As mentioned in the recent Blast O' Hot Air, WFMU has a new Web-Only morning lineup from 6 AM - 9 AM: WFMU Unshackled! My podcast, Communication Breakdown, heard Friday mornings - morphed into a three-hour no-holds barred music and talk show (a podcast version is no longer available - ask the lawyers why), with much more music than I'd like. It's been years since I faked being a DJ (which doesn't stand for Dumb Jerk, as some people think...) and doing two music-crammed programs (the third show never happened due to technical problems) has me feeling like the biggest fake this side of our President.
Listeners have praised my programming when I do the occassional fill-in - and I certainly feel I have good taste in music - but that's not NEAR enough to be called a WFMU DJ, not IMHO (or even IHOP). Around here it's like saying you have good balance and then trying to join a trapeze act. WFMU DJs have mad skills. Okay, some of them are technically inept but these are people with massive record collections, who listen to a ton of new music and who are forever on the hunt for interesting slabs to lay on you, dear listener. Me? I haven't bought a new CD in years. With my two jobs and other responsibilities, I almost never get to hear WFMU in real-time. I cram my iPod with podcasts and other MP3s and swear I'll get to them someday - but - as John Fogerty once wrote - "someday never comes". But it's okay. I long ago came to the realization that my role at WFMU is as talkshow host. I've even become so sensitive to using the proper label that I've corrected people who refer to me as a DJ vis a vis WFMU. It's not that I'm trying to be a snob - it's just that I have too much respect for what WFMU DJs actually do. I'm not in that pantheon. I run my mouth. I make my opinion known. I rant. I rave. I take calls. And the problem - so far - with the new Unshackled Communication Breakdown is that the calls just ain't coming in. This is partly because the thing is so new - I understand that. People have to discover it, know it's there, get used to the idea of a completely FCC-Free zone. Then they have to pick up the phone and call 201-536-WFMU (9368). But part of it - a BIG part - is the cost involved with calling from other parts of the country and the world. That's why I'm thrilled to report yet another step forward, technologically-wise, for WFMU that will allow you to call Communication Breakdown from anywhere FREE OF CHARGE. It's called Skype - you've heard about it recently because eBay just bought the company. Their basic software is free and allows you to use your Mac or PC as an Internet telephone. All you need is a decent internet connection and some kind of microphone hooked up to your computer.
In addition to regular calls, I'll be taking Skype calls Friday morning at my brand new Skype contact name - CommBreak - but be aware: you'll need to lower your computer's volume when I put you on the "air" - or SCREECHING FEEDBACK will occur (how I look forward to yelling, "TURN YOUR COMPUTER DOWN!" the first time THAT happens). CommBreak is also set up with voice-mail, so download Skype and leave me a message - and let's keep marching into the 21st century together!
Just wanted to say, I could listen to 3 hours of collages like the ones Chris opens the show with. I'm sure they take a lot of work - they're worth it!! DJ premium possibilities - a comp of those intros?
Posted by: kevin | November 03, 2005 at 01:55 PM
Unfortunately, another thing that's put Skype into the news was the discovery a week ago of multiple security vulnerabilities in the Skype client software. Read more and find security patches here.
- Kenzo, who usually asks callers with feedback to turn their computers up on his own call-in shows
Posted by: _Kenzo | November 03, 2005 at 06:13 PM