A New Podcast That's All About Music... Except When It's Not
Click Here to stream Episode 2 of When You Play It, Say It
Those who are acquainted with me already know that I am
at my best/worst when I get a few drinks in me and start talking about music. I
am known to seize control of the jukebox at bars or the stereo at parties, and
engage in lively discussion of (pontification about) songs and artists as they come up. My favorite “house-hangs” tend to be just one or two friends, a bottle of something, my
record collection, and a lot of arguing. Opinions are indelicately asserted,
connections are discovered between artists and songs, personal stories and
associations are shared. Sometime there is crying.
Sounds fun, you say? How can I get in on one of these,
you ask? Well, it is tough. With much regret I have had to turn down requests
from celebrities, royalty, and heads of state. In fact, just last week the King
of Laputa dropped by unannounced bearing gifts of a bottle of Henri IV, Cognac
Grande Champagne and an original 8-track cassette of Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy. I had to turn him away, as
my apartment is not very big and I have few chairs.
That embarrassing episode did get me thinking, however.
How can I share this marvelous experience with everyone? How can I insure that
everyone who wants to can have a little time with a verbose, slightly tipsy,
pretentious music freak like me? I felt sad contemplating the huge
masses of people who were bereft of my knowledge and company. It was while
pondering this question that I was looking through a stack of records at one of
the few still existing vinyl shops in New York and came across a DJ copy of The Best of Marcel Marceau bearing a
white sticker that read: “When you play it, say it.” The sticker, a common
sight during the mid-eighties (when DJs often would play blocks of songs with
no introduction or commentary, only interrupting the music to announce the time
and weather), was a reminder from the record company to the DJ to stop now and
then and actually tell the listeners the name of the songs and artists (this
was particularly important in the case of the Marcel Marceau record in question, as many
people listening on the radio thought it was John Cage).
Holding that record in my hand, I had an epiphany. A
radio show… or something like it. Anyone who wants to be can be a fly on the
wall while I’m joined by a rotating cast of characters and we engage in inane
banter about music and musicians and make complete assholes of ourselves. My
living room, my records, my friends, probably some cheap tequila, and maybe
some beer nuts.
So now for your entertainment and edification, the second
ever episode of “When You Play It, Say It.” (Yes, there was a first, but we’re
just going to say it’s like an unaired pilot for now.) On this occasion, I was
joined by me old friend, actor/musician and front man for the band The
Trembling Turncoats, Brett Warwick, for a lively discussion of that obscure
little English band, the Beatles. Enjoy!
(For those who get through the whole thing and want additional information about the tracks discussed, as well as where Brett and I may have fucked up, click below to read more...)
