Waldina

"Swing Years and Beyond" September 12, 2015

The Swing Years and Beyond was a radio program on KUOW, an NPR station from Seattle. It began in 1968 and was hosted by then-KUOW program Director Don Wirtz before he handed the reins to Bill Snoopy who became the first to hold the position long term. In 1979 Cynthia Doyon took over the hosting duties, and in 2003 Amanda Wilde hosted until the last show on February 25, 2017.

There is a generation of Seattle residents that spent at least some of their Saturday nights listening to a thoughtfully curated playlist of music from the 1920s to the 1950s. I was able to connect with Amanda Wilde and offered to make one of her shows available for fans to download. Then, my scouring of the internet turned up two other shows available and have added them here.

"The Egyptian Amulet" - Candy Matson - September 12, 1950

Candy Matson is a radio program on NBC West Coast that aired from June 29, 1949, to May 20, 1951. It centered on Candy Matson, a female private investigator with a wry sense of humor and a penthouse on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. The program was notable for having a striking female character "without a trace of squeamishness" as well as a veiled gay character in Candy's best friend Rembrandt Watson.

"The Trouble with Murder" - CBS Radio Mystery Theater - September 12, 1974

Plot:  A wealthy lady hires an artist to paint a nude portrait of her. She becomes disturbed when he starts acting peculiarly. Her worries are well-founded as the painter has a nasty habit of mutilating his subjects once they have outlived their usefulness.

The Awful Truth - Lux Radio Theatre - September 11, 1939

Staring:  Cary Grant and Claudette Colbert

"The Hand that Refused to Die" - CBS Radio Mystery Theater - September 11, 1974

Plot:  A gifted pianist is devastated by the loss of his hand as a result of an automobile accident. He is infuriated when he finds out that the amputation was unnecessary.

"The Swing Years and Beyond" September 9, 2006

The Swing Years and Beyond was a radio program on KUOW, an NPR station from Seattle. It began in 1968 and was hosted by then-KUOW program Director Don Wirtz before he handed the reins to Bill Snoopy who became the first to hold the position long term. In 1979 Cynthia Doyon took over the hosting duties, and in 2003 Amanda Wilde hosted until the last show on February 25, 2017.

There is a generation of Seattle residents that spent at least some of their Saturday nights listening to a thoughtfully curated playlist of music from the 1920s to the 1950s. I was able to connect with Amanda Wilde and offered to make one of her shows available for fans to download. Then, my scouring of the internet turned up two other shows available and have added them here.

"Double Exposure" - CBS Radio Mystery Theater - September 9, 1974

Plot:  A cop dies in an accident. His wife is mistakenly taken to be someone else by two people. Her friend tries to probe the facts as one of those people thinks that she is his former wife who left him and his children a decade ago.

Today is the 74th birthday of the singer/entertainer Sylvester. Way ahead of his time, maybe society has almost caught up in some ways. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

Today is the 75th birthday of the singer, activist and all-around badass Freddie Mercury.  Every time I hear “Another One Bites The Dust,” I am immediately transported to Skate King roller rink, I see the colorful blinking lights and feel ten years old again.  I am continuously on the search for a chance to watch his tribute concert, of what I have seen, it is incredible. Listen to some Queen today. You deserve it.  This year, the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre is naming an asteroid after him. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://waldina.com/2021/09/05/happy-75th-birthday-freddie-mercury/

Today is the 109th birthday of the composer John Cage. On 1952, David Tudor sat down in front of a piano for four minutes and thirty-three seconds and did nothing. The piece 4’33” written by John Cage, is possibly the most famous and important piece in twentieth century avant-garde. 4’33” was a distillation of years of working with found sound, noise, and alternative instruments. In one short piece, Cage broke from the history of classical composition and proposed that the primary act of musical performance was not making music, but listening. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.