Welcome! Now who is this Morty Guy Anyway?

Before I officially launch this next WWW endeavor, there are a couple of people I need to briefly pay homage to. First and foremost, I give thanks (as we all should) to Al Gore for his wonderful invention, The Internet. Without this modern marvel of technology, most of the music to follow here would remain locked within what's left of my brain, rather than stored on my iPod to enjoy again nearly twenty to thirty years after the fact. I would also like to give thanks to the scientists and technician types who, through tireless hours, late nights, and long weekends have provided us with the means to convert our beloved, yet worn vinyl records and analog cassettes to a digital format so that they may be selflessly shared with the rest of the world.
I've always had two passions in life, writing and music. Legend has it that while I was still in my toddler stage I would walk around with a record in my hand, begging any adult within toddling distance to put it on. My keen eye knew the exact pattern of the grooves on the piece of vinyl I was holding, allowing me to vehemently protest if the wrong side was about to be played.
During the awkward period of my adolescence, I had expressed an interest in becoming a radio disc jockey. I skipped the opportunity in High School, where a newly instituted student radio station played in the two cafeteria's. Shy, reserved and probably ashamed of my taste in music or lack thereof I was forced to listen to the popular student faves of the day which included the likes of Springsteen, The Dead, Skynyrd, and Yes. AM radio was still popular in the New York area and boasted two Top 40 radio stations; 66 WNBC and 77 WABC, both of which were extremely popular amongst the crowd I had called friends. At home we often listened to a station that was only available via Cable TV on the What's On channel.

My first date with destiny came in 1981 while visiting the college I would soon be attending; The New York Institute of Technology, where I came to realize that WNYT; the campus radio station was the very same station I had quite literally grown up with, having spent a fair part of my youth glued to the TV screen. I spent a good part of my New York Tech years making radio the priority in lieu of going to class. Several months later, I had achieved my first milestone, my first goal in life. I had become an on-air personality; DJ if you will. Musically speaking however, I was still relatively clueless. One of the great aspects of college radio was the exposure to a lot of music that would often go ignored and unheard by the general public. It took a bit of work to open up my stubborn mind, but what transpired in the end was an appreciation for bands and artists who would never receive the amount of airplay or attention that was often deserving of their hard work and dedication. It is my hope now, nearly three decades after the fact that somehow, sometime, someone might stumble across this site, be it one of the artists that is actually featured here, or simply a person or two that may just appreciate a small sampling of those, who only by circumstance were under-appreciated, forgotten, and now relegated to a place I call the UNKNOWN 80'S.


It is my plan (which doesn't always reach full fruition) to post here once a month, highlighting the music of a different artist through the use of video and music, exercising my long forgotten DJ'ing skills which will ultimately prove to you why I abandoned a career in radio to become a full time video editor instead. Should you have come across this blog either by chance or on purpose, please feel free to leave comments about the music, the site, or anything you may fancy. If you have any suggestions as to who you may wish to see featured here, I implore you to let me know as well. If you know any of the artists or have links to someone related to them, do not hesitate to spread the word. I look forward to the challenge I have laid before me, while hopefully making some new friends as well.
Enjoy,
Morty!

At the Tone, the Time Will Be 1982

Where were you in '82?

I was on top of the world, basking in the glow of a spotlight of my own making, well on the way to becoming a legend in my own mind, yet I was still
RELATIVELY CLUELESS, MUSICALLY!
I remember sitting high atop the cold, hard metal stool I had come to think of as a throne. Spread out in front of what to my untrained eyes could only have been compared to as that of the intricate control panel of an airliner, the mixing board with its VU meters and potentiometers (fancy radio talk for palm-sized volume control knobs), funneled the music out of the air studio and into the ears of the masses. It was not all fun and games though. DJ's have a number of decisions to make behind the scenes, most of them centering around music choices. Fortunately, with the help of a small number of upper-class men who had risen in the college radio hierarchy to important sounding positions that ended in the word director, the decision making process was made a little easier by following a few rules and going along with some strategically placed suggestions. There was a formula as to how and when one could play certain music. We followed something that more or less resembled a clock. Ironic, when you realize that in my debut entry here to this new blogging endeavor, the first band to be featured was called Clocks! Hailing from the vicinity of Wichita, Kansas, Clocks was signed to the Boulevard record label; a CBS subsidiary. The 1982 release of their self titled debut made it's way across the country to our little broadcast facility not long after the cover art had dried. Following a brief listening session by the station's music director, (we'll call her Ana C. for now), the album was added to rotation for airplay. A brief typed note outlining her thoughts and personal song faves was affixed to the front right corner of the record for on-air staff to inspect. As my mind was still relatively closed to new music at that tender time, I would often take a title at face value; the old judging a book by it's cover routine. I don't remember any of the other cuts that Ana C. had considered to be radio friendly, but "When Will I See You Again," sounded pleasant enough at the time.
I hastily cued up the record, turned on the mic and unbeknownst to my (only in my mind) loyal listeners, introduced the song as if I had long been familiar with it. That catchy little tune with pop radio potential buried deep on side two of the record stayed buried not so deep within my mind for decades. Long after the uneventful conclusion to my college radio career, I could be found perusing the discount bargain bins of local record stores in search of a way to recharge the fast fading batteries of my youthful exuberance, by way of the glorious sounds of worn and sometimes scratched vinyl. It had literally taken me nearly quarter of a century to finally come across a copy of this Unknown 80's treasure. From my very own listening session I had easily come to an understanding as to why this tune from my past which had relentlessly dogged me through adulthood was relegated towards the end of side two. The song still holds a special place in my heart, but the rest of the album seems so much stronger. It remains to me a mystery that the music of Clocks did not find itself somewhere among some the more commercially successful releases from that very year. I hope that after listening to the following presentation I have prepared, some of you may feel the same way.
Well, my job is done here. Now, click on the play button below, close your eyes and take a trip back to the early 80's.
MOST IMPORTANTLY...
Don't be shy to drop a comment or two, tell some friends about this place, and make sure to stop in next month.
See ya then,
Morty!