It’s Tuesday, and you all know what that means–it’s time for Talkie Time and The Jazz Program on your favorite radio station, datafruits.fm! Here’s what we’re playing tonight!
Talkie Time : Mercury Theatre’s The Campbell Playhouse - The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd
(This program originally aired March 13, 2023.)
CURES WHAT AILS YA
On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and his troupe at the Mercury Theater repertory company broadcast one of the most infamous radio plays ever aired.
Their interpretation of H.G. Welle’s “The War Of The Worlds”, interpreted live on-air as a faux real-world emergency broadcast, was so realistic that the cops got called, multiple small towns went into states of panic, the FCC nearly barred them from the air–and earned them a sponsorship from the Campbell Soup Company.
First airing on December 9, 1938, The Campbell Playhouse aired the same kind of programming that made The Mercury Theater On The Air famous, but now with cash flow. A masterclass in foley, radio drama, and narrative adaptation alike, the entire series is absolutely worth a listen.
We’ll be airing their interpretation of Agatha Christie’s ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ tonight, which originally aired on November 12, 1939.
The Jazz Program: Zofka - Bikini / Chocolat / 2000-2015 Le temps passe
(This program originally aired March 13, 2023.)
With a cover like that you *know* it's good baybeeee
I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for making my audiences listen to whatever I’ve been fascinated by at any given moment. I don’t mean that as a deterrent, mind–I’d like to think I have decent taste, and part of why I got into radio in the first place is to share what I’ve found with all of you. This is very much one of those episodes.
I’m a huge fan of online radio pioneers soma.fm, and often have one of their “stations” (read: curated playlists by a selection of fantastic DJs) playing while I work. Zofka has at least one track on their “Illinois Street Lounge” station, and it’s that track that sent me down a rabbit hole of trip-hop and nu-jazz.
We’ll be playing three of their records tonight, including the retrospective “2000-2015 Le temps passe” which has the dubious honor of having one of the most unsettling pieces of cover art that I’ve ever seen on a trip-hop record. Gotta love the French weirdo jazz kids, man. Gotta love ’em.
Aaand that’s it for this week! Unfortunately, I’m still plowing away on this month’s Clippings, and I also have my new job at the bakery this evening after the set. That’s the kind of time crunch going that tends to lead us into Rerun Land, and that’s where we find ourselves tonight. As always, they’re good reruns, I promise. No one ever died from havin’ a day-old donut with their coffee.
You’re all amazing and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not. Stay safe out there, and I’ll see you back again next week. Same time, same station.