OnAir July 2023

ON AIR

WKCR 89.9 FM

July 2023 Vol. xxii, No. 7

OnAir · July 2023

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WKCR 89.9 FM Station Manager Ale Díaz-Pizarro stationmanager@wkcr.org Program Director Maria Shaughnessy programming@wkcr.org Director of Operations Zachary Vanderslice operations@wkcr.org Student Life Director Ted Schmiedeler studentlife@wkcr.org Publicity Director Georgia Dillane publicity@wkcr.org Jazz Heads Tanvi Krishnamurthy & Satch Peterson jazz@wkcr.org New Music Head Razvan Matei newmusic@wkcr.org Classical Head Melisa Nehrozoglu classical@wkcr.org American Head McKenna Roberts american@wkcr.org In All Languages Head Ann Vettikkal ial@wkcr.org Latin Head Leni Bryan latin@wkcr.org News & Arts Head Josh Kazali news@wkcr.org Sports Head August Phillips sports@wkcr.org

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Dear Listeners, I am always excited to bring you a new issue of OnAir, but this month especially so. For starters, this month we have our first of two traditional Louis Armstrong birthday broadcasts, which are always station favorites. But July also brings a slew of new broadcasts and other celebrations, and this issue of OnAir has articles to match for almost all of them—articles clearly born of deep research and their authors' passion for the music they're about, which make this issue a truly exceptional one for our melophiles (or trivia enthusiasts) out there.

We open with Matthew "Fat Cat" Rivera's homage to Louis Armstrong's artistry, and take detours through the Blues of Willie Dixon and the canción of Mercedes Sosa to end up at the question of how the Wu-Tang Clan has managed to stay a collective after 30 years of recording together, explored by Ted Schmiedeler—whose second article about Wu-Tang this is, which might put him on track to become a veritable Wu-Tang scholar in residence at 'KCR. All of this to say, the broadcasts that bookend this month's programming really pay testament to the musical range that 'KCR boasts, and we hope that you tune in for something that you maybe hadn't heard before and didn't know you'd enjoy.

And of course, in between specials, we hope you'll continue tuning in for the usual shows. We might be a little short-staffed for summer with school out of session, but the music isn't going anywhere.

Happy Listening!

Alejandra Díaz-Pizarro Station Manager Cover photo taken by William P. Gottlieb.

Mailing Address

CONTACT US

2920 Broadway General Inquiries: board@wkcr.org New York, NY 10027 Listener Line: 212-854-9920 USA ©Copyright 2023 WKCR FM NYC

This Month OnAir Listenin' Louie . . . page 4

Willie Dixon: I Am the Blues Weekly Schedule

. . . page 6

. . . page 8

Special Broadcasts & Themed Shows . . . page 10

Show Listings for WKCR Listeners On Weekly Mercedes Schedule Sosa

. . . page 11

. . . page 14

Wu-Tang Forever: Not Just a Slogan . . . page 16

Merch Announcement . . . page 18

OnAir · July 2023

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FEATURE PIECE

Listenin' Louie

by Matthew "Fat Cat" Rivera

I

n Chicago on April 24, 1933, Louis listener, consuming the sounds and sights Armstrong—“floating” on reefer as the tenor around him with avid observance, Louis the player Budd Johnson recalled it—made archivist, preserving his life on record, and “Laughin’ Louie,” one of five sides he cut for Louis the artist, crafting it all into a flood tide Victor that day.1 His band sets off with a hurdy- of expression, a complete worldview. Vince gurdy beat and shouts a unison “yeah!” before Giordano has identified the old fashioned Armstrong announces he’s about to practice melody on “Laughin’ Louie” as Minnie T. Wright’s “Love Song” from 1920, the trumpet. Then all which Armstrong probably swing breaks loose with played accompanying silent Keg Johnson roaring on movies with Erskine Tate's the trombone, his brother Vendome Orchestra around Budd chasing him on 1926, and of course “Laughin’ tenor, and Armstrong sets Louie” pays homage to a off on an “old fashioned huge hit of 1923, “The OKeh good one:” a single note Laughing Record,” a gag inspires an uproar of recording of a struggling laughter, twice, then trumpet player who elicits with no accompaniment, laughter. Ricky Riccardi, Armstrong plays a beautiful Armstrong’s head archivist melody. He swings it, but he and curator, notes, “Louis doesn’t quell the hecklers. loved ‘The OKeh Laughing And then, magic. “Now Record’ and owned a copy here’s the beautiful part. of it, transferring it to reelListen.” It’s the notes, it’s to-reel tape many times the way he makes them Courtesy of Matthew Rivera. and even joining in with and places them, carefully, like a surgeon of the soul, following that beat, the laughter one time when dubbing it with taking his time to hear a phrase just before he some friends.”2 Another dimension of Laughin’ plays it, finally building to a herculean high Louie, then: memory. I can see Armstrong concert F. It’s the notes and the audible silences there in the recording studio, eyes closed, around them, the big room tone of 1143 hearing the OKeh laughing record, hearing the Merchandise Mart, the sound of anticipation, Erskine Tate band, and then, Joe Oliver, Bunk the sound of listening. No more heckling. Finis. Johnson, Buddy Petit, Kid Rena, the ancestors, This is the stuff that brims over the heart— as he sculpts each phrase. Finally he opens his the lyrical Armstrong, the identity, the humor, the spirit. It is also the stuff of Louis the 2 Ricky Riccardi, “Six Minutes with Satch: Laughing’ Louie / 1 Satchmo: The Louis Armstrong Encyclopedia, p. 180.

4 OnAir · July 2023

Tomorrow Night” https://dippermouth.blogspot.com/2020/04/six-minutes-with-satchlaughin-louie.html

eyes, looks up at the ceiling, and reaches that high concert F—and now, Louis Armstrong.

Here on Armstrong’s 122nd birthday, we take our offerings to the monument by celebrating his statements, that is, by playing his records.

The opening credenza of “West End Blues;” the stop time breaks on “Potato Head Blues;" the scat chorus on “Heebie Jeebies;” the first recorded solo on “Chimes Blues;” the “Oh Memory” take of “Stardust;” the triumph that is “Swing That Music;” “Back ‘O Town Blues;” “That’s for Me;” At the Crescendo; Ella and Louis; “Hello, Dolly;” “What a Wonderful World;” even “Laughin’ Louie.” Each is a piece of the whole and a world unto itself. But as powerfully as he made these statements, Armstrong, it seems to me, listened twice as powerfully. Twice he tells us to listen on “Laughin’ Louie,” and thanks to his self-archiving, we know that listening was an essential part of his craft. On hundreds of reel-to-reel tapes he made during the last two decades of his life, Armstrong acts as an avid DJ, re-recording records from his vast collection, often listening with an open mic, and occasionally playing along with them.

Like the collages of clippings, photographs, and scotch tape he created outside his reelto-reel boxes, on the tapes themselves we hear Armstrong collecting sources, compiling inspirations, memories, ideas, heart. We hear him listening.

It’s all there on “Laughin’ Louie.” Like an aural collage, taped together with laughs and cries of “yeah man!” Armstrong calls the recording a practice session, a glimpse at the creative process behind all those statements we celebrate on July 4th, August 4th, and every other day of the year. As with the tape collages and the recordings, he sutures his public and private personas, his personal and impersonal histories, in order to speak for himself. The word collage, strictly speaking, comes from the French for sticking or gluing, but in a more colloquial sense, it also can mean “having an affair, or an unmarried couple ‘living in sin.’”3 Today it may be difficult to hear the radicalism 3 University of Chicago, School of Media Theory, “Collage.” https:// csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/collage.htm

Courtesy of Matthew Rivera.

of Armstrong’s combination of previously “unmarried” sources in both his collages and his music, but in “Laughin’ Louie,” it’s right at the fore: the humor of the first section of the record, a little ditty written by Clarence Gaskill, and then the heart wrenching “Love Song.” “Laughin’ Louie,” with its not-so-subtle association of getting high and high love, of a new pleasure madness and a decaying victorian sentimentality, of mass culture’s uncertain acceleration towards both liberation and Fascism, is in this sense a statement of the age.

Working in Armstrong’s archives over the past few months has added to my own densely layered collage portrait of Armstrong. A few details rise to the fore: a photograph of an old Armstrong wearing a pair of headphones that engulf his ears; a flattened pot leaf in one of Jack Bradley’s books; a letter to Armstrong’s once wife Lil filled with a slew of dirty jokes that FCC regulations would prevent us from reading over the air; a huge print of Armstrong eating spaghetti over the desk where I’ve been working at the scanner. Somewhere in the process of recently moving Armstrong’s massive collection from Queens College to the new Louis Armstrong Center, I overheard Alex, the main archives packer, comment on the numerous books about Hitler in Armstrong’s voluminous library. Ricky tells Alex, “Armstrong said you have to learn about your enemies before you can hate them.” And somewhere I hear that high concert F.

OnAir · July 2023

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AMERICAN

Willie Dixon: I Am the Blues

by Sam Seliger

D

uring his life, Wilie Dixon released 13 albums (plus a box set) and 12 singles, none of which charted.

He also wrote over 500 recorded songs. In 1960 alone, Dixon gave Howlin’ Wolf a trio of classic hits: “Back Door Man,” “Spoonful,” and “Wang Dang Doodle,” and the next year gave him two more with “I Ain’t Superstitious” and “Little Red Rooster.” While that short span of compositions for a single artist alone would have made Dixon an indispensable contributor to the legacy of blues music, it is rivaled by numerous other accomplishments of similar importance.

In the 1950s and 60s, Willie Dixon was the bassist and de facto leader of the house band at Chess Records, that palace of postwar Chicago blues that codified and transformed the genre.

He produced numerous recording sessions and worked as an administrator for Chess and its subsidiaries, as well as scouting for talent on their behalf (and that of some other small labels). With his playing, songwriting, and work behind the boards, he was the single largest contributor—save for the artist themselves— to the classic sound of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, Otis Rush, and early Chuck Berry.

Dixon was part of a pivotal generation of African-American musicians. Born in Mississippi in 1915, he was five years younger than Howlin’ Wolf, four younger than Robert Johnson, and two younger than Muddy Waters.

Like all of those men, he was exposed to a robust musical world in the deep south and eventually moved towards larger cities (and northward) as a part of the Great Migration.

Dixon’s musical background exemplifies the

6 OnAir · July 2023

Willie Dixon at the American Folk Blues Festival, Brussels, 1963.

changing musical world in which he came of age. As a young man, he sang in gospel groups, as well as working in small ensembles that specialized in the emerging styles of more urbane Black pop music. Though he was part of Chicago’s tremendous Blues scene, he was recording proto-rhythm-and-blues with the Big Three Trio late into the 1940s. The Blues was a form of popular music, and while it may not have sold quite as well as the Ink Spots, it was

Dixon at the Monterey Jazz Festival, 1981. Photo by Brian McMillen.

within the musical vernacular of the day and held a niche in the landscape of Black popular music in the middle of the 20th century.

Dixon joined Chess Records in 1951, and his work there solidified that niche in its post-WWII manifestation. In his book Romancing the Folk, historian Benjamin Filene highlighted Blues’s popularity with Southern-born adults: it was a modern style of music built on the familiar pre-war tradition that Dixon’s generation had grown up with. With his songwriting, playing, bandleading and production, Dixon was as crucial to this formation of the blues as anybody: he took the themes, lyrical tropes, and songwriting structures of the early blues and formed them into a coherent and fully developed world. In it, the seedy drama of everyday life was played up, where compelling characters—heartbroken, libidinous, powerful, desperate, charismatic—were the center of the world for three to five minutes at a time.

His songwriting was marked by its masterful concision, using the repetition of the blues form to maximum extent and giving his many

talented vocalists plenty of space to make it their own.

The blues that he played with the Chess band was sturdy and swinging, continuing the rhythmic evolution of the music from the first decades of the 20th century onward. The blues shuffle was never merely a product of the rhythm section (Dixon’s steady bass lines and the jazz-influenced swinging of the drums), but of a whole ensemble product; the defining blues rhythmic tendencies came just as much from the rhythm guitar and the left hand of the piano. While the British blues/rockers of subsequent generations would morph the blues into a guitar-slinger’s field, Dixon’s Chicago blues was still an ensemble-based music, and the bands that Dixon led for Chess Records were among the best.

It is a tragedy of these circumstances that Dixon’s catalog as a leader gave him so few opportunities to achieve stardom from the sound he developed. He recorded relatively little as a leader for Chess, and while the material he did make, such as the live duo album with Memphis Slim, are quite interesting and enjoyable, they weren’t exactly vehicles to superstardom. In 1970, he put out the aptlytitled I Am the Blues for Columbia, a personal favorite for its lived-in, ensemble-oriented sound, and while he eventually garnered success on the touring circuit, it was far less than the late-career renaissance of Muddy Waters or the eternal reverence of Chuck Berry.

However, those attentive to the tremendous importance of his work have always known that there is none who can equal him.

WKCR will be inaugurating the month with a special broadcast to honor the life and work of Willie Dixon. The broadcast will run 2-6pm on Saturday, July 1st, pre-empting Something Inside of Me and Hobo's Lullaby.

OnAir · July 2023

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5:00 am 6:00 am 7:00 am

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDN

Jazz ‘til Dawn (cont’d)

Daybreak

Field Trip

8:00 am 9:00 am

Amazing Grace

Monday Morningside

10:00 am 11:00 am

Cereal Music

The Moonshine Show

12:00 pm 1:00 pm The Tennessee Border Show

Out to Lunch

2:00 pm

Sin Fro

3:00 pm 4:00 pm 5:00 pm

Sunday Profiles

Afternoon New Music

6:00 pm 7:00 pm 8:00 pm 9:00 pm 10:00 pm 11:00 pm 12:00 am 1:00 am 2:00 am

Raag Aur Taal SoundStage Live Constructions Back in the USSR The Celtic Show

PopTalk Caribe Latino Urbano Latinx

News + Arts P Honky Tonkin’

Nueva C

Tuesday’s Just as Bad

Som do

Night Train

Transfigu

Coordinated Universal Time

3:00 am 4:00 am

Jazz Alte

Phil Lives

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Transfigured Night

NESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY Transfigured Night (cont’d)

k Express

Sounds of Asia

5:00 am 6:00 am 7:00 am 8:00 am 9:00 am

Birdflight Eastern Standard Time Early Music

10:00 am 11:00 am 12:00 pm

Across 110th Street

Out to Lunch

onteras

2:00 pm

Something Inside of Me

Bach Hour

Programming

Canción

o Brasil

ured Night

Hobo’s Lullaby

Middle Eastern Influences

Sonidos Colombianos

The Mambo Machine

Transfigured Night

8:00 pm

10:00 pm

Saturday Night at the Opera 11:00 pm 12:00 am

Notes From Underground Alternates every week.

Offbeat

7:00 pm

9:00 pm

Workaround The African Show

5:00 pm 6:00 pm

Traditions in Swing

ernatives

3:00 pm 4:00 pm

Afternoon Classical

Extended Technique

1:00 pm

El Sonido de la Calle Alternates every week.

1:00 am 2:00 am 3:00 am 4:00 am

Jazz ‘til Dawn

OnAir · July 2023

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Special Broadcasts BIRTHDAY BROADCASTS Willie Dixon

Brian Blade

In the space that normally holds our Saturday folk and Blues programming, we will be celebrating Willie Dixon, house bassist, bandleader, producer, and principal songwriter for the great Chess Records in Chicago in the 1950s and 60s.

Dixon wrote countless blues classics, played on and produced hundreds of recordings, and had a lengthy career as a lead artist as well. Our broadcast will include highlights from his musical career, including deep cuts and live recordings, covers, and classics, both undersung and oversung.

The second drummer featured in a special broadcast in the second part of July this year is Brian Blade, a tremendous figure of the jazz and fusion worlds and far beyond for over three decades. In addition to working in Wayne Shorter’s band for most of the 21st century, Blade has been a regular collaborator for a diverse group of innovative musicians ranging from Ron Miles, Joshua Redman, and Chick Correa to Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris. Our special broadcast will highlight iconic and obscure recordings throughout his prodigious and eclectic career thus far.

Saturday, July 1st, 2-6 pm

Louis Armstrong

Tuesday, July 4th, all day

As we have done every year for around 50 years, we will celebrate Louis Armstrong on his observed birthday of July 4th (don’t worry, we’ll also be doing his legal birthday next month!). Our broadcast will include some of the classics, deep cuts, obscure live recordings, and of course, special archival deep dives from Phil Schaap.

Wu Tang Clan

Wednesday-Thursday, July 5th-6th, 10pm-6am

Two members of the legendary hip-hop group, RZA and Inspectah Deck, were born on back-to-back days in July, giving us a perfect opportunity to celebrate the group in their 30th year as commercial recording artists. We provided them some of their first ever airplay on the Stretch and Bobbito Show back in 1993, and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. In order to present their music in its actual, uncensored form, we will be broadcasting during radio Dark Hours, from 10pm to 6 am.

Mercedes Sosa

Sunday, July 9th, 2-7 pm

In a special edition of Sunday Profiles, WKCR celebrates what would have been the famed Argentinian singer's 88th birthday. Of indigenous descent, Sosa was a leading voice in the nueva canción movement and an emblem of resistance against the Latin American dictatorships of the 60s and 70s.

Philly Joe Jones Centennial Saturday, July 15th, all day

We are thrilled to present a 24-hour special broadcast celebrating the 100th birthday of the great drummer “Philly” Joe Jones. Best known for his membership in Miles Davis’s First Great Quintet, Jones was a leading player of the bebop era, working with countless legends including Tadd Dameron,, Bill Evans, and Sonny Rollins. Our special broadcast will include live and studio recordings from throughout his career, including work as both a sideman and a leader.

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Tuesday, July 25th, all day

SUNDAY PROFILES Sundays 2:00-7:00 PM

Labeled: JAPO

July 2nd, 2:00 - 7:00 PM

Hosts: Steve Mandel & J Cohn

Mercedes Sosa July 9th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM

Hosts: David Contreras, David Gonzalez, Maria Shaughnessy

Warp Records

July 16th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM

Host: David Contreras-Araya

TBA

July 23rd, 2:00 - 7:00 PM Host: Sid Gribetz

Michel Camilo

July 30th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM Host: Benjamin Magid

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE OPERA Saturdays 9:00 PM-12:30 AM

Nixon in China (Adams) July 1st, 9:00pm-12:30am

Host: Alejandra Díaz-Pizarro

Tannhäuser (Wagner) July 8th, 9:00pm-12:30am Host: Ale Díaz-Pizarro

La fille du régiment (Donizetti) July 22nd, 9:00pm-12:30am Host: Ale Díaz-Pizarro

Œdipe (Enescu)

July 29th, 9:00pm-12:30am Host: Ale Díaz-Pizarro

Show Listings

JAZZ

Afternoon Classical, Fri. 3-6pm.

Similar to cereal music, most of afternoon classical has no restrictions on what type of classical music to play.

The last hour of the show, however, is dedicated fully to the music of JS Bach.

Daybreak Express, weekdays 5-8:20am Out to Lunch, weekdays 3-6pm Jazz Alternatives, weekdays 6-9pm These three programs comprise the core of our jazz offerings. Programming consists of everything from New Saturday Night at the Opera, Sat. 9pm-12:30am.

Orleans jazz, jazz age, swing era, bebop, hard-bop, mod- One of NYC’s longest running opera shows, Saturday Night at the Opera is a 3.5 hour show that allows al, free, and avant-garde. In short, you’ll encounter the entire range of recorded jazz on these programs. Hosts operas to be played in their entirety, with room for rotate from day-to-day, offering an exciting variety of ap- commentary, descriptions, and some history. proaches, some of which include thematic presentation, artist interviews, or artist profiles NEW MUSIC

Afternoon New Music, Mon. & Tues. 3-6pm Birdflight, Tues.-Fri. 8:20-9:30am Archival programs from the late Phil Schaap, one of the Our daytime new music program features a wide variety of music that challenges boundaries and subverts world’s leading jazz historians, who hosted this daily forum for the music of Charlie Parker for about 40 years. categorizations. Shows include everything from seminal new music compositions to the most challenging of obscure deep cuts and new releases.

Traditions in Swing, Sat. 6-9pm Archival programs hosted by the late Phil Schaap, this award-winning Saturday night staple presents focused thematic programs dealing with jazz up until about World War II. Schaap presents the music, much of it incredibly rare, from the best sound source, which is often the original 78 issue.

Transfigured Night, Tues./Thurs./Sat. 1-5am Our overnight explorations into the world of new music, Transfigured Night rewards our late night listeners with a wide range of sounds and experimental music.

Workaround*, Fri. 9-10pm WKCR presents Live DJ sets from Columbia students Phil Lives*, Mon. 3-5am This overnight show features archival broadcasts of long- and local artists. form programs from late NEA Jazz Master Phil Schaap.

CLASSICAL

Live Constructions, Sun. 10-11pm This weekly program features a live in-studio performance or a performance pre-recorded specially for the show.

Cereal Music, Mon.-Thurs. 9:30am-12pm An entirely open-ended classical show to start your AMERICAN weekdays. Tune in to hear the most eclectic mix of classical music on the New York airwaves!

Honky Tonkin’, Tues. 10-11pm One of WKCR’s longest-running American music The Early Music Show, Fri. 9:30am-12pm programs, Honky Tonkin’ lands in the harder side of Dedicated primarily to European medieval, Renaissance, Country music. Emphasizing the greatest voices in the and baroque music, all from before 1800 (plus or minus genre, Honky Tonkin’ is a country music dance party 50 years). every Tuesday night.

Extended Technique*, Wed. & Thurs. 3-6pm WKCR’s first interdepartmental show (in the New Music and Classical departments) dedicated to contemporary classical music. You’ll hear everything from 12-tone and minimalist compositions to film and video game scores, and all things in between.

Tuesday’s Just as Bad, Tues. 11pm - Wed. 1am Tuesday’s Just as bad explores the world of blues prior to World War II. Shows weave their way through the first decades of recorded music history and turn to the postwar years in the final half hour.

* Indicates show was created after January 2022

OnAir · July 2023 11

LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS Night Train, Wed. 1-5am All aboard! One of our two overnight programs in the American department, Night Train rolls through the post-war R&B and soul tradition, from the genre’s emergence in the 1940’s and 50’s through the funk revolution in the 1970’s. Shows often feature extended live recordings and concerts.

the genre’s pioneers in the 1940s and 50s and advancements in the 60s and 70s, through the leading innovators and stars of today.

The Tennessee Border Show, Sun. 12-2pm One third of WKCR’s country music programming, along with Honky Tonkin’ and the Bluegrass Moonshine Show, Tennessee Border highlights the singer-songwriter tradition, from Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt to Lucinda Williams.

Offbeat, Fri. 1-5am Offbeat is committed to broadcasting undiscovered new hip hop music. Shows typically focus on exposing underplayed or up-and-coming new artists, including LATIN experimental instrumental artists not typically played on mainstream hip hop radio.

Caribe Latino, Mon. 10pm-12am Caribe Latino is a music program that features Across 110th Street, Sat. 12-2pm the diverse, upbeat music from numerous Latin Kicking off our Saturday afternoon American music run, communities in the Caribbean. Popular Latin rhythms Across 110th Street airs soul, funk, and dance music from such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Latin Jazz take the 1960’s through the 1980’s and 90’s. center stage throughout the program.

Something Inside of Me, Sat. 2-4pm Something Inside of Me is WKCR’s Saturday afternoon blues show, focusing mostly on the electric and post-war styles.

Hobo’s Lullaby, Sat. 4-6pm Rooted in the folk revival of the 1950s and 60s, Hobo’s Lullaby airs American folk and traditional music styles from the early 20th century through the present day.

From old staples like Leadbelly, Elizabeth Cotton, and Woody Guthrie to contemporary stalwarts like the Carolina Chocolate Drops and lesser known artists, domestic traditions are alive and well on Hobo’s Lullaby.

Notes from the Underground, Sun. 12:30-2am Notes from the Underground showcases contemporary hip hop and rap music with an emphasis on emerging and experimental artists. The program also hosts local and visiting artists for interviews, freestyles, and guestcuration.

Amazing Grace, Sun. 8-10am Greeting listeners on Sunday morning, Amazing Grace shares with listeners the world of the African-American gospel tradition.

The Moonshine Show, Sun. 10am-12pm On the air for nearly 60 years, The Moonshine Show showcases the American Bluegrass tradition, from the earliest roots in vernacular string-band music, through * indicates show was created after January 2022

12 OnAir · July 2023

Urbano Latinx, Tues. 12-1am A weekly Latin show airing contemporary sounds from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diaspora, Urbano Latinx features mixes of salsa, merengue, Latin punk rock, and more.

Sin Fronteras*, Wed. 12-3pm Falling in the space of Out to Lunch on Wednesday afternoons, Sin Fronteras explores the tremendous Latin Jazz tradition.

Nueva Canción, Wed. 10-11pm Nueva Canción is an exploration of protest music created throughout Latin America during the 60s and 70s and its numerous other manifestations throughout other countries and time periods.

Som do Brasil, Wed. 11pm - Thurs. 1am From samba and bossa nova to MPB, hear the numerous and enchanting sounds and rhythms of Brazil.

Sonidos Colombianos, Fri. 10-11pm Sonidos Colombianos presents music from one of the most culturally diverse countries of Latin America: Colombia! Our bilingual musical tour is guaranteed to include not only cumbia, but also the guitar-based bambuco from the Andean region, the harp llanero music from the Eastern Plains, the marimba-infused currulao from the Pacific Region, and the accordiondriven vallenato of the North Atlantic Coast.

LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS Field Trip, Sun. 6-8am The Mambo Machine, Fri. 11pm - Sat. 2am The Mambo Machine is the longest running salsa show Field Trip focuses on the music and practice of field recordings: music recorded outside of a studio. Tune in in New York City. The program presently plays a wide spectrum of Afro-Latin rhythms, combining new and old and you may catch field recordings that were recorded fifty years ago, others that were experimented with by into an exciting, danceable mix. your favorite Afternoon New Music artist, or even those documented in New York City by WKCR itself.

El Sonido de la Calle*, Sun. 2-4am A companion show to Saturday night’s American Notes from Underground, El Sonido de la Calle highlights the Raag Aur Taal, Sun. 7-9pm Raag Aur Taal explores the sounds and rich cultural diverse world of contemporary Spanish-language hipheritage of South Asia. The term “Raag Aur Taal” hop and dance music. roughly translates to “melody and rhythm,” indicating the classical nature of this program.

IN ALL LANGUAGES

The Celtic Show, Mon. 12-1am Music from across the island of Ireland throughout the era of recorded music, particularly focusing on traditional folk and vernacular music forms.

Coordinated Universal Time, Mon. 1-3am Coordinated Universal Time brings our listeners the latest cut of music from anywhere in the world, especially highlighting music that does not get attention in America. Our programming tries to bring the hottest and the most recent tunes to WKCR’s airwaves.

The African Show, Thurs. 10pm-12am The longest running African music radio show in the United States, the African Show brings you a variety of music from the entire continent of Africa.

Middle Eastern Influences, Fri. 12-1am During the hour-long show, Middle Eastern Influences features a wide range of beautiful tracks from regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and even, at times, South Asia.

Back in the USSR, Sun. 11pm-12am Back in the USSR features music from across the former Soviet Union and soviet states across Eastern Europe and East and Central Asia, from the mid-20th century through the present.

NEWS & ARTS Monday Morningside*, Mon. 8:30-9:30am Monday Morningside is WKCR’s morning news broadcast to kick off the week, featuring news segments on events around Morningside Heights and upper Manhattan. If you’re not an early bird, all episodes are available as podcasts on Spotify!

PopTalk*, Mon. 9-10pm PopTalk examines current developments in pop music and the latest top-flight releases.

SoundStage*, Sun. 9-10pm SoundStage features audio dramas and radio plays from the WKCR archives as well as new compositions by students and contemporary writers. Some shows also feature interviews with dramatists and directors.

Sounds of Asia, Sat. 6-8am Rechristened from Sounds of China, Sounds of Asia SUNDAY PROFILES explores the recorded musical traditions and innovations Sunday Profile, Sun. 2-7pm* of Asia and the Pacific islands.

With the return of the five-hour profiles slot, programmers will showcase longform Eastern Standard Time, Sat. 8am-12pm profiles as they have done for decades. While the One of New York’s most popular Reggae programs, Eastern Standard Time takes listeners through Saturday primary focus remains on jazz music, we also feature morning from 8 am to noon with the hypnotic sounds of other styles and traditions from across WKCR’s different programming departments.

Reggae and Jamaican dance music.

* indicates show was created after January 2022

OnAir · July 2023 13

LATIN

On Mercedes Sosa

by David Contreras-Araya

A

dense voice emerges from the faint centric cosmopolitanism, seeking to elevate strumming of a guitar. Reuniting with the Bombo, which alongside the Quena and the Bombo, almost in solidarity, is the Charango comprise Sosa’s exploits into Andean lyricism of pastoral nostalgia and later—a instrumentation. In occasional leaps, as in proud rendering of Argentine nationality. As "Terceto Autóctono," Sosa’s opus flirts with Mercedes Sosa promises in dazzling interpolations the opening piece for her that pin a Quena against sophomore album: “When an ensemble of orchestral I have the land / those strings. who fight will have it / the Similarly, her lyricism teachers, the woodcutters, maintains a similar theme the workers.” despite its profound Mercedes Sosa was, if yearning for social decency anything, an effective icon and ethno-racial unity. In of a pan-Latin American line with later musical and indigeneity. Yet her music literary figures of popular betrays a modernist Argentine music, namely synthesis of formal Luis Alberto Spinetta, Sosa constructions in Euroregarded herself, in practice, centric music. As historian as an aesthete. Nostalgia, Matthew B. Karush observes fervor, melancholia, and in his critical analysis passion were the central of Argentine music, her figures of Sosa’s music, frequent collaborators rather than the tormented and final compositions did native, common laborer, or embrace the indigenous figures of legendary epic Sosa posing with her bombo. zamba rhythms—but Photo by Annemarie Heinrich. poems. This served two nonetheless made eager reasons. use of alternative jazz guitar chords, among First, as Karush emphasizes, Sosa other cosmopolitan airs, which had permeated sought to mobilize folklore in the hopes of tango in the 60s. This is notable in Allá Lejos establishing a vast and respectable “panY Hace Tiempo, in which two distinctly jazz Latinist” sensibility. Instead of reinforcing the hands, one on contrabass and another on canonized homogenization of mestizos, Sosa classical guitar, accompany Sosa’s lonely voice maintained herself within an “essentialist” as it reverberates within your conscience. form of indigeneity that demanded Yet other cases are more musically subtle, Argentina’s existence to be of indigenous given the somewhat minimal arpeggiation essence. Throughout the seventies, as an and galloping strumming that mask its Euro- extension of the New Songbook’s manifesto,

14 OnAir · July 2023

Sosa playing the bombo, 1967. Photo by Ron Kroon.

Sosa later collaborated with and curated musical traditions from other nations. Most notably was the adoption of Violeta Parra’s foundational Chilean-centric work, and so was her frequent live appearances with the intrepid Milton Nascimento. This was an emphatic shift from the substance of her lyricism and music to the performers. Sosa’s long black hair, the trademark poncho, and stoicism were sensationalized and lauded by European and Argentine audiences alike. Despite Sosa’s palatable entrance into European sensibilities, her exoticized appearances inevitably bolstered her allure to the mainstream with an assurance that her performed indigeneity assured authenticity.

Secondly—and more practically—Sosa was the ambivalent subject of disjointed political regimes across the 20th century. Her lyrics were thereby reluctant to engage with audiences in explicitly political terms. As a member of the Communist Party, around the early 60s Sosa’s intellectual and artistic circles were

frequent targets of harassment under Arturo Frondizi’s presidency. Admittedly, Sosa was also somewhat of a snob, but is easily forgiven in contradistinction with the unapologetically Westernized pop music of the burgeoning Nueva Ola movement (see Sandro, Cecilia).

The point was, therefore, to mobilize a vaguely “indigenista” persona to carve out a unique identity, which refused to be subsumed within Western colonization.

As listeners sift through Mercedes Sosa’s oeuvre, in her dedicated birthday broadcast, I encourage everyone to maintain a keen ear to the distinct dialogue that she maintains with our culture. Rather than a mere import, Sosa’s work serves as interlocution in mediating historically hostile identities into a harmonious synthesis of indigenous and European roots.

As alluded to in this essay, there is much to misunderstand from the singular Mercedes Sosa—but there is also much to interrogate and contend with, and especially engage with in reflexive contemplation.

OnAir · July 2023 15

AMERICAN

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Wu-Tang Forever: Not Just a Slogan

by Ted Schmiedeler

hen discussing hip hop collectives, Abstract and popular for their SATURATION the conversation almost always trilogy, split last year after 12 years. The Migos, starts with the legendary New York before the tragic and untimely death of Takeoff, based Wu-Tang Clan. The group (consisting of split after 11 years. N.W.A—the most famous members RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, and successful West Coast collective to come Ghostface Killah, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method out of the late 1980s—only lasted 4 years before Man, U-God, and Masta Killa) became world- they fell apart. Wu-Tang Clan formed in 1992 famous for their unique flows, innovative use of and still play shows and make music together sampling in production, and masterful lyrical after more than 30 years. So why have these abilities showcased groups fallen apart throughout the last and why has Wuthirty years. The Tang persisted? group has inspired Collectives or generations of groups allowed rappers with their rappers to music, but how move from the they achieved underground to such success is, the mainstream, arguably, equally especially from as extraordinary. the 1980s to early The most 2000s.

Before impressive part the popularity of about the Clan the Internet, the Wu-Tang Clan performing at Glastonbury in 2019. music industry had outside of their Photo by Simon Crompton Reid. gatekeepers, such music is the persistence of as label executives group unity in a world that values individualism. and radio DJs, that determined who would The group is touring in 2023 as a collective and rise out to mainstream success. Back then, members remain steadfast in their commitment the mainstream looked like selling records to one of their most popular slogans: “Wu-Tang at a CD shop and getting radio play. The forever.” They remained tight-knit for about underground looked like selling CDs out of a the first decade of their existence and still trunk and rapping on the side of the road or collaborated in the following two decades when at local freestyle events. During this era, many solo projects became priorities. Many popular rappers relied on a group to sell out venues and rap collectives fall apart within a few years due boost CD sales because fanbases of one rapper to members having differing creative visions would be exposed to the work of everyone else or believing the group is holding them back. in the group all in one album or performance.

BROCKHAMPTON, a collective headed by Kevin However, once in the mainstream many

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individuals felt they no longer needed the group and moved on in their career. They had already passed through the gates of the mainstream and had access to the resources necessary to keep their career going. Group longevity was not necessarily a priority for many during this era.

Furthermore, in recent years, with the removal of many of these gatekeeping mechanisms due to the Internet, rappers can elevate themselves from the underground to the mainstream much quicker and with fewer resources. A song can blow up as a result of the Spotify or TikTok algorithm and drive hundreds of fans to a rapper’s page, circumventing the label executives and radio DJs of the past that played a role in determining who would move on to that next level. Hip hop groups now are less necessary and therefore less popular. So, the survival, let alone thriving, of as large of a group as the Wu-Tang Clan through the era when groups were prone to fall apart into the era when they are not as necessary is an anomaly to be admired. So how did they do it?

Wu-Tang’s model was somewhat unique and created their continued group success.

RZA was the primary producer and de facto leader of the group, and he organized a system to allow for individual and group success. The group released their debut group project Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in 1993 to great commercial success. However, instead of immediately working on their next project, RZA started producing four member’s individual projects. Method Man released his debut solo album Tical in 1994. GZA’s Liquid Swords, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version were all released in 1995. All of these records were produced by RZA and had features from other Wu-Tang Clan members.

The genius in this system is that it allows for members to pursue their creative vision alongside group projects, while maintaining a somewhat cohesive sound. Because RZA was the producer for these records, they share in the similar core elements, such as masterful use of both musical and non-musical samples

in the beats to create a cinematic listening experience. Although other groups had differing members do features on each other’s solo projects, the level of involvement down to the production was rare among groups at the time. It created an atmosphere that would feel similar across all Wu-Tang works that grew the fanbase and developed them a cult following.

Each album felt like a new installment of a movie franchise, with solo projects being captivating spin-offs that were almost as good as the main series movies and built for fanfare among the diehards.

Additionally, each member of Wu-Tang bought into the system and did not let their ego get too big. Each member understood that individual success was tied to group success and strived to push the group, not just themselves, forward. The result of this system is that the individual sales of each member’s solo records get boosted by their inclusion in the group, as some fans will buy anything Wu-Tang related, and their inclusion of other members of the group on their individual projects means some fans of individual Wu-Tang members will be driven to the record to hear that rapper do a feature. Furthermore, nobody feels limited because they are encouraged to do their own work from time to time.

Although most members have chosen to focus on their solo careers for the last two decades, this emphasis on unity and cohesion defined the group’s success in their first decade of existence and allows for the continued success of the group as hip hop icons to this day. Due to their unity, they have the ability to pursue their own projects while still being able to reunite for a tour or a record after years with no problem.

WKCR will celebrate the group with a birthday broadcast running from July 5 at 10pm (RZA’s birthday) to July 6 at 6am (Inspectah Deck’s birthday).

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Merch Announcement

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KCR merch is back! Every month this summer, we will be releasing two different T-shirts designs. One will be a re-release of an old design, featuring one of our WKCR logos; the other will be an original or entirely new design created by WKCR members, which will be available exclusively during the summer drop.

All proceeds from merch will go toward general station expenses. You can purchase this month's designs on our website throughout the entirety of July. If you like a design, you should get it while you can, as designs will go offline at the end of the month! After the July merch drop, there will be two more—one in August and one in September, each featuring two different sets of designs.

Support WKCR in style!

Merch is available for purchase and shipping online through CustomInk at wkcr.org.

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SUPPORT WKCR TOP 5 REASONS TO DONATE TO WKCR 1. You’d be helping a student-run, listener-funded, and volunteer-based radio station continue to bring you the absolute best in what radio has to offer. Music, arts, news, and sports— we’ve got the works!

2. You wouldn’t be a free-rider anymore.

3. WKCR donations are tax-deductible (so make sure you donate before tax season). For more info on that, or anything else business-related, email business@wkcr.org 4. Being “the Original FM,” our equipment is getting a bit old. For example, Buzz, the hamster that runs the wheel that powers the station, is getting a little worn-out and arthritic. We need a new hamster. Sorry, Buzz, but it’s gotta be done!

5. Isn’t OnAir cool? Without proper funding, projects like this can’t come to fruition and, if they do, don’t make it very long. Donate to allow the little OnAir minions to stay in the job (we are all OnAir minions).

HOW TO DONATE TO WKCR IN 4 STEPS

BY MAIL Step 1: Locate your nearest checkbook

ONLINE Step 1: head to www.wkcr.org

Step 2: Indicate “WKCR” as payee and fill out as usual

Step 2: Click the yellow “DONATE TO WKCR” banner at the top of the page

Step 3: Mail check to CU Gift Systems, 622 West 113th Street, MC 4524, New York, NY 10025

Step 3: Fill out the form in the giving portal and enter your information...

Step 4: ...and VOILÀ! Just like that, you have become a WKCR supporter!

WKCR also accepts checks to our direct address. Just Follow the same steps listed above but mail the check to: 2920 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

Step 4: ...and VOILÀ! Just like that, you have become a WKCR supporter!

Did you know you can make recurring donations to WKCR when you donate online?

Just indicate your frequency preferences on the giving portal when prompted!

OnAir · July 2023 19

20 OnAir · July 2023

WKCR 89.9 FM

2920 Broadway New York, NY 10027

Sp e c i a l t ha n ks to Ale Díaz-Pizarro, David Contreras-Araya, Georgia Dillane, Maria Shaughnessy, Mat thew "Fat Cat " Rivera, Ricky Riccardi, Sam Seliger, & Ted Schmiedeler.