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!