Sunday, July 3, 2011

30 Songs in 30 Days, Day 17: A Song That You Hear Often on the Radio

Song: "1999"
Writer: Prince
Performer: Prince
Album: 1999



My FM radio station of choice is awesome! MP103 is based in Waterbury, Vermont. Their official format is Adult Hits but their motto is simply "Whatever. Whenever." They mean it, too. Just this past week, they followed "Faith" by George Michael with the theme music from The Exorcist. The "Whatever" part of the motto does mean that one occasionally has to sit through Lady Gaga or that awful fireflies song to get to the good stuff but it's always worth the wait. The best thing about the station? No DJs - most importantly, no morning DJs.

It's actually not easy to come up with a song they play often. Recently, I heard a Culture Club song in exactly the same part of my afternoon commute on consecutive days, but they were different songs. I had a similar experience with Rick Springfield songs not long afterward. The same song twice in one week is as close as it gets so Prince gets the nod.

The song I really wanted to use for today is the following. But while they have played the song in the past, it would be a stretch to say they play it often:



I've always admired Prince. Unfortunately, his showmanship antics make it difficult for some to take him seriously but I consider him to be one of the most talented and dynamic musicians in the business. He is, however, easily parodied as demonstrated in the Dave Chappelle clip below. All of 5' 2", Prince really did play varsity basketball in high school.




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I hope you'll join us for the "30 Songs in 30 Days" challenge, inspired by the tumblr list. Our 30 Songs roster:

Stay on target...
Marc Whitman's Blog
Haley says "Hello" To You

It's never too late to post your own. Tomorrow is...

Day 18: A Song That You Wish You Heard on the Radio

7 comments:

  1. Just a couple of things....

    Howard Stern tells a story of going to a Prince show at some relatively recent point and Prince refused to have any lights on. That coupled with some brouhaha over Kim Kardashian are the sort of antics that turn people off...

    Also, "Faith" was ALMOST on my list in four different spots!!! Didn't make the final cut, though!

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  2. 'The best thing about the station? No DJs - most importantly, no morning DJs.'

    My character Mallory Keaton was a morning DJ. Mallory in the Morning. I loved writing her even more than Libby and Leilani/Valerie which is why I never messed with her story on the one request I got to revise and resubmit. It came from too honest and important a space for me so she'll just stay where she is. I loved writing her on the air so much.

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    1. I'm prepared to entertain the possibility of tolerable morning DJs. But as a rule, they grate horribly on my under-caffeinated ears.

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    2. There is a really good morning DJ here on KIOT (Coyote.) Her name's Erica Viking and she has a fantastic voice for radio. She's edgy, quick and absolutely zero bullshit. The more I listen, the more I like.

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    3. Plus, Erica Viking's an awesome name.

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  3. Dwayne and I were just talking about Prince's showmanship antics yesterday...weird. Well, we were talking about Superbowl acts, etc., and that's how we ended up on Prince. I said he didn't need to do the antics, because his music stands up alone, D said his audience expects the behavior now and no going back. Anyway...who doesn't love Prince?

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    1. Well... as Mock suggests above, plenty of people don't love him. Musical genius that he most certainly is, he's done very little to ingratiate himself to the public beyond the outrageous antics. He does come off as a bit of a jerk. Pop music's Miles Davis?

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