Drunken Owls and Other Delights

I was thinking of this track a few days ago, and it happened to pop up on VH1 Classic last weekend, so I thought it would go well here on the A to Z. This is a track I'd hear on WFNX in my early college days, knowing I'd heard it somewhere before but never remembering who it was, until I finally got around to downloading the album a few years back. I'm actually kind of surprised, given its catchy pop, that it didn't get airplay in the US when it came out in 1985.

Propaganda was a band under Trever Horn's ZZT label in the UK. But instead of being quirky and weird like labelmates Art of Noise, or flashy and over-the-top like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, they chose to go with a sleek, metropolitan sound, with a bit of Krautrock thrown in there for good measure. Their album A Secret Wish is considered a great piece of dancy synthpop that was unfortunately overshadowed (and delayed in release) by FGTH's ridiculously overblown Welcome to the Pleasuredome album. They had a few minor hits in the UK with the above track, as well as with "Dr. Mabuse" and "P:Machinery", released one further album (1234) in 1990), and pretty much dissolved. They've reunited here and there over the years, doing a few live shows and releasing a few compilations and reissues, but their discography is relatively small.


I think of radio shows whenever I hear this track. Aside from hearing it on WFNX (I believe it was one of Julie Kramer's favorites back in the day), I'd hear it now and again on WMDK in the afternoon, and I'd hear all kinds of stuff from the band on WAMH. During the 87-88 and 88-89 semesters they had an industrial show on Thursday nights. That's how I got to know all those bands like Ministry and Front 242, as well as the more leftfield EBM bands like A Split Second and Clock DVA. Propaganda fit somewhere in the middle there, based in electronic sound and quite danceable, but much less aggressive in their approach.

A lot of what I gravitated towards in those years between 1986-89 was from WAMH and WMDK, but there were definitely specific shows that grabbed my attention. I don't remember the deejay names on WMDK, but I know their morning show was quite excellent, as I would always listen to it while getting ready for school (I even remember it was the radio on my bureau that was tuned only to that station). In 1989 they would always play the Go-Betweens' "Streets of Your Town" every morning as a gentle wake-up tune.  They also had a great afternoon guy that loved to play Crowded House whenever he could.

But it was WAMH, especially my junior and senior years, that grabbed my attention the most. The one show in particular that made the biggest impression on me was Haphazard Radio, which I believe was on Thursday afternoons. I wish I could remember the student's name, but he was one of the best college deejays out there in my opinion. He had this low, laid back voice, a natural for the airwaves. He was knowledgeable and fascinated by the stuff he played, and gave out all kinds of trivia and news. His in-between banter wasn't childish or vapid (the bane of many a student deejay), but he wasn't above joking around if need be. He played everything out there, from the obscure local indie bands to the major-label alternative bands.  I picked up a lot of new bands from his show; I also stole the show's name when I had my own show on WECB at Emerson.

There was also the countdown show, The Potted Plant Countdown, which they played on Sunday nights for years--I think this current semester is the first time in ages where they don't have it scheduled. The name originated from one of their local sponsors, a plant nursery who would donate a small plant that would be given away at the end of the show (usually given away to some student who called in and answered a trivia question correctly or some such). If I missed any of the other shows that week for one reason or another, I'd be sure to catch the countdown on Sunday while doing my homework, so I'd be caught up with the latest alternative music.

There were other shows on WAMH, many of them having all sorts of silly or creative names (The Sewers of Rangoon and Hey Look At All Those Psychos! come to mind). Even these names were an inspiration for many of my later compilations...something different and deliberately uncommercial, maybe ultimately harmless and pointless, but sounded cool at the same time. For that brief time, I listened to as many shows as I could, made sure I was in my room and the radio was on when it started, a blank tape at the ready in case I needed to tape something. And it was the best time ever.

Ok, so when you grow up in a small town in New England, there's not a lot to do except do stupid and funny things with (or to) your friends on a summer night with a beer or two involved. And given that I had many relatives in the neighborhood as well made it that much more fun, and funnier.

Tonight's story is about trying to weird out my cousin. Specifically we were going to tap his bedroom window. To do that, you get a thumbtack, some fishing line, a nail or a screw, and someone with guts enough to set it up. You tie a screw to the end of the fishing line, hang it over the thumbtack you've pushed into the window frame, and gently pull at it from a distance so it appears no one is there to cause the tapping. Hilarity ensues as they run outside to figure out what the hell is going on.

This all seemed like a good idea at the time after I'd had a beer, of course.

So Donn and Shawn make the first move, sneaking up to my cousin's window to set up the ruse when things start to go wrong immediately in the form of too little fishing line. I tried to call them back but they couldn't hear, they were too far away. In the semidark I can see them trying to set the tack...

When another of my cousins--much bigger, brawnier and angrier--comes around the corner.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??" he bellows.

Followed by three ever so slightly inebriated kids yelling "oh SHIT!" and running for our lives. Donn was in the lead, dashing around the corner and through backyards until we landed back on Wood Street, finding refuge in a cluster of trees. Half scared witless but finding our situation comical, we burst into barely repressed laughter. That is, until we heard running up the street. We held still until we caught a glimpse of the runner. It was Shawn, who had somehow not just gotten lost but also went in the wrong direction, lost his glasses, and ran sidelong into a neighbor's above-ground pool. Yeah, I don't k ow either...maybe he'd had more than one beer? Still, meeting back up with him in Donn's backyard shack and hearing what happened to him made the whole night perfect.

emmalyon and I took a few roadtrips yesterday and today, visiting old haunts and taking multiple pictures. Yesterday we went down to the Amherst/Northampton area to check out stores (read: so Emm can visit Webs and I can visit Newbury Comics). A very good amount of money was spent, many pictures were taken, and yes, I even held my breath through Shutesbury for a second time!* We ended the day going to Eddie's, the local restaurant where I still say they make THE BEST CLAM CHOWDAH EVAH. Good stuff! Unfortunately I was unable to get a hold of my friend Bruce as we didn't have time, and oddly enough my phone had gone dead...I'm going to have to call him up and let him know!

As for today, we went up to Keene via Rt 32** and stopped up at Colony Mill Marketplace. I find it terribly amusing that instead of the usual science fiction or new age books I used to buy up there, I ended up buying not one but two YA novels! Emm has definitely changed my reading habits...Anyway, both there and back we made a few stops to take plenty of pictures. We stopped twice (to and from Keene) at Tully Dam, and got some really nice foliage and water pictures, which of course I will post when I have the time. We also stopped at Doane's Falls to take more pictures...we didn't head down the path to the bottom but took some pix of the top part of it. Finally we headed home (but not before we took a quick drive-by picture of the cabin on the lake where h58 had his Fiascos.

And I got to end today by throwing the football around with my sisters, just like the old days. Felt good to do that again, even if I'm quite sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow...

Tomorrow and Sunday will also be fun-packed, as we will visit with more relatives, then spend a fun-filled evening over at h58's house with the gang, then Sunday spend the day with my good friend dollydelusion!! Fun! :D

I will be writing a much more detailed posted over on jonchaisson sometime in the next few days, as I do have some writing and personal stuff I'd like to extend on, but for now we're just about flat-out tired, as it's nearing 9:30 and we're just about out of steam.

More soon! :)


* For those of you not from Massachusetts or not familiar with Western MA, there's a section of 202 where you enter Shutesbury, go about 400 feet, and then re-enter New Salem. I started a thing with head58 and others a long time ago where we'd "hold our breath through Shutesbury".

** Note to drivers--this is a state road that has been in dire need of major renovation for YEARS. This is not a good road to drive on if your suspension sucks or have a weak stomach!

Athol is no longer a one two-stoplight town.

I'm actually kind of surprised it took this long to put lights there...