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Radio 2.0 I'm listening It's just a matter of Time, the Brook Benton classic from 1959. What an amazing voice that guy had. What a beautiful record. His voice was the loveliest baritone of any pop singer of the time, or perhaps ever. That's my in-the-moment belief, anyway. He wasn't a torchy stylist like Nat King Cole (for whom he wrote Looking Back), or a finger-snapping soul act like Clyde McPhatter (for whom he wrote A Lover's Question). He was more like this big, good guy with this deep, beautiful voice. There was such an easy confidence to his style. Mick LaSalle once wrote that all pop songs reduce to three themes: 1) Baby, let's have sex; 2) Baby, ain't it great we're having sex; and 3) Baby, ain't it a shame we ain't havin' sex no more. It's just a matter of time is a Type 3 song. But you know this woman is missing out. Brook was the best man she ever had. I know (he sings, in a basso so deep you'd think the guy carries his balls in a wheelbarrow). I know (followed by a two beat rest that makes clear just how weary and confident this guy is). What a fine song. I see on the Brook Benton page that this was his breakthrough single, as was the B side, Endlessly. I had forgotten those were his first (hey, I was 12 years old). So many other songs all run together: I want to thank you pretty baby and Baby, you've got what it takes (both with Dinah Washington), So many ways, Kiddio... Wonderful, wonderful stuff. This is what I love about Napster, and about the Web, which is such a perfect way to share music. It's easy to forget (especially if you were born to late to remember) that music radio in its best years was about artists — disc jockeys — sharing music with an audience of attentive listeners. What an irony that disc jockeys like the great Alan Freed were busted for "payola," which was taking money for promoting records. Today the integration of recording and broadcasting companies is so complete that all you hear is pretty much what the system wants you to hear. The disc jockeys in most big stations don't choose the music, and haven't for decades. It's remarkable how much more I listen to music from the Web these days, and how much less from the air. Right now I'm listening to something called Redneck Underground Radio over a portal called Live365. Right now it's playing a teriffic old Maria Muldaur song. Or is it? Hmm. Says here that it's Drunkards Blues by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts mp3 [2:51] Now that song's over and The Man Who Couldnt Cry by Johnny Cash mp3 [5:01] is up. Excuse me, but this is great shit. This is radio the way it used to be, and the way it oughta be, and bless the good folks putting 25,000 new streams on the Web, the way it is again. Here's a station called Every Number 1 and 2 Song From 1955 To 1959 To Hit The Pop Charts by: bobbyrockt1. The playlist looks like this: 58-08-04 1-Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson mp3 [2:32] In a 56kb stereo stream that sounds about as good, frankly, as the average FM radio. Or how about The Kyle Hojem Show! -- Featuring Seldom Heard Hits -- 50s to 80s By the way, all these have a "buy" button. No problem with that. The other day I was thinking of all kinds of ways that XML streams could be distributed along with songs over conventional radio in a kind of subscribed push system that uses your cell signal to detect your presence, send you appropriate traffic (or other local info) or just the information you might like about the songs on the station. Make it two-way and radio won't be the same again.
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