Radio silence

I'm the "500 channels and nothing to watch" kind of guy. I rarely turn on the TV any more. And as for the radio... let's say I'm somewhere between Radio Gaga and Radio KAOS. I usually find myself flipping in vain between Red, Jack & Rock (96.3, 96.6 and 96.9, very conveniently), hoping to come across some new tune, until I give up and push in one of my Sparks compilation CDs.

And yet, the radio's had its moments for me (the TV? Uhm... no). I remember listening to LedZep's Kashmir and Radiohead's Creep for the first time. I remember exactly where I was driving, and how in both cases I had to pull over.

A few weeks back I had another such moment. I was listening to one of the very few shows I actually knew the schedule of (not on any of the above stations, but just a slip of the dial off). Listening to a strangely familiar, soothing voice, and surprisingly agreeable words. Words not of major wisdom or enlightenment, but pleasantly meaningful. It was good company.

And one day the voice started reciting the translation of a poem; Philip Glass in the background performing a melody on the piano. And then the voice of Patti Smith, to sing the original song. It was a poem by Allen Ginsberg, called "On The Cremation of Chogyan Trungpa, Vidyadhara".

The same evening I found myself sending emails with subject "I am looking, quite desperately, for...", the body containing as many details as I could assemble from the web about the poem, the music, the performance. Some googling later, I came across Mr Lynch, who was kind enough to send me the piece.

A couple of days ago I found out the show was aborted. Abruptly.

I'll miss the voice, the words, and the sounds.

[Discretely dedicated to CM. But I'd rather not link right now]