The 500 - #470 - LL Cool J - Radio

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan (amended). 

• 1 or 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 470

Album Title: Radio
Artist: LL Cool J
Released: November, 1985
My age at release: 20
How familiar am I with it: A little
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix:  Rock the Bells
Great Lyric:
"Some girls will like this jam and some girls won't
Because I make a lot of money and your boyfriend don't" (Rock the Bells)

Once again, I am excited to have learned new things about an artist with which I was not that familiar. Sure, I knew about LL Cool J - I even knew that his moniker stood for "Ladies Love Cool James". I also really liked the songs Going back to Cali &  Mama Said Knock You Out - neither of which was on this record. 

I also remember seeing him transition from music to film in the role as Preacher in the film Deep Blue Sea - A movie probably best remembered for a scene featuring the great Samuel L. Jackson being interrupted while delivering one of his infamous motivational speeches.  

At first, I was surprised by the selection of this record for The 500 - but I can now see its importance and I was astonished to learn that most of it was recorded when LL was only 17. It certainly sounds "of a time" and even though this was not a genre of music that matched my taste it has a liminal quality. Just listening to the introduction to I Can't Live Without my Radio  - (complete with drum-machine hand-claps and record scratching guitar stabs) - takes me back to the mid-80's. I even knew a few guys who tried to rock a Kangol Hat.

I gave this record four listens and it grew on me with each. Here is the trajectory.

• Listen 1: This is dated. How is this on the list?
• Listen 2: Ya know - there are some catchy tracks here - it also has some funny lines.
• Listen 3: This is growing on me - I can see why this was popular.
• Listen 4: OK, I'm in...why is the song You Can't Dance stuck in my head?

I also really enjoyed the conversation on The 500 Podcast between host Josh Adam Meyers & his guest, Russell Peters. Peters is clearly a fan and he shares some terrific and personal stories about his relationship with this record. He makes an interesting comparison between early hip-hop attitudes and performers today when he says...

"We were egocentric in a braggadocios way; they are egocentric in an egotistical way."

I think this sums up my take-away from this record. It's supposed to be funny at times. I know I missed that when I first heard hip-hop in the 80's.

I have actually met and chatted with Russell Peters on several occasions. Back in the early 90s, I worked as a bartender at Kelsey's Restaurant in South London. In the plaza adjacent to us was a Yuk Yuk's comedy club. I played hockey with the Yuk Yuk's team and got to know the staff there well.

On Friday and Saturday nights, there were three of us scheduled to bartend - two were closers, and the third was cut at about 9:00 pm.  If it got busy at 9:30 and the third person was still around - the manager would ask them to start again. 

Here's the thing: The other two bartenders did not want this to happen because it would significantly reduce their tips. Additionally, we had a strange, masochistic fascination with being insanely busy or, in restaurant parlance, "in the weeds". Not only would we end up making buckets of money (likely out of sympathy) - but the night would also go by much quicker.

So, there was an unwritten rule that, when cut, the third bartender would leave or (again in restaurant lingo) "pull the chute"... as in parachute. 

When I was the third bartender, I would order chicken wings and take them over to Yuk Yuk's for the staff in exchange for a few beers. I would sit at the bar (outside the showroom) and chat with their bartender and, often, the comedians who were waiting to go on stage.

Russell Peters was one of those comedians and he was always a terrific guy. I can't remember what we chatted about - but I do remember him being down-to-earth and genuinely pleasant. There were a few comics that were far less approachable and, frankly, a little conceited. Most of them have vanished from the business or are still toiling away on the same Canadian circuit. Meanwhile, Russell Peters has become an international superstar. I can't help but think that some of that can be attributed to his friendly demeanour.

6 Minute Podcast Stories

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As I have mentioned in a few recent posts, like this one and this one, I am leaving my role as an Instructional Coach and returning to the classroom. I'm really excited about this prospect and I'm already organizing activities, lessons and flexible long range plans. Well, as much preparation as I can given that I don't know what grade I will finally land for September. 

The other day I spotted something promising in a post by Grade 5 teacher Tony Vincent. If you don't follow him, you should rectify that promptly by clicking this link to his page. He is an incredibly generous resource for lesson ideas, assessment strategies and easy-to-follow tech tips.

Tony posted a link to the website bestrobotever.com and a podcast called Six Minutes. It is, as you've likely guessed, a repository for a full series of six minute long podcasts. He got me intrigued with the caption ... "Six Minutes is an addicting podcast drama - my 5th graders are obsessed."

I am not sure if I am going to be teaching Grade 5 but, this seemed like the kind of things that had some range...maybe Grade 4-8? 

While driving between schools, I checked it out.

The podcast is presented like a radio play from the 40's, in the Golden Age of Radio. Live broadcasts of Dragnet or The Adventures of Superman had audiences entranced or, in the case of The War of the Worlds, in a literal state of hysteria. 

This iteration has the benefit of advances in multi-track, production technology; but, it still relies heavily on the convincing performances of its skilled cast of actors.

Episode 1 begins with the opening to a ominious and etheral melody that sounds vaguely similar to Gimme Shelter by The Stones. Layered on top is a narrator's ominous prologue

There are kids in this world who are different. Special. They look like us and they act like us. But they are not us...and one of them is missing.

We are introduced to the Anders family who are on a whale watching trip in Alaska. We learn, through dialogue, that the mother, Monica, is a doctor while the father is involved with the military in some mysterious, but clearly important, capacity.  

Their youngest child, a girl named Birdy, falls into the ocean and, after being pulled aboard, reports that there is another girl in the water. Her brother Cyrus dives in and rescues her...clinging to life she gains consciousness long enough to reveal that she remembers nothing...except her name...Holiday. 

It is the kind of story that is sure to hook young listeners. By episode two, more is revealed (often in subtle clues that only keen ears will detect). It ends on a cliffhanger that I am certain will have students, as Vincent put it, "obsessed".

I immediately contacted a Grade 5 teacher at a schools I support. She agreed to let me try out a few episodes with her students to gauge their interest and build some connections to her balanced literacy program. Hopefully, I will post those results and some lesson ideas soon.