Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Internet on the Radio: Slurpees and Murder Record Club, a Winnipeg Cat Segment on CJOB, and Winnipeg Internet Pundits (Briefly) Returns This Week

Well, hello there, everyone! My apologies for the unintended two-week absence; it seems like the busyness of summer starts earlier and earlier every year, whether it actually feels like summer yet or not. (It's expected to rain today and right through to the end of the week, because of course it is.) But there's well over an hour's worth of content for you to enjoy in this post, so let's get rolling!

One of the time consumers I'd poured myself into over the past little while was my solo radio debut, taking the UMFM reigns for a week with Winnipeg Internet Pundits on early-summer break; I've been a panelist for years and years now, but man, that first burst of you and only you is nervewracking. That, and -- owing to my own technical ineptitude -- I was actually the quietest part of a radio show for the first time in, well, forever. But on the whole I think it went very well, and you can check that out at the link below:

[ archives.winnipeginternetpundits.com: May 22: Slurpees and Murder Record Club, round 1 ]

All of the material used this week was from the back catalogue, except for one particular song; that song can be found at the very end of the podcast, but unfortunately was cut for time from the over-the-air-broadcast. This means two things: 1) I'm going to find a reason, any reason, to play it in my next episode, and; B) HERE IT IS.



Locusts and Wild Honey - Manitoba Towns (Ditt Sied Jant Sied, 1982)
[ no artist site seems to exist | nor any bios or publisher information | the album's long out of print, but you can buy a copy of the vinyl here ]

The vinyl comes with all of the lyrics printed on the record sleeve, but I'll let you listen to them for yourself so as not to spoil the surprise. Yes, they said what you thought they just said, and yes, it was acceptable in the '80s. It was acceptable, at the time. Also, the chorus is going to stick in your head, and you will do kind of a little strut whenever it plays in your brain; this is normal and should pass shortly, although having said that I must note that I'm still doin' it. MAAA-NIII-TOBA, COME AND TAKE A RIIIIIDE

Anyway, I'll be doing a few more of the SMRC radio hours over the course of the next couple months, and they'll feature a lot more previously-unblogged, previously-unheard material -- so watch for that! I think it's going to be a hoot.

Secondly! I'd like to send a very big thank you to Fiona Odlum and Derek Taylor, last week's guest hosts of The Drive on CJOB, who had me on last Friday afternoon to discuss-slash-explain Winnipeg Cat. You can listen to the segment, which runs about four minutes and change, here.

I hadn't done a phone-in in years, which is why I probably sound like I didn't really know when to jump in (or how radio works, how do I radio), but I think it went pretty well! Reaction to the radio appearance has seemed more positive than it would have been in, say, 2009, and there is a very reasonable chance -- in the illustrious sixty-seven-year history of the station -- that I am the first person to use the phrase "awkward penguin" on CJOB. There doesn't seem like there'd be a trophy for that, or anything, but I'm just sayin'. JUST IN CASE THERE IS.

(As to how they cracked the mystery of my identity, well--I suppose in retrospect it might not've been that well-hidden.)

So thanks again to Fiona and Derek!

Thirdly: we here at Winnipeg Internet Pundits (he types, sitting by himself,) are willing to admit that we may have been a tad hasty in declaring the local news cycle slowed for the summer. There've been towers announced, motions debated, Astroturf campaigns publicly funded, gum spat (...don't ask); to borrow a Bob Cole declaration, everything is happening! So tune in tomorrow to 101.5 UMFM, 5:30 to 6:30, as we reconvene for a second crack at a season-closing show.

And the week after that will be some special Spectator Tribune content -- go to that tonight, by the way, it'll be fun -- followed by, well, we'll see! We'll all have plenty of time to experiment, see what happens.

That'll just about do it for this uncharacteristically radio-heavy update, but don't worry, I'll be back in this space very soon; the Canadian Library Association 2013 conference runs tomorrow through Saturday at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, and I'll see if I can't squeeze some interesting content out of it for the less librarianship-inclined among you fine folks. That and there'll soon be a third round of the NHL playoffs for me to incorrectly predict; we'll see what comes first!

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