It's a promotional question being asked by something called "Fix Radio" in Britain, a station devoted to tradespeople who listen to the outlet while they're working on projects throughout the U.K. The station held a "filthiest radio" contest and the winner was a dirt encrusted machine that had a golf ball for a lost volume control and a jury rigged antenna to replace one that broke off. 

Is it museum-worthy? The accompanying video tries to answer that question. 

Museum visitors left baffled by bizarre ‘work of art’ as tradesman displays his radio covered in plaster & cement

You've probably never heard of Bobbi Ercoline, but odds are good you've seen her plenty of times. She's the teen hugging her then-boyfriend in the iconic photo on the front of the Woodstock LP. The couple became famous for that single photograph and it helped somewhat change their lives, making them a symbol of a moment forever frozen in history. 

Ercoline originally told her mother she'd gone to church that morning in 1969, when the young couple ducked out to see what was happening in Bethel, N.Y.  But that little white lie couldn't stand the test of time.

"The day the Woodstock soundtrack came out, Corcoran bought a copy, and the group gathered to listen to it. They did not immediately realize they were pictured on the cover because they had looked first at the back of the record sleeve to see which songs had been included. 

“That’s when I realized I needed to tell my mother that I had gone to Woodstock,” Bobbi Ercoline told The New York Post in 2019, on Woodstock’s 50th anniversary."

Their story and the one behind the famous snapshot can be found at the link below. Ercoline was 75 when she passed away from leukemia on March 18th. But thanks to a lucky picture, she will forever remain a teenager and a symbol of the 60s.

The hug that became the symbol of Woodstock and hippiedom

First he lost Sid. Now he's losing his gig. Tim Micallef confirmed on Monday that his long running "Tim & Friends" will be coming to an end on April 11th. The show has been on the Fan 590 and other Rogers sports properties since 2011. 

Micallef won't be out of a job, though. He's staying with the company and will be back on air in other capacities once the show is done. You can watch his announcement at the linked article. 

Sportsnet's popular Tim & Friends show is going off the air 

You can watch his announcement on the CTV News site. (Probably the first time the call letters "CFTO" have been said on the station in years.)

CTV News Toronto veteran Austin Delaney to retire after 34 years

It's probably the one subcarrier network I always wanted to get the most but couldn't. It was called Decades and it highlighted various eras divided into ten year periods, along with the usual sitcom reruns. It featured a nightly show, anchored by Bill Kurtis, about current events during various decades, and it also featured replays of classic performances on the Ed Sullivan Show and repeats of the Dick Cavett talk show. 

It was featured on low power WBBZ-TV Buffalo's 67-7 subcarrier, which sadly, rarely reaches the GTA. 

And now, after less than a decade in existence, it's over. The owner of the channel has changed it into yet another non-stop sitcom rerun outlet, this one called "Catchy Comedy." 

I will miss the old one, even though I rarely saw it. Reruns are more of the same on these channels. Decades was something a little extra special. But now its time is done. 

Weigel Hopes Viewers Find Rebrand of Decades Network More Catchy

His name is Ken Levine and if you've watched any of those shows (and a host of others) listed in the subject line, you've probably seen his name. (This talented man is also a baseball play-by-play guy.) He was on air in a number of markets, including Chicago and L.A., where he went under the moniker "Beaver Cleaver." Needless to say, with that background, he's a pretty witty guy.

So even if you've never heard his airchecks, you can appreciate he has great stories of his time in Top 40 radio. He outlined a few of them in a recent interview, and here's one of my favourites. It happened when his P.D. put him on the overnight graveyard shift, which he desperately did not want to work. He asked to be fired but when that didn't happen, he decided to expedite his exit. 

"So he stopped by the record store to buy a special album to play.

 “Radio stations were getting hip and playing album cuts more and more, so this idea was perfect.” The album he purchased to play in its entirety? “Fiddler on the Roof,” he said. “In Yiddish … I was fired before ‘Anatevka’ finished playing.”

Ken Levine, formerly radio’s Beaver Cleaver, tells stories from an incredible career

My ideal car radio...

I wasn't going to bring up my weekend tale of woe but on Sunday, I went out to my brand new car only to find out that the fob would not open the door. And because it's keyless entry, there seemed no way to get in to check what was going on. But for all intents and purposes, the vehicle was dead. 

I've only had it 25 bloody days!

The dealership was closed on Sunday so I checked the manual (which, thank God, I still had inside the house and not the car.) I figured out how to get in and managed to get the door open. But it wouldn't start. Turns out the battery was dead. Dead after what, three weeks! I called CAA and they came and recharged it. But WTF!

My point in telling this story is a) to vent slightly and b) to show all those fancy-shmancy computerized innovations that I don't really care about are obviously giant power hogs that are eating into the one power source in the car. Needless to say, I'll be on the phone to the dealer today demanding an explanation and an immediate fix!

But at least, for the moment, the car is back up and running. And so is my outrage! But hey, at least the thing still held all those radio presets I spent several days setting up, so I suppose that's something. 

I'm not laughing Jody - the car I just got rid of last month not only had a CD in it, but a cassette player, too! 

Ironically, this aircheck was not preserved in stereo. But they talk a lot about the big change on this excerpt from 1984. Includes a special guest appearance from then P.D. (and former CHUM jock) John Spragge.

turkeytop wrote:

I only heard AM stereo once. Back in the late 80s when I had a Chrysler vehicle rented for a day.

What was your opinion of what you heard? Good, bad or really nothing worth noting?

With those Bob & Doug McKenzie anti-beer tax commercials airing on the radio, I came across this article from 1983, in the days before Rick Moranis essentially became a recluse, as he is today. It explains how he got his gig at CHUM-FM - and why he almost didn't take it.

(Imagine being on CFTR while you were still in high school!) But he notes his radio experience came in handy after he hit it big with SCTV. And no, it has nothing to do with Gerry Todd!

It was a failed experiment that I kind of wish had worked - AM Stereo. As I recall, there were several systems, C-Quam, Harris, Kahn, Magnavox and something called Belar. None of them lasted very long and not many cars - where its success or failure was really based - came with the feature. (By contrast, HD has had a lot more acceptance in new automobiles, although I'm not sure how many people use it or even know about it.)

I'm wondering how many stations in the city opted for the "next big thing" which was supposed to be the saviour of the AM band. I'm aware CFRB had it - it's in some of their ads, like the one below from 1989. So did CKEY. Did CHUM, CFTR or any of the other bigger stations here go for the idea? Whatever happened to all that equipment and were there any drawbacks when the thing tanked? Is any of that equipment still in use, despite the fact no one can really receive it anymore?

I only wish I'd had a chance to hear what it sounded like. But I was never in a car that came with it. A few who did told me it was pretty good and likely should have had a longer shelf life. 



 

Leslieville Bill wrote:

My personal favourite? Gerry [Thunderbird, Space 199] Anderson's UFO from 1970. I love the Hammond B-3 organ.

 

I was a big fan of another Gerry Anderson show theme: "Fireball XL-5," which aired in the U.S. on NBC. The theme song was a moderate hit in the U.K., but never really caught on here. Too bad. It was a great tune. The part I like is the extro - it starts at about 1:24.

John D wrote:

And I didn't say it then RadioActive.  I've been misquoted a couple of times in my career.  Not bad for over 50 years.  Yikes.

You know, it honestly didn't sound like something you'd say. But of course, it was published in RPM back then and I always thought it was a fairly credible source. I guess not. Now I'm curious if some of those other comments weren't entirely accurate as well.