Radio, Radio

Just returned from another excellent road trip, once again basking in the afterglow of Fahrfegnugen (how the fuck do you spell that, anyway?) and counting myself lucky after a pebble smashing into my windshield at 80mph managed to only crack and not completely decimate the windshield (and possibly, me). Instead it was a rather cool-looking battle scar that unfortunately needed to be replaced with a shiny new windshield.

One thing I've noticed as a frequent road-tripper is that, no matter where you choose to roam, there is simply no escaping two things: Jesus and Twang. Radio preachers manage to spew gospel to drivers traversing even the remotest, least-traveled roads of the nation; country music has nary a square mile of non-coverage (except, thankfully, in NYC). Good thing my trusty MP3 player saved me from both equally torturous forms of radio programming.

A few other things that crossed my mind this week:

1. The Go-Gos' Beauty and the Beat album is nearing 25 years old. As are John Lennon's Double Fantasy, The Police's Ghost in the Machine, Pat Benatar's Crimes of Passion, Depeche Mode's Speak and Spell, Oingo Boingo's Only a Lad, Duran Duran's self-titled debut and a host of other significant albums from my later elementary school days. 25 freakin' years.
2. One should not attempt to fiddle with MP3 player on windy mountain road unless one would prefer to drive off the edge than remain on said road.
3. The deaths of Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith were both devastating blows to music, in very different ways. Jeff had the kind of voice that ripped your heart right out of your chest, regardless of whether or not his lyrics were meaningful to you. Elliott spoke directly to your heart and mind, gently nudging your emotions with painful lyrics awash in simple melodies. No matter how much time passes, each time I hear either of these incredible talents, I must take a minute to mourn their loss.
4. Bob Marley's "Jammin'" is often heard on classic rock stations. Why is this? Is it because rock DJs feel Marley deserves to be heard despite the lack of stations devoted to reggae? If that's the case, let's add a few disco tunes to the classic rock lineup since there are few disco stations and dammit, we still need our Earth, Wind & Fire!
5. Why do clueless DJs still insist on putting a "The" before "Counting Crows?" Aren't they trained in proper usage of bands' names? Don't they realize adding "the" completely changes the meaning of the name? "The Counting Crows" doesn't even make sense, for fuck's sake! Smashing Pumpkins recognized this as a losing battle, eventually adding "The" to their name, thereby selling themselves out and, in doing so, changing the meaning of their name entirely, saddling themselves with a pitifully less-cool moniker. Future Counting Crows albums should include a memo to brainless DJs: "Yo, morons, do you see a "The" before our name? No! So how about you don't fucking add one?," lest they go the way of Smashing Pumpkins and disband, the inevitable result of clueless people having trouble with your band's name (see Jefferson Airplane/Starship).