rfg #43 - "Who likes gold?"

Hmm, another round of gold. Funding drives do no wonders to my memory.

This is the second (and final) episode as part of the 3rd annual CITR Fund Drive, representing the point where the station hit the 90% mark of its goal towards $15 000 (which was eventually achieved on the morning of the penultimate day of the drive; as of writing, the total is over sixteen thousand). Naturally, the rhythm of the show was substantially better than the one last week. Upgrades appeared in the forms of: new music; the occasional and better prepared notes; and stronger comfort in pitching the plea for cash.

And, for the first time ever, I even had a caller pledge, though he didn't want the radio free gak prize pack. I have to figure out a more enticing offer the next time the drive comes along; I even added a copy of Caribou's latest (and 2008 Polaris Prize-winning album) Andorra at the behest of the station manager, who I spooked into appearing on air as she updated the totals board (sorry Bren) but no takers.

The money theme in the show was somewhat subtle yet fluid, starting off with the New York City garbage strike audio clip I had forgotten to use last week. I had Blondie's take on the Nerves' classic Hanging on the Telephone cued at one point, but after some idle chatter about one DJ spinning too much Cher (!?), I opted for the less travelled artists.

The profile on Jerry Goldsmith went all right, though tracks were pruned as time ran tight. Goldsmith remains a difficult artist to fully profile since he had composed thousands of tracks for hundreds of productions over his lifetime. Nevertheless, I did cover some ground with his sixties lounge style and his early eighties sci-fi fare. I forgot to mention an earlier profile I had on Goldsmith's score to Planet of the Apes, but in hindsight, I tend to overplay that card.

After my shift, I took my shift on the phones, though things were quiet throughout the evening. My work on the finale poster was printed out finally, which I hope to upload for you soon. The pilgrim drawing remains a little suspect and badly laid on the poster but the typography's all right, considering I had to work with an unfinalized roster. I hung out with the crew that was there 'til 1am and somehow, managed to get a lift home.

I also had to step in after The Jazz Show since the show afterwards, Vengeance is Mine had a night off due to the host being ill, so I had to prepare the overnight broadcast. Instead of relying on the usual BBC Worldwide feed, I tried choosing a mix of other fantastic podcasts, but after a browser crash, I opted simply for a spate of the most recent Funky 16 Corners podcasts, which remain a source of frustration to subscribe to via iTunes. I did a quick blurb after fading out The Jazz Show theme and hoped that no other crashes transpired overnight.

You don't need to punch no monkey for the playlist.