The Music of The KMMS-AM Morning Show
Lately I have been receiving far more inquires regarding the music I play out of the news and commercial breaks than I get about guests or general content of the morning show.
Hey, that's cool... I was a music DJ for 20+ years before exercising these talk radio broadcasting muscles for the past three years. Good radio is good radio, it's all fill between the commercials anyway. Don't matter if it's Rush or Rock.
I can offer these random examples from listeners over the past few days:
Matthew emailed:
I have one of your opening segment songs stuck in my head and I need to know the name of it! Horrible description, but it’s the one with the opening bass and saxophone (no lyrics). I imagine it to be some 1950’s hotrod / classic drive up diner songs. Please help me, it’s driving me crazy!
Mary Jane emailed:
What was the title/artist of the solo guitar bumper music that preceded Wednesday’s 7 and 8am segments? I’ve GOT to hear the rest of it!
So to answer what seems to be the most frequently asked questions, I've compiled this list, in no specific order, of the most often asked about songs:
- 1
Leo Kottke - Vaseline Machine Gun
Just this past weekend I was unpacking more of my music collection and came across a Leo Kottke album, Mudlark.
The thought struck me, let's use Vaseline Machine Gun out of the news package at the top of the hour - Mary Jane wasn't the only one to ask what that sonic disturbance is.
- 2
Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser
Duane Eddy is one of the rock and roll guitar pioneers. He's in the Rock an Roll Hall of Fame, for crying out loud. And Duane Eddy is the answer to Matthew's question from above.
- 3
Bruce Cockburn - Last Night of The World
When I started playing this a few months ago, I was literally flooded with emails about it.
When I lived in Vermont, Bruce lived downstairs from me for nearly a year. He was dating the woman that lived there. The song just has a relaxed morning vibe.
- 4
Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now
I started playing this a few weeks in front of the Montana primary elections. Listeners reacted in polar opposite directions. Many embraced the way I presented it; Don't like the situation VOTE to change it. Others viewed it as me pushing a "progressive agenda," whatever the hell that means.
- 5
Tom Petty - You Wreck Me
Of all the music questions I recieve about what songs I use, nothing brings a smile to me more than this one.
"Hey, you played that Tom Petty song out of the news for the longest time and now it's gone. What was it?"
It's no secret, I'm a huge Petty fan. I picked it on day one of me doing the Morning Show for no other reason as a touchstone of comfort. Music can do that. And to answer the second asked question about this song: it is coming back.