INTERNET-ONLY RADIO

My Midlife Crisis
with Neil Litt

THE "POWERLESS LOSER" EDITION

My new computer came with a new operating system that made this "power user" feel like a powerless loser.

I mean, it's bad enough that this internet radio show attracts an audience that can be counted on fingers and toes, but when my own computer "tells" me that I don't have high enough security clearance to play music, it's time to scream!!!
This edition of "My Midlife Crisis" was posted to the web
on April 2, 2004.

Click on My Midlife Crisis to pseudostream this program via 56kb modem or better with Windows Media Player.

For best sound, listen to the 64 kpbs .wma version of "My Midlife Crisis" if you have a fast internet connection. Or right-click on the download link to download  the 64 kpbs .wma version of "My Midlife Crisis" to listen to offline.

3hr 53min.
In the second hour of this program, I talk with Sue Carpenter, author of "40 Watts from Nowhere: A Journey into Pirate Radio"  (Scribner, 2004). Sue built a pirate radio station in her apartment because "It can't be so wrong to co-opt a little underutilized air space so music lovers can show off their record collections. It makes no sense that that's illegal."

Follow this link to Mike Watt's web page. Mike was one of the DJs on Sue's pirate station. His programs are now on the internet.

 

"Do you know how fast you were going, Mr. Litt?"

""Yes, sir," I replied. "I was going 77 mph."

"And do you know what the speed limit is on this road?"

"Yes, sir," I replied. "It is 55 mph."

 

Shari Lewis
Could a young child see Shari Lewis perform and not fall madly in love with her? In a set dedicated to newborn Jean Goodman, Shari Lewis's song urging us to get up in the morning provides a counterpoint to Talking Head's "Stay Up Late."

Jean
I used to believe that all newborns looked like Broderick Crawford (see above) until Jean Goodman entered the world.

 Welcome Jean! There's an all-vinyl set dedicated to you!

Bobby Darin
In perhaps one of the most unlikely covers of the 1960s, Bobby Darin offered a unique interpretation of "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby."

Hear it here!

You are looking into the soulful eyes of Rod McKuen, whose early attempt at rock 'n' roll (The Oliver Twist) did less for Dickens than Mel Gibson did for Christ.

Rod had an oddly successful career as a poet. A brief recitation of one of his poems opens this edition of "My Midlife Crisi."

And speaking of Christ, there's some great music in this world that does a lot more for Jesus than Mel Gibson could ever do-- from gospel by the Zion Harmonizers, the Swan Silvertones, and the Staple Singers-- to rock 'n' roll love letters and the jazz of Charles Mingus.

It's all here!

Visit the homepage of "My Midlife Crisis" at its primary url: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/amidlifecrisis/ or this mirror site: http://users.pupress.princeton.edu/~neil/ to hear other programs in this series.

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