WLSO.FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IS YOUR SHRINK ON SUMMER VACATION? PSYCHOTHERAPY PT.1

Well I guess we can take the Gone Fishin’ sign down for a while.
I am back with an uneasy peace.
It was great to take over a month off, I feel refreshed, and yet the thought of continuing to do this weekly is a daunting one.
As Mom used to say, we shall see what we shall see.
And naturally, being the contrarian rebel that I am, I am back with a SERIES!
Dedicated to all who don’t like series, lol!
Since this show is a reflection of me and my rebellious ways, what else would you expect?
Series require the most thought and work, yet are the most fun for me.
I don’t know yet how long it will go- but when I feel I am done it will end.
No playlist, no restrictions, no limits- that’s what Free-Form is.
That is a picture above of Sigmund Freud.
Why?
It occurred to me during my mental rest that the month of August is notorious for being the time of year that Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Psychotherapists go on vacation, leaving their patients…oops…clients…fearful, anxious and on their own.
So I will fill the void, giving you 56 to 58 minute sessions instead of the 45 to 50 minute ones they do.
The Doctor is IN!

Mike

Tags: August, Free-form Radio, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Sigmund Freud, The Doctor is IN

ROCKOLLECTIONS: JUNE IS NATIONAL RIVERS MONTH PT.1

I think you can easily see where I am going with this Theme series for the next two weeks.
National Rivers Month is celebrated annually during the month of June to promote awareness and preservation of the country’s Rivers.
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river.
In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely.
Small rivers may also be called streams, creeks or brooks.
For this event, I have gathered a bunch of my favorite River songs.
And as usual, there are far too many for me to have time enough to play.
So I just let the tide take me in that free-form and free-association way of choosing the songs, flowing along like a River.
I haven’t done the Parts 3 & 4 yet, but I can already see that some truly wonderful River songs will necessarily be left out.
In this opening chapter, I will take you down to the River and watch it flow, roll on it, realize how wide it can be, and play a River song that some people (including members of the Beatles) consider the Greatest Rock & Roll song ever made.
We will also hear a River song that would be a drunkard’s dream, one that speaks of how shallow they can be (although not as shallow as me, lol), a classic one from the Man In Black, and ending this episode, a warning about trying to cross a River.
Hopefully, you will enjoy this opening salvo for one of our most beautiful natural resources- it contains some very enjoyable music you will both remember and be introduced to.
Give me a Theme about something, and I will give you several shows, lol!

Mike

Tags: A Drunkard's Dream, Free Association, Free-form Radio, The Beatles, The Greatest Rock & Roll Song Ever Made, The Man In Black

ROCKOLLECTIONS: THE KENTUCKY DERBY PT.1

Well it only took almost 12 years, but I finally realized in time to do something about it!
A show that has been bouncing around in my head for all those years, dedicated to the Kentucky Derby.
Because the only 2 vices I have avoided in my life are gambling and drugs, I never bet the ponies or the Derby, so it always sort of sneaked up on me.
But this year…voila…I am aware, lol!
So there will be much horsing around, and even imbibing in that famous traditional beverage.
There are some wonderful listeners I am blessed to have, who think along with me in these free-form-radio ventures.
And I am sure they figure there is a Rolling Stones song I HAVE to play.
They are correct of course, but I am going to throw them and everybody else a surprising curveball with that one, lol!
Something you may never have known about regarding that classic song.
Plus I have the chance to play within a Theme a song I have always loved, exquisite in its open to interpretation symbolism, that goes far beyond merely catching a horse.
Ah, there’s a lot here if you like Horses.
And we are only at the halfway marker- with a photo finish still to come.
You are invited to saddle up and join me.

Mike

Tags: Free-form Radio, Horses, Photo Finish, Rolling Stones

ROCKOLLECTIONS: MUSIC FOR MONEY & THE FINANCIAL CRISIS PT.1

Alright, this Theme has been nagging at me for a long time.
And our closeness to April 15th and Tax Day was the trigger.
I don’t like what I see going on here- we simply cannot keep spending Money like we are in this Financial Crisis that is far from over.
And I am tired of certain words like Bailouts, Unsustainable and especially Trillion, (who the hell ever even USED Trillion in conversation before a few years ago?).
A Trillion is a Million MILLIONS!
There are so many songs about Money, and others that can apply here, I again do not know how long the series will last.
It all depends on how the muse strikes me. This is free-form radio!
So a musical look at this topic, and I am not doing this Theme entirely all warm and fuzzy, but at times with a definite snarl!

Mike

Tags: April 15th, Bailouts, Billions, Free-form Radio, Millions, Tax Day, The Muse, Trillions, Unsustainable

ROCKOLLECTIONS: THE CYCLE OF LIFE PT.1

Here’s another idea for a Theme Series that I have had for a long time that would bump into the annual Tribute/Memorials.
The Cycle Of Life!
And I would always be reminded by those people passing away, thereby completing the Cycle.
Well, no more excuses.
It’s a new decade, and after about 10 years of doing them, I am putting those Tributes to rest, at least for a while.
As you will hear me say, it is coincidental that this comes during my birth month, March. Thinking more about it, maybe…maybe not.
At any rate, in this first chapter I will be taking a musical look at just some of what the singers and the songwriters think Life is- including our major opening question.
But to give you a better understanding of our real beginning and how this journey is going to go, in the next chapter Rockollections Will Give Birth!
Yes, Life will begin and I will take it from there.
At this point I have no idea how long this Theme Series will take.
It’s free-form radio, and I’ll know when I get to the end.
But this is how it begins…

Mike

Tags: birthday, Free-form Radio, Life Is, March, Theme Series, Tribute.Memorials

ROCKOLLECTIONS: MY RETURN, AND BACK DOING IT AGAIN! PT.1

I have mentioned it here before, so some of you may know that I had a problem at the radio station where I have been for almost 11 years.
Serious enough to make me stay home and not return for four months- stubborn bastard that I can be, lol!
I don’t want to get into the details, but it had to do with my doing Talk and not Music for cost reasons.
There is enough mindless chatter on the radio without mine.
Well I guess I won, because I came back, I am not doing talk, and I continue to have no restrictions whatsover about the music I play- very rare indeed on today’s computerized playlist radio.
Chalk one up for the iconoclasts.
During those 4 months, I was sending out Encores of shows I have already done, and I will continue to do so when I think it appropriate.
It’s one of the perks of having a stockpile.
But here is the first truly NEW show since early February- and it is already old, lol!
It was broadcast June 23, 2009, and I believe in the next chapter you will hear me refer to Summer having begun just days ago, which it had.
I didn’t want to interrupt the Salute To Fathers and the Celebration Of America series I had going, so I held this back.
Finally here it is for your listening pleasure…hopefully!
Now it was suggested to me that I not say anything about my lengthy absence- typical of radio, people come and go without comment.
But that’s not my style, I consider my listeners my friends, and I would not insult their intelligence by ignoring the fact I was missing for so long.
So I dedicated the hour to the fact that I had been gone, now I was back, and tested the freedom to play what I want by choosing songs about returning to places.
I also wanted the people who cared enough to be concerned, to know that my not having been there for so long had absolutely nothing to do with any health problems on my part, and felt it proper to ask both aloud and musically about their state of health.
So that’s the background for this, the first of two parts.
And I had enough time away to think of the most PERFECT song to open with- about being Back Where You Started and Doing It All Again!
And I went from there…!

Mike

Tags: Free-form Radio, Music Radio, Radio Stations, Talk Radio