Radio, a five letter word for a ton of things. Radio is, among other things, a chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum Not light, nor microwave radiation nor gamma rays, but related to them all. In fact, application of the Heisenberg wave equation can give the electron a place on the electromagnetic spectrum even though the acceleration of electric charges radiate radio, and changes of motion of electrons in a conductor is the manner by which we normally create radio waves. Heinrich Hertz proved they exist in 1886. Guglielmo Marconi developed and demonstrated the first device for using Radio for communication over distance in 1895 and sent the first known transatlantic signal in 1901. The first commercial broadcast, however, wasn't until 1920.
THAT, in essence, is what radio is and is for, the communication of information over distances without the need for wires or physical contact. While seeking illustrations for this I found tons of pictures and portrayals of military persons and equipment and, of course, such communication is of great importance to the conduct of warfare, which, let's face it, is what the US is mostly all about, but that is a topic for another time. It is also of important in the realms or communication with ships and aircraft, and, in this day and age, quarterback and such as well.
Radio, the word, can also designate equipment for sending and receiving said communications, and much more. There was am, fm, amateur (ham), shortwave, multiband and more.The communications themselves were radio and radio was both the medium and the message and, in its heyday, significantly shaped a culture and was in turn shaped by it.
/Geezer mode on: Nobody could confuse news with entertainment there was Amos and Andy, Our Miss Brooks, The Breakfast Club and such, and then there was the news. Newscasters, unless working for straight up propaganda outlets such as Radio Marti, Voice of America, and the like, made a serious effort to get the facts right, though they might also spin it a bit. Sportscasters did not work to create controversy, but gave the warm up statistical overview, narrated the play by play, and then gave a factual and statistical wrap. Vin Scully and Jerry Dogget did not solicit or even accept calls. Sportstalk radio, like political talk shows did not exist.
And then, there was music, and it was Radio Music and for many, that was mostly what radio was about:
So what was this radio music of which I spoke. Any kind or genre, classical, jazz, western swing, blues, honky tonk, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, mariachi, whatever, the genre didn't matter. What it was was a product of the medium. I, to this day, still prefer Radio music over the rest of the stuff out there. I mentioned this in an open thred years back generating this, truncated and edited exchange with a reader who goes by the name Shahryar:
Moi: To me, a major test of a song, performer or genre is "Is it radio music?". Would you listen to it over and over and over if there were no visuals, no costumes, routines, choreography, bootie shaking, etc.? A lot of modern stuff fails. [Edit: - I forgot to mention true-tone]
Shahryar: recently we listened to whatever they call "top 40" radio these days. After about 20 minutes I still hadn't heard a song. Your comment woke me up! Today's young listeners must all see the videos so when they hear a song on the radio they're picturing the dance steps, the cameo appearances, all of that...which I'm unaware of. So when I hear the songs I'm hearing them differently from those who listen regularly.
Moi: how else to explain the popularity of some of this stuff. Some of it is definitely "no lyrics + no melody + can't sing anyway + hot chick/dude cavorting in sexy outfit".
Radio Music, on the Radio, or on Vinyl, had credits for writers, composers, band members, and vocalists, but never for choreographers, costume designers, make-up artists and all that. It was just music, the beat, melody, bass line, hooks, lyrics, vocals, or harmonies grabbed and entertained you without any visual input needed. It's still, far and away, my music of choice, no specific genre, just radio music. /Geezer mode off:
On this day in history:
1322 -- In the night of the 12th-13th, Ely Cathedral's central tower fell. Good Luck? Bad Luck? Karma? God's Will?
1633 -- Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to be tried persecuted by the Inquisition
1867 -- Brussels's began burying the River Senne
1880 -- Edison observed the Edison effect.
1881 -- Hubertine Auclert first published The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne
1914 -- ASCAP was founded
1945 -- US & UK bombers began bombing the living shit out of Dresden, eliminating Germany's strategic fine china
1960 -- France became the 4th nuclear power.
1960 -- Black college students staged the first Nashville sit-in
1967 -- Researchers "discovered" da Vinci's Madrid Codices in the Spanish National Library
1979 -- A windstorm sunk a half-mile of the Hood Canal Bridge in Washington
1990 -- A plan to reunify Germany was agreed upon
1991 -- Two "smart bombs" destroyed the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad, slaughtering over 400 Iraqi civilians. Shock & Awe! So Smart!
2004 -- Scientists announced the discovery of "Lucy", a star composed of diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093.
2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
2021 – Former U.S. President Donald Trump is acquitted in his second impeachment trial.
2021 – A major winter storm causes blackouts and kills at least 82 people in Texas and northern Mexico
Lucy, clever
Some people who were born on this day:
The histories of mankind are histories only of the higher classes.
~~ Thomas Malthus
1728 – John Hunter, surgeon and anatomist, advocate of scientific method
1766 -- Thomas Robert Malthus, economist
1805 -- Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, mathematician
1870 -- Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer
1884 -- Alfred Carlton Gilbert, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company
1891 -- Grant Wood, painter
1901 – Paul Lazarsfeld, sociologist and academic
1907 -- Katy de la Cruz, singer and actress, "The Queen of Filipino Jazz"
1910 -- William Shockley, physicist,
1916 – Dorothy Bliss, invertebrate zoologist
1919 -- Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor
1920 – Eileen Farrell, soprano and educator
1923 – Chuck Yeager, pilot; first test pilot to break the sound barrier
1926 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, nuclear physicist
1942 -- Peter Tork, Monkee
1944 -- Rebop Kwaku Baah, drummer
1945 – Marian Dawkins, biologist and academic
1945 -- King Floyd, singer & songwriter
1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson, comedian, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1949 -- Judy Dyble, singer, songwriter and pianist
1950 -- Peter Gabriel, singer, songwriter and producer
1956 -- Peter Hook, singer and bass player
1958 – Øivind Elgenes, vocalist, guitarist, and composer
1965 -- Ole Mathisen, saxophonist and composer
1968 -- Niamh Kavanagh, singer & Eurovision Song Contest winner
Some people who died on this day:
Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage, join hands, stand besides us, fight with us.
~~ Christabel Pankhurst
1571 -- Benvenuto Cellini, painter and sculptor
1728 -- Cotton Mather, puritan minister and author, Salem witch hunt supporter.
1883 -- Richard Wagner, composer
1956 – Jan Łukasiewicz, mathematician and philosopher, created polish notation
1958 -- Christabel Pankhurst, activist, co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union
1958 -- Georges Rouault, painter and illustrator 1
976 -- Lily Pons, soprano and actress
2002 -- Waylon Jennings, singer, songwriter and guitarist
2010 – Lucille Clifton, poet and academic
2010 -- Dale Hawkins, singer, songwriter and guitarist
2013 – Andrée Malebranche, artist
2015 – Faith Bandler, activist and author
2016 -- Antonin Scalia, reactionary activist judge
2017 – Aileen Hernandez, union organizer and activist
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: World Radio Day.
Today's Tunes
Lucy Redux
Leopold Godowsky
Katy de la Cruz
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Peter Tork
Rebop Kwaku Baah
King Floyd
Kevin Bloody Wilson (includes profanity ;-) )
Judy Dyble
Peter Gabriel
Peter Hook
Øivind Elgenes
Ole Mathisen
Niamh Kavanagh
Richard Wagner
Lily Pons
Waylon Jennings
Dale Hawkins
OK, what's on your minds?
Bonus: Rebop and friends
In Re Richard Wagner: Part 1
Part 2
Part 2
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?