Song of the Day 7/22: Elvis Costello, “Radio, Radio”
WDEL is holding an open house today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and I’ll be on the air with Rick Jensen at 11 a.m. You better do as you were told: You better listen to the radio.
This was the song that got Elvis Costello banned from “Saturday Night Live.” On orders from his record company, he was supposed to play “Less Than Zero,” but Costello objected because of both the song’s slow tempo and its subject: British fascist Oswald Moseley, unknown then and now to most Americans. So after a few bars of “Less Than Zero,” played at a faster pace than the record, Costello famously stopped the band and launched into “Radio, Radio,” a pointed critique of the commercialization of broadcast media. SNL producer Lorne Michaels was so angry he stood to the side of the stage and flipped Costello the bird for the duration of the song, and Costello was banned from the show until 1989.
Eventually all was forgiven, possibly because the incident continued to resonate throughout rock culture. Weird Al Yankovic, who uses computerized backup in live concerts, would break into “Radio, Radio” any time the server crashed during a song. It so well-known that Costello reprised the stunt on the show’s 25th anniversary broadcast, breaking into a song by the Beastie Boys to play “Radio, Radio” with the Beasties backing him.
It was great hearing you back on the air.
Nice segment with Rick.
Only thing that was missing was a call from Mike Protack.
Great observations about the NJ and Gannett. Not too surprising that the ones who thought they were doing it right were the ones who stuck around … and look where Gannett is now.
Al to consultant: Fuck you.
Excellent.
Is there a recording that I can easily get? Not that I really need to hear a few hours Ricks schmoozing, but I wanted to hear if anyone spoke Alan Loudell’s name or if Frank Gregory made a surprise appearance (i won a lot of free pizzas over the years and they did him dirty, just like Alan).
Apparently they don’t post much audio on their web site anymore. When I was there I edited and posted all Allan’s interview clips (they weren’t called podcasts back then). I’ll ask Rick if he plans to; I’ll let you know if the answer is yes.
Yes, Allan’s name was spoken, more than once. Pete Booker, who assembled the staff during his many years as GM, was proud to have hired him. That came about, BTW, because Clear Channel was buying WILM and Allan didn’t want to work for them.
Frank wasn’t there, and I don’t know if he even got an invite. I haven’t seen him for a couple of years. I used to run into him at the farmer’s market at Booth’s Corner, but the stall his friend owned is gone now.