Excitement. Faster, faster, faster.

I stood in the middle of Union Station in Chicago during rush hour...or at least it felt like I was standing I was walking at a good pace actually...but everybody was on hyperspeed. We always need to be someplace else. I needed to get to Wrigley Field quickly...but that's beside the point.

And lastly, as I was traveling across America on the train there were several people complaining how slow it was to travel this way. My thought was...if you think this is too slow then why didn't you buy an airline ticket, go through TSA Security Checkpoints and cram your legs up against the seat in front of you while you eat your small allocated bag of peanuts? That could have easily been arranged.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

Al Franken Is A Big Fat Senatorial Candidate

By Allen Bacon
Editor
The Daily Bosco

As I was traveling through Minnesota this past week I noticed the discussion about Comedian Al Franken running for Senator in this state is getting more heated. Many people are offended by his past and the type of material he used to write for Saturday Night Live and movies which were laden with drug and raunchy humor.

I think there are more important things to be concerned about Al Franken, who is running on the Democratic ticket. Have you ever heard this guy's radio show? He is known for taking pot shots at the Right on his show and in his books (ie, "Rush Limbaugh is A Big Fat Idiot") and ducking. He is way too cynical. So cynical that I think he forgot to come up with some concrete ideas or an agenda for change. If I were a voter in the state of Minnesota I would hold his feet to the fire and ask him what plans he actually has to turn the state around.

And don't worry about his past. Let me lay it out for you. Al Franken and his writing partner Tom Davis were not funny. They weren't funny then and they aren't funny now. I can never remember laughing at anything they wrote. And as a politician Al Franken will not be good either. He has no plans for the state of Minnesota. Unless you think making snide remarks about the other party is a plan.

That being said, why do we as voters have double standards? Why do we want and welcome guys like Al Franken, who are not career politicians to the process, and then snuff them out with their past indiscretions or perceived indiscretions? I have a news flash. There's not too many boy scouts running around anymore. Looking at somebody's past unless it's on how they have voted in office should be taken with a grain of salt. In other words, why should would-be politicians be held to a higher standard than the rest of us? Aren't we limiting the pool of talent to a select few?

The Dog Days of Summer for Seattle Sports

The Mariners are playing in front of a half full Safeco Field on Sunday afternoons and the Supersonics are heading to Oklahoma City. This is not a good time for Seattle Sports Fans.

I spent some time in Seattle this past weekend and I hate to report this... but it’s not a great time if you are a sports fan in the Pacific Northwest.

First of all, it’s official….the city is losing it’s NBA Basketball team, the Supersonics, to Oklahoma City. The Sonics have been an institution there since the late 60’s. My friend Bob Blackburn (A guy from my hometown of Fullerton, CA) was the Sonics announcer for many years. According to the citizens I interviewed, the fan base is still there for the basketball team and they are very upset. There was no way Seattle should have lost their franchise. The mayor and city council were asleep at the switch. And they will pay dearly for their lack of action at the polls this November.

I will also sorely miss the rivalry between the Sonics and my team, the Lakers. I don’t see the same intensity level for Oklahoma City-Los Angeles.

Before I boarded my train at King Station on Sunday afternoon, for a trip that would take me across the northern United States to the east coast, I stopped in at Safeco Field to watch the Mariners-Tigers game. I got my money’s worth. A fifteen inning affair that ended with the Mariners losing 2-1. This was supposed to be a big year for the M’s. With a team with the likes of Suzuki, Ibanez, Sexson, and Beltre they should have won the American League West. Approaching the Half-way point of the season they are a whopping 18 games out of first place. Three quarters of Safeco was filled.

This is one of the best places in America to watch a baseball game. A great retro look, beautiful green grass, a retractable roof to keep out the frequent Northwest rains, great food like this place that loads up everything with garlic, and the train running behind left field. What’s not to like? If I lived in Seattle I would get out there every chance I could no matter how the team was doing. I shouldn’t be able to walk up on a Sunday afternoon and get a ticket that easy. Glad that I could…but I shouldn’t have to do that. And the reminders are there, Mariner fans, on what happens when you don’t support your team. All around the stadium this season are graphics of Seattle professional baseball teams past…. The Pilots, The Raniers, etc. who all died out due to lack of interest.

The Mariners have a good announcer who used to call the games for my California Angels…Dave Niehaus. Mr. Niehaus is being inducted into the hall of fame in about 20 days. Niehaus has the funniest call of a grand slam in the majors. “Tell gramma to get out the mustard, relish, and mayonnaise….that was a grand salami!”

But the thing that breaks my heart the most about the Mariners is that they are now considering trading their franchise player for years… Ichiro Suzuki. People get up in the middle of the night in Japan to watch this guy. Ichiro is the guy that I think will break the .400 mark for a season. I want to see a .400 hitter before I check out, and Ichiro is my hope for this. On Sunday, Ichiro was being Ichiro. He hits a dribbler toward the left side of the infield and before the Detroit third baseman could get to it, Ichiro was on first. He’s still that fast. There is a patch out in right field that had to be transplanted. This is because if you ever focus on Suzuki during a game he is constantly stretching and moving to stay limber and moving around. He must wear a hole in the lush green Safeco right field every few days.

Of course if the Mariners don’t want him anymore, I know some fans in Anaheim that would love to have him.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, Daily Bosco

Jeremy Fisher Could Be Your Cigarette

Jeremy Fisher
Goodbye Blue Monday
Remind Me (Single)
Wind-up Records
Five tablespoons of Bosco

One of the great things about traveling around the country as I have the past week (and into this week) is that you are exposed to different types of music. For instance, Canadian-based Jeremy Fisher was opening for OAR while I was in Phoenix last Saturday. I have to say I was quite simply blown away.

It's easy to make a snap comparison of Fisher's work to that of Paul Simon due to his voice. But I heard a lot of influences in his music. It's a wonderful mix of pop, folk, and rock and he makes it his own unique sound.

Fisher has been getting some attention recently due to a creative video promoting his song "Cigarette" off his latest album Goodbye Blue Monday. The video has received over 2 million hits on Youtube so far. "Cigarette" is a great example of a constant theme running through his lyrics. Songs about the tricky business of relationships. This song is about the addictive nature of relationships as he says..."For good or bad i'm just your habit".

Try not to sing along with songs like "Scars that Never Heals", "Lay Down" and "American Girls". I couldn't help it from the very first listen.

You also have to like a guy who a while back toured Canada going from concert to concert on his bicycle for six months. The tour was dubbed "One Less Tour Bus".

Fisher plays at the Organic Island Festival in Victoria, BC this weekend and will be back in America on Aug. 16 in Akron, OH at Lock 3 and Aug. 17 at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in Schwenksville, PA.

By Allen Bacon, Editor, The Daily Bosco

CNN Headline News Should Be Ashamed

While I am working from my "office of the day"....the Bayside Inn and Restaurant in Kotzebue Alaska, I have been subjected to the CNN Headline News. I can't change the channel. Believe me...I would...If I could.

Here's the stories I have been listening to over and over today on CNN Headline News.

Some goofball kid, a 16 year old, launched a baby from an air mattress and put it on Youtube. CNN, while almost giggling says that you may not want to watch this but insists on showing the video over and over again. They said it was ok to show because the baby wasn't hurt.

The other story they have been following today is the Christie Brinkley "nasty" divorce with her husband. How gleeful they are when the "reporters" tell us how they used to use porn to "get in the mood".

I know one thing. This garbage would probably not be allowed to air when Ted Turner was in control. What happened to the trusted, serious news organization I remember from the 80's? This has all been sacrificed in the pursuit of ratings.

I suggest CNN Headline News get into another business or rename their network. They should be ashamed to call themselves a news organization.

Good Morning Kotzebue!

By Allen Bacon
Editor
The Daily Bosco

Editors Note: My son Felix and I are working on a project this week. We are above the Arctic Circle in the town of Kotzebue, Alaska. Next week we will be back in Seattle and after taking in a Mariners game at Safeco Field will board the Amtrak Empire Builder and head out across the North of the United States by train. We will have a stop in Chicago to see the Cubs at Wrigley and then head back out on the train to Boston. After seeing the Red Sox at Fenway we will go on to Portland Maine. Should be fun and I'll try to keep you posted..."the Lord willin' and the wi-fi works ok".