Here's the Tower

In January of 2018, I escaped the cold, dark winter in Stockholm and set off for some better weather in the Canary Islands.

My objective was to get some sunshine and enjoy the ocean breeze. I didn’t know much more about the island of Tenerife before I got on the plane, but I did know that it would be warmer and sunnier. The island is part of Spain, though it is located far west from the coasts of the African countries of Morocco and Western Sahara.

Upon arriving, I found that because the islands sit virtually alone in the middle of the ocean, they are often battered by powerful winds and violent waves. This makes swimming a no-go along most of Tenerife’s shoreline except a few areas where barriers have been constructed to block the force of the ocean.

And while I went to see the sun in the sky, something I totally did not expect was the spectacular night sky. As a result of the island’s remote location, clear skies and sparse population, the darkness isn’t polluted by city lights and Tenerife is one of the top places in the world to see the stars.

Near the tiny home I was staying in by the ocean, I rented a car and drove the insane winding roads that climb around the sides of the volcano that forms the island’s peak. Atop one of the highest peaks sits the Teide Observatory at 2,390 meters above sea level (1 1/2 miles up in the sky).

I parked there and marveled at the beauty of this place high above the clouds. I recorded this audio postcard after the sun went down and thousands of stars came out. There were more stars than I had ever seen before, and more than I thought were possible to see without a telescope.

The very dark cover image for this episode is a photograph I took of myself using a long exposure. I was standing over my camera which was laying flat on the ground, pointing up at the stars, though nothing can capture what it was like to be there. I was having a moment.

Look out, everybody! It’s a blizzard out there and those roads are slick, so roll down the windows and turn it up!

Mister Bones is with you at work, home and during your drive-time commute. Lite FM has all the hits from the ’80s, ’90s and today.

Before Hank Williams, Jr., became the outlaw country legend we know as Bocephus, he toiled in a career overshadowed by his father’s greatness.

When he finally began shaping his own image and writing his own material, there was an adjustment period before he established himself as a legend in his own right.

His 1973 album, After You, Pride’s Not Hard to Swallow, was a notable step in that journey that almost ended tragically two years later when he fell more than 400 feet at Ajax Peak, Montana. That rock climbing accident nearly killed him and changed his appearance to the point where he has rarely been seen without his trademark beard, sunglasses and cowboy hat in the forty years since.

This multi-episode documentary series takes a look behind the scenes of how he arrived on the cover of a major label album wearing an unzipped, wide-lapeled terrycloth exercise jacket in a poorly lit photo that looks like it was shot late one night when he got high and broke into a zoo.

The narration for these episodes was provided by Elvis Deane.

In this audio drama, we get to be a fly on the wall, listening in as our unsuspecting protagonist receives an email notification about Apple’s new HomePod.

Let’s listen as the drama unfolds!

When I was growing up in Kentucky, the current prices for agricultural commodities would be announced on the radio and television each morning.

Every damn morning when we were getting ready for school, eating breakfast or sitting in the back of Mr. Maguire’s station wagon, we would would hear a report a lot like what I’ve tried to recreate here.

I presume farmers get this information online now, but despite that, using the internet to find an old video or audio clip to use as a reference for recording this episode was virtually impossible.

I eventually found a clip from WAGM-TV in Presque Island, Maine, which was surprisingly similar to what I remembered from my childhood in Louisville. I’m suspecting that the report John Logan was reading in that video – and that I borrowed phrasing extensively from – came from a wire service and every local station simply read the same thing.

I hope you enjoy my tribute to the forgotten crossroads of agriculture and broadcasting.