November 16, 2004
Get Up with MorningWood
Get Up with MorningWood, on 70,000 Watt Community Radio WMNF 88.5 fm, Tampa, and streaming at wmnf.org. 4 to 6 am (eastern) every Tuesday!
Studio line: 813-239- WMNF WOOD
Blogging on the radio
Disclaimer: The FCC would not pre-approve today’s edition of MorningWood.
What the fuck?!? Ol’ Dirty Bastard is now a dead old bitch. I’ll be playing plenty of Wu-Tang and ODB. RIP.
They were chanting for him Friday night at the Continental Airlines Arena, during the Wu-Tang Clan's first area show as a unit in five years. The other eight had showed - something of an accomplishment in itself - but it probably surprised few that he wasn't there. This final gesture turned out to be fittingly enigmatic: Ol' Dirty Bastard, long hip-hop's resident jester and, moreover, its most tragic figure, died of still-unknown causes the following afternoon in a New York recording studio, two days shy of his 36th birthday.The numbers - his two solo albums, 1995's Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version and 1999's Nigga Please, both went gold - offer a hint of his reach, but they only capture part of the ODB phenomenon. Born Russell Jones, he was one of the great pop culture eccentrics, a reliably difficult character the likes of whom rarely last long enough in the public eye to arouse anything other than passing indignation and revulsion. Instead, over the course of a decade of incredible resilience - fathering over a dozen kids, storming the Grammy stage in 1998 to proclaim "Wu-Tang is for the children!", getting arrested for making "terrorist threats," and, in 1994, taking MTV cameras to pick up food stamps in a limousine - he inspired fascination, exuberant embraces, and rabid, often irrational fandom.
Last year, ODB finished a two-year prison stint pockmarked with concerns over his mental health. VH1 was so certain his life on parole would be a hoot that they signed up to film his escapades for a reality series. Thing was, by most accounts, the ODB who made it out of prison was a sober one. Predictable became the last unpredictable thing he could become.
Most people wouldn't have it, though, and he sadly remained an object of public spectacle. His continued existence as a shambolic cipher, it seemed, was a comfort to others who'd prefer to keep the dark side at a comfortable distance, for whom danger is a concept best kept abstract. And so Rusty, as his mother called him, has said good night to these foul-weather friends: You won't have Ol' Dirty Bastard to kick around anymore.
Today’s show was originally gonna feature songs with the famed seven dirty words. Then ODB kicked it, which really fucked my show up. So I left lots of fuck songs in the playlist, along with an occasional piss and shit. Still, I’m pretty sure that any listener who pays close attention to the lyrics, and not just the song titles, may just hear all seven dirty words before the night is through.
Oh, and for the record, shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits. And Fuck the FCC. And since we’re throwing fucks around like candy, we may as well Fuck the South too.
Now piss off and listen to the show.
Oh, and if you happen to be one of these three listeners, first, go fuck yourself, then download and listen to this nice song by Eric Schwartz that I picked out for you.
Note: at this time of night, the FCC actually relaxes its ever tightening rules, the theory being that at 4 AM, children are less likely to be up and being shocked at the language that is emanating from the radio. Right now, I can get away with broadcasting shit like this, but daddy the FCC is threatening to expand the ban on “obscene” language to the overnight hours.
I’m sure that many of you, especially those who listened to my show this morning, will be happy about that, but the fact is that a very few prudes are dictating to the rest of us exactly what it is that we are allowed to see and hear, and that sucks.
Playlists
Each week, I bring my planned songs in on CD. I usually end up playing most or all of them in the planned order. But sometimes things go askew. Sorry - no guarantees or refunds.
WMNF Community Radio
WMNF is a non-commercial community radio station that celebrates local cultural diversity and is committed to equality, peace and social and economic justice. WMNF provides broadcasts and creates other forums to serve the community by the exposure and sharing of these values.
Posted by Norwood at November 16, 2004 01:55 AM