The Great Big Radio Blog

DoS: D'oH

2011-10-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, there's been a DoS (denial of service) attack on our 128k stream. People much smarter than I am are working on cleaning it up and mopping up the mess. Our 64k stream is working flawlessly so please feel free to listen there by clicking the great big QR code on our homepage (select "iPhone" if you're using a computer).

Hopefully this is only temporary. Stay tuned for updates. And thanks for your patience.

Yeah, Almost Live! And Yeah, We're On TuneIn!

2011-09-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

We've been popping on every once in a while to do some live breaks on GBR. That's because we finally have a functioning studio hooked up into the mighty GBR mainframe. The only problem is, we never know when we're going to go "live," since we're dividing our time between real work (to help pay for this broadcasting nonsense) and sleep.

When we do, it's generally a lot of fun and we volley requests as well, so put 424-224-4700 into your speed dial and let's have some fun.

In other news, we've been selected as a featured station in our favorite smartphone app, TuneIn. That means that when people go to TuneIn's "Best Bets" listings, GBR is prominently displayed among much more deserving radio stations. But we're in great company, so thanks to the folks at TuneIn.

Haven't downloaded the app into your smartphone yet? What the hell are ya waiting for? Go get it now!

And as always...thanks for being part of the dazzling stereophonic sounds of Great Big Radio. Okay. Maybe not dazzling, but definitely "sounds."

So Where Were We?

2011-03-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

We're back. And we're determined to bring down Time Warner again with our programming.

Say Hello to Our Wonderful Hosts

2011-02-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

GreatBigRadio.com now lands you to a new location for our home page. It looks exactly the same, but now we're being carried by Loudcity, the largest legal hosting service in America.

So don't fear if your bookmark for the GBR home page isn't working anymore. This slight change means a huge improvement in our ability to legally and officially send our special brand of garbage flying out of your digital device. Make sure you change your bookmarks, or remove all doubt by simply making www.GreatBigRadio.com the only address you need.

GBR: The Comeback Kids

2011-02-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

This is YOUR post, you guys. Lately, we're experiencing the most listeners that we've ever had. No small feat, since (a) we had to switch servers during our last successful run last year which almost destroyed everything we worked for, and (b) there are WAY more internet streams to choose from every day.

All kidding aside, we're really proud of the product we're putting out there. As one listener told us, it sounds like we've set the volume to 11 and the quality to the "explode" setting. We like that.

The fact that y'all are zeroing in on GREAT BIG RADIO will always be amazing to us, and we'll never take that loyalty for granted. THANK YOU. Enjoy. We'll make more.

2011 - Off With a Bang!

2011-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Hey, how ya been! We've been so busy getting some great news and building on the phenomenon of GBR, we've kinda let our blog collect dust. Well, here's a great big blow...stuff is happening.

We had a great holiday with the first year voted on by our listeners. 1973 Week was a LOT of fun, and the music was fascinating. It was easy to find good stuff since 1973 was one of the 17 years Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album held the #1 spot.

We're getting some nice programming infusion, including the Great Big Friday Night Radio feature, where you hear long segments of actual radio shows from the Top 40 era. Big thanks to Rob Frankel who specializes in restoring radio shows. It's not easy. Try it someday. We dare you.

We've received some great publicity on the web like Ken Levine, the Twitterverse and Sean Ross' Ross On Radio.

Speaking of Ross on Radio, this is the big news: In a national poll of "Greatest Hits" internet radio stations, Great Big Radio came in THIRD - behind the incredible WFMU (their blog is MUCH better than ours) and Sirius/XM's 60s on Six.

As good as that news is, it was pointed out to us that since WFMU is radio-assisted, and 60s on Six is satellite-assisted - Great Big Radio is the #1 pure-play internet station in this category. Hey, we were settling for the #3 thing.

Best of all, we're starting the year with our highest listenership since we had a necessary server switch last July. You guys are coming back, and we're grateful that you have.

This is still a great source of fun and pride for us...and we're glad you're coming along for the ride. Thanks so much for your loyalty!

This Holiday Season - The Year Is...?

2010-10-20T17:31:00.001-07:00

That's where you come in. We're asking you what year we should highlight during our annual holiday week-long celebration. Just vote on our home page. You can vote once every 24 hours, so if there's some year you're completely enamored with, then dammit, vote early and often!

Thanks for listening to GREAT BIG RADIO.

1970 Plows on All Weekend!

2010-09-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Remember 1970? Allow us to remind you now through Labor Day. We're playing the hits , the near-misses and the REALLY big misses of that very strange year. Even if all the music was outstanding, after the 60s, it still would have gotten no respect.

So let's give 1970 its due. Enjoy the music, the sounds and the oddness all this weekend...only (as if anyone else would dare to do this) on GREAT BIG RADIO.

What To Do for Labor Day Weekend? 1970?

2010-08-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

I'm thinkin' about it. We haven't done any of our famous stunt programming for a while and I think this'll be a good one. Anything with Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg's Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus can't possibly be that bad.

Oh, wait. There were a lot of other songs too. And they're not all You, Me and Mexico by Edward Bear. Some don't even come close.

Yeah...let's try that. Even if we don't, it'll be no telethon. And we like that.

The Changeover Is Complete!

2010-07-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

So much good stuff right now, we can't keep up with it all. We're being heard in parts of the planet we never were before. To all of you discovering us in Europe, Asia and Australia - thanks for climbing on board.

We're now fully entrenched in our new streaming server. The one in the UK (91.121.113.72) is about to go into that good night. Change your bookmark if you haven't already to this:

http://gbr.servemp3.com/listen.pls

The great Keri Tombazian has regaled us with a bunch of new bumpers (the jingles between the songs for the uninitiated) which sound terrific and give us that touch of class we otherwise wouldn't have. We broke our budget on her, but she's worth it. (grins and things of that nature)

So click in and enjoy. We're back in the race.

Don't Be Left Out In The...er...Warm

2010-07-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it IS summer.

Just a reminder - Our server in the UK that we switched to last month is going out of business at the end of July. There are only a handful of folks still using it, but they'll be left in the dark. We're now completely up and running with our newer new server, so use this address to listen to the stream from now on (or just access it from our homepage). Thanks!

http://gbr.servemp3.com/listen.pls

Ain't This How It ALWAYS Happens? (The Streaming Saga Continues!)

2010-07-07T00:28:00.000-07:00

Just weeks after we complete a changeover to a new server, our new hosts announce that they're quitting the business. Nice of them to decide that AFTER we made the much hyped and anticipated switch.

That's their prerogative - but it still sucks to high heaven. We lost about 3/4 of the audience we built up over four years and we're going to have to work extra hard to get them back.

But wait! There's good news after all!

First, we have a new PERMANENT address for streaming Great Big Radio. Here it is. Write it down. Bookmark it. Use it mightily.

http://gbr.servemp3.com/listen.pls

What does this mean? If we're ever in a position to change servers AGAIN, that address will never change. It's kind of like our permanent cel phone number - it goes with us no matter who the carrier is.

Secondly, we do indeed have an even newer server, and they're located right here in Los Angeles. They're the fine folks at Shoutcast Streaming. We hope to maintain a great working relationship with them for years to come. They offer so much, I actually feel pretty lucky they were there when our last "new" server bailed.

By the way, our previous stream will remain functional until the end of July. At that time, you'll need to make sure you're on our permanent home, using that address in the big bold letters above.

And PLEASE...we'd appreciate your spreading the word as we find ourselves going back into launch mode. We genuinely appreciate your listenership and support.

It's been difficult, but we've weathered the storm - and now let's go forward with this abject silliness we call GREAT BIG RADIO. This is 'way too much fun to let these little setbacks ruin it.

Thanks! And as always, let us know how you're doing out there. We LOVE hearing from you.

New Server is a Go

2010-06-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

We're on! Change everything in your possession to our new stream server:

(NOW DEFUNCT! See above)

Thanks for your patience during our switch.

ONE MORE DAY!

2010-06-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

If you're listening to us on the ibiza.broadstreamer link, you're gonna be out of luck after Tuesday.

Simply set your internet radio or app to
http://91.121.113.72:9050/listen.pls (UPDATE: Now defunct! See above)
Bookmark your computer to whichever player you use as icon'ed on the homepage.

But for pete's sake, change already!

We've been on and off for the past couple of days upgrading the software and tweaking the system in preparation for the switch. Thanks for bearing with us as we do this! See you on the other side.

NEW SERVERS KICK IN JUNE 15th! You Gotta Make the Move With Us!

2010-06-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to you, we needed to switch to a new higher-capacity stream.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOU?

You'll need to change the bookmark/preset you've been using to listen to Great Big Radio. All over our homepage, you'll see the new stream. It's running now.

Switch right now, so you won't be caught with your proverbial pants around your proverbial ankles come June 15th. And thanks to all of you for making this necessary. Too many listeners is a problem we're truly honored to have.

New GREAT BIG RADIO stream: http://91.121.113.72:9050/listen.pls

Catching Up: May 2010

2010-04-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

We're continuing to grow, and we're at a loss at trying to understand why. But no complaints here. We're very glad that more and more people are discovering us...mostly through our presence on Facebook and quite possibly our volume. We're so freaking loud, it's hard to avoid us, we're guessing. We expanded our servers to take on more listeners, so there's plenty of room for your friends, your family and the city of Cleveland to come on in.

And your ears aren't playing tricks on you. A nice bit of orchestration has decided to take up residence on our newest round of GBR jingles. We're constantly doing what we can to sound greater, bigger and (most importantly) radioier.

Keep spreading the word. Thanks for choosing us. We're deeply humbled and totally puzzled. But happy.

Aren't We Just The Great Big Web Presence?

2010-03-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

It took a bit of work, but we have a new website (and we returned to our previous logo which we all liked a lot anyway). Hope it looks better on your browser. And join in the conversation on the Zonkboard there.

If you're having trouble seeing it, clear your cache, go to http://www.greatbigradio.com and bookmark the new site.

Our daily listenership has exploded to where we have to expend again. Thanks so much for your support! If you have a local station with an extra HD channel that needs content, let 'em know about us. They can get a hold of us through the contact info on our NEW WEBSITE!

Enjoy it all, or double your money back.

Pat Sommerall Takes Over Station; Conflict Ends Peacefully

2009-12-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

Seems a commercial got caught in a loop for an hour this morning while our staff was busy partying (they'll be working all next week on the 1972 special). Once the booze wore off, we realized what was going on. We apologize, but we also hope you'll seek out that tax debt relief Pat Sommerall told you about. Incessantly.

We're back to abnormal programming. Thanks for your patience.

You're Getting 1972 for Christmas

2009-11-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

That's because you've been so good. Starting Christmas Eve, we're playing everything from 1972. And as always, we'll even lift our ban on crappy songs for this special week. We've started working on this today. Okay. We put in a promo. But it's a start, and by Christmas we'll be a wreck getting it on the air. Enjoy our pain!

The GREAT BIG RADIO Song: We Need Singers

2009-11-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

Dallas and Teresa in Colorado listen at work, and composed this gem. Thanks for listening, you two. Now get back to work.

The rest of you are invited to record a rendition of this and send the mp3 to us. We'll give the best one some crap from our storage bin...I mean AWARD a SUMPTUOUS GIFT from our PRIZE PALACE! to the best one.

Need the music? Drop us a line.

Send it to mail@greatbigradio.com. Lotsa luck.

"Great Big Radio"
(sung to the tune of "I think I love you," by Tony Romeo, as recorded by The Partridge Family/Bell, 1971)

I'm working.
And right in the middle of a project
In my browser I hear something,
Some something that keeps knocking at my brain.
Before I go insane I hold my speakers to my ears.
And Reeling In the Years, I scream out through joyful tears,
It's Great Big Radio!

This morning,.
I woke up with this feeling.
Could've been last night's Chinese food
And so I just decided in my bed
I'd take more of my meds
And never talk about it.
And did not go and shout it
That you tortured me with tunes
On Great Big Radio!

I think I love you!
So what am I so afraid of?
I'm afraid of Internet radio,
A station there's no cure for.
I think I love you!
Isn't that the goal of music?
Though it worries me to say
I got nothing done all day!

You seem to be subversive
I like what you are all about
Your playlist makes me want to shout
Hey!

I think I love you!
So what am I so afraid of?
I'm afraid of Internet radio,
A station there's no cure for.
I think I'm crazy.
Isn't that what you intended.
Though I'd better pay some heed.
I'm running out of weed!

My boss says
There's stuff I gotta lend a hand with.
I'm sucking too much bandwidth.
So if he yells "Log off that stream," I will.
But I think better still I'd rather stay around and play you.
Do you take requests? What say you?
What's the next song gonna be
On Great Big Radio?

I think I love you
(It's Great Big Radio!)
I think I love you
(It's Great Big Radio!)
I think I love you
(It's Great Big Radio!)
I think I love you
(It's Great Big Radio!)

Annnnd...We're Back

2009-07-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

We hope. Time Warner has assured us they have fixed the problem which means we can go down again in an even worse way than we ever imagined.

But for now...we have radio. Thanks for bearing with us!

Time Warner Has Come Today

2009-07-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

It's time for this month's Time Warner screwup - this one being an upstream problem. In other words, outgoing info on the web is at a standstill in our area. Included in that would be Great Big Radio.

We're working on it...thanks for your patience.

We Hit a Record Today

2009-06-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks for making Thursday, June 18, 2009 our biggest listening day ever! North of triple digits at one time and growing every day. You guys are the best.

SUCCESS! The New Great Big Radio Computer is ON!

2009-04-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

Dontcha love it when stuff works?

We just switched out entire operation to a brand spanking new home base. Our old GBR computer was gasping its last, so with few headaches we were successful in making the change.

This new one is a freaking screamer, which means it'll be outdated within three months.

But there's going to be a lot less hiccuping, much smoother audio delivery and just an overall more pleasant listening experience for you guys.

But what do we do with the old GBR computer? Recycle it? Hand it down to a family member? Put it in a broadcast museum?

...Give it away? Hmmm...

DUCK! Run For Your Lives! 1968 Is Near!

2008-12-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

Starting this Sunday and through New Year's Day, Great Big Radio becomes 1968. A lot of great albums, a lot of great hits and a lot of really spectacular stiffs. The commercials were insane (Joanne Worley for Bold Detergent? Richard Dreyfus for the new American Motors Javelin!).

Yup...just like everything else on Great Big Radio, it'll be a strange ten days. Drop in and lock in. You're not going to want to miss this.

WE'RE BACK!

2008-12-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

No, we're not having financial problems. Yes, all our bills are paid. No, we're not going dark. We're just at the mercy of the only true high-speed ISP we can get.

I know I've said before when things that knock us off suck, but this REALLY sucked. Almost three days. Our ISP had a major outage in our area and they finally nailed the problem down just moments ago. Or so they've assured us.

Tune in while we have a web connection! And as always, thanks for your patience.

Time Warner is HIDEOUS!

2008-12-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

This is day two of RoadRunner's inability to provide internet service to LA's South Bay, and as such, GreatBigRadio has been off the air. We are still here, but TW has crews working in our area. We do apologize, and as soon as these knuckleheads pull their heads out, we'll be back on. Thanks for your patience - we're sure you have more of it than we do right now!

UPDATE: Crews are still working, but they should be completing the upgrade some time tonight. Keep clicking. The software is running so it'll pop on when they switch it back on. Man, you're missing some great tunes. But that's just wrong.

UPDATE 11/21/08: Lookin' Good!

2008-11-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

For the three or four people who still check in...our little station is making big inroads.

iTunes Radio: We're now listed in the 733 gazillion computers with iTunes. If you ever get lost, launch yours, click Radio, then click Pop. We're the only one in the "G"s.

1968!: Our annual tradition of letting one year take over Great Big Radio starts the Sunday before Christmas and goes clear up until New Year's Day. We're (literally) going through over 1,000 songs for this, including album cuts which really became dominant on the radio that year. A new preview promo will hit this weekend.

Mo' Listeners, Mo' Listeners, Mo' Listeners: we've more than tripled our listenership since iTunes added us, so welcome to all you new guys. Let your friends know. We've unfolded more chairs in our listening pool to well over 100, so come on in.

Playlist Tweaks: I finally have a handle on the fine points of our music mix. It was completely random for the first couple of years which made for some, er...interesting listening. We've improved the ratios of hits and songs that should have been, and we're pretty stinkin' happy with the result. Judging by the time people are now spending listening to us, we think we're on target.

So thanks a pile for sticking with and/or finding us. Don't be afraid to let us know your thoughts. We really do read all our email, and we really do check our Skype line for your comments. We hope you know you can call us from any phone: (469) 27RADIO. It'll click into our voicemail, so feel free. We look forward to hearing from you.

Along with 1967 - We're Greater and Bigger

2008-08-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

We just upped our capacity to over 100 simultaneous listeners, so don't worry about dropping in at any time. We have a seat for you and all your friends.

It's 1967 Again!

2008-08-23T19:22:00.001-07:00

Now through Labor Day - we return to where we were last Christmas. By popular demand, we'll wind up the summer with 1967. Enjoy...and stay away from the stuff in the little green bottles going around...

Great Big Radio is Now Portable!

2008-07-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

If you have the iPhone 3G (or the iPod Touch with the 2.0 software), you can take Great Big Radio everywhere you go - as long as you don't forget to take your iPhone or iPod. See our homepage to download the new app and how to put Great Big Radio into it. Enjoy!

Still There? Grand!

2008-02-28T01:23:00.000-08:00

I guess it's a good sign that the only time we get complaints is when we experience outages. Our last one was a month ago when our dog sat on the power strip cord and unplugged the Great Big Computer.

We're so big time.

Thanks as always - it's nice to see people worldwide tolerate us! We're glad you're there.

Wow, That Sucked - Part XXIX

2008-01-06T11:44:00.001-08:00

Surge protectors, schmurge protectors. We still got clobbered by power outages and surges by the raging and powerful storms plowing through Southern California ("rainfall" is what the rest of the world calls it, but here in Southern California, they're dangerous and horrifying forces of nature).

As a result, the GBR software got sick, and we had to rewrite and recompile our programming. It's a lot easier than it sounds, but pinpointing the problem was a pain. After a day off the air, we're back.

That is, unless Los Angeles gets damp again. "Damp" meaning "uncontrollable typhoon-strength weather system" in Southern California language, of course.

Winding Down the Party

2007-12-30T13:09:00.001-08:00

What a long strange week it's been. Thanks to all of you for tuning in to our 1967 retrospective. We came thisclose to having to buy more listener space, but we still retained our cult status. "Cult status" of course meaning not an overabundance of people.

We'll rerun the Monterey Pop Festival New Year's Eve. It's five hours of history you'll want to hear.

Again - thanks. We really worked our butts off here to make it happen and it really paid off in your response.

Oh Wow

2007-12-25T21:19:00.000-08:00

Yeah, we didn't realize that there were so many bad songs in 1967, but the GBR computer went on a binge of playing a long stretch of them on Christmas Day. I knew I should have bought the RAM I promised it for Christmas.

All evening, we retooled the library by weeding out all the mom and dad songs and trimming the 1000+ list to a cozier number to reflect the 1967 we think we remember. Sorry, Al Martino. What can we tell ya, Robert Mitchum? (Mitchum's song was a find, but not a terribly good one.)

The good news: We're drawing huge audiences this week, and the time spent listening (before the streak o' stiffs earlier today) averages 6+ hours. That's insane listening.

A quick check of the numbers just now shows you've come back. Beauty. Enjoy the ride.

Rocket. Launched.

2007-12-22T21:22:00.001-08:00

Our 10-day 1967 marathon is on. The GBR computer seems to be enjoying what we've loaded into it tonight - no rejections. Why would there be? We found some amazing things and we're going to play 'em all.

We really mean this: ENJOY! And thanks for being part of it.

+1 469 27RADIO

2007-12-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

Got Skype? You can call that number and leave us a message. We might even put the good ones right on Great Big Radio.

1967, Already

2007-12-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

Excuse us old farts for geeking out over this special, but we'll be playing a TON of magnificent finds. Just listen. That's all we can say. It's not a countdown or a factoid-filled reliving of everything that happened that year. Just a LOT of music (and a fistful of commercials).

December 23rd until January 1st. Be there.

The Summer Malaise Is Almost Over!

2007-08-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

Almost. There are still a few more weeks of it. But right now, we're digging deeper into our cave o'music to find more gems to add to our already bulbous playlist.

We also wanted to thank you guys for tuning in. Somehow, we've become a hit in Germany - we've had a nice spike in listeners from there in recent weeks, so a big willkommen to you. Danke für das Hören!

Thank God for Babelfish.

Do You Wanna Dance?

2007-07-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Bobby Freeman, of course, had the original hit in 1958, and it's a hands-down classic. (Did Jerry Garcia really play guitar on it? Does anyone know for sure?) Since then, many other versions have hit the charts. Great Big Radio plays two - and for our money, they're the absolute best.

Do You Wanna Dance - The Beach Boys
Leave it to Brian Wilson to turn the uptempo version of the song into the Beach Boys' own. Blazing harmonies, booming tympanies and an exhausting final minute - this version blows the windows and doors off any other version.

Do You Wanna Dance - The Mamas and Papas
Long before Bette Midler came along, Denny Doherty completely changed the complexion of the song by coming up with a jaw-dropping ballad version in 1968. Doherty is front and center in what starts out being a minimalist arrangement of guitar and bongos. And then the magic: the group's backing vocals and the signature "string section" which sounded like they played down the hall - all making for a chilling and fantastic listening experience.

Why did I put the "string section" in quotes? Glad you asked. Steve Hoffman (no relation) writes in his site:

Western [Studios] was too cheap to get an 8 track recorder, so the songs were just bounced from one three or four track machine to another, adding various layers of music each time.

When strings were added, for example, they just had one string player (to save money), and they just bounced him 3 or 4 times to get a string section!

Shocking, because the main part of the recording suffered during each bounce. Just 'cause they were too cheap to hire another string player.

John Phillips told me that the recordings sometimes went as high as 9 or 10 bounces a song, THEN they were mixed.

Sheesh. Each bounce (or redubbing) caused the transferred sound to become muddier. The engineers tried to fix that by shaving off the bass during each bounce. By 9 bounces, there WAS no bottom end at all, and tremendous hiss. Dreadful sound.

We prefer "unique."

Please Do Not Tune In Through LoudCity

2007-07-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

They've broken the terms of our agreement by not providing the support and service we needed to keep Great Big Radio's listeners free from a lot of hassle just to listen, so we've ended our relationship with LoudCity. We're back to broadcasting directly through ShoutCast. Why pay for a service that makes people jump through flaming hoops just to get to the front door - only to find a note on the door saying "Not Broadcasting"? A completely noble service which is woefully devoid of keeping our broadcasts up and running.

If they get their act together, we might come back. But we want to make Great Big Radio as easy as possible to listen. Enjoy!

Bookmark this link to listen! And thanks!

Still Throwing Gas on Our Fire

2007-06-09T01:53:00.001-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know we're still tinkering and adding stuff as we go along, and the feedback (and listening) has been outstanding. Observant listeners who grew up in New York noticed the little addition at the tail end of our top-of-the-hour hoopla. Good ears, kids.

Keep enjoying! Hear all the goodies you want. We'll crank out more.

Did you contact your rep yet over the royality bill? Please...it ain't over, and it ain't a mere threat. We must reverse this or just about all stations like ours will be thrown into the history bin. Thanks.

Best. Letter. Ever.

2007-04-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Our kinda e-mail. Thanks Alex!

Guys,

Wow! Excellent!

I've just been sitting here, working away and thoroughly enjoying what I've been hearing. A brilliant mix of music - I can't remember the last time I heard Leonard Cohen with So Long Marianne; and what about Stanford Townsend...that was one of those moments when you look at the radio (or pc) and say "you've got to be kidding!". And I mean that in a big smile on my face good way. I'm hearing songs again which I thought I was the only person who knew about them.

In addition it's all put together with a great deal of flair and imagination; it's bright and tight; I love the liners and imaging...go on admit it, you guys have done this before!

This is what radio used to be like for me and I'm so glad have found something to make me react this way again. Just a damn pity that the people who run terrestrial radio are too narrow minded and scared to do something like this. I live and work in radio in Scotland in the UK and you guys are knocking the spots off just about everything! It's not terribly often I hear something and feel compelled to get in touch.

You're doing a great job.

Much success and best wishes.

Cheers,

Alex Boyd

Meet Vigrass and Osborne

2007-04-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

Another "Who?" artist in the Great Big Radio galaxy of not-quite-stars.

Actually, their music very much lives on today. More on that in a bit. Paul Vigrass and Gary Osborne hooked up with one of the most commercial of all producers, Jeff Wayne, back around 1971. Wayne, in fact, was so commercial, that until that time he produced commercials. He seemed to have a great ear for pop production and composing. He wrote the music to Vigrass and Osborne's lyrics, along with playing the synth.

The collaboration spawned two albums: 1972's Queues and 1974's Steppin' Out. Although that would be all for V&O's recording career, they continued to write together and separately for Elton John and Kiki Dee among others.

Actually, their biggest hit wasn't performed by them. The song which was the "B" side of their first single - Men Of Learning - was later used for Wayne's most famous project, 1978's War Of The Worlds. From that album, that song became a pretty huge hit for Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues. The song of course is Forever Autumn, proving that nothing really dies in pop music. It usually just gets recycled. V&O wrote a few more songs for the project as well as lending their voices in the background.

Today, the stage presentation of War Of The Worlds is a smash in the UK and is set for a world tour later this year.

Great Big Radio plays three of Vigrass and Osborne's 45s - which were ripped into digital from those records on the UNI label:

Men Of Learning - I played this at the very first radio station I ever worked at, WTBQ in Warwick, NY. Still in high school, I was afternoon drive and program director. And a real bargain at $82.50 a week for a salary. When we received this record in the mail, I went nuts and added it that day. Hookier than hell and a clinic in understatement compared to what would come next.

Virginia - This actually spawned a discussing in the next station I worked for whether the title referred to a girl or the state. (It was a girl.) This is a great tune, containing some interesting percussion business which resembles a thumb popping out of a bowling ball. A rousing piece of pop with a tight string section underscoring the chorus and a nearly two-minute instrumental ending. It's the definition of "should've been," as is...

Mister Deadline - It blew my mind that this last attempt at pop stardom never took off. A real stunner from the moment the needle drops (and BOY does that date me or what?). Cold open, cold close, and a whole lot of overproduction in between. This is V&O's "Don't Cry." Kitchen sink, bathroom sink, towel rack, tiles - everything went into this and it still couldn't crack the top 20.

Fight the CRB - Save Internet Radio

2007-03-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

Let's make it clear: Traditional broadcast radio will never play many of the songs we play on Great Big Radio. Along with the hits, we find some treasures that never got a shot at chart exposure or songs that simply don't get played anymore - weeded out through anal-retentive research.

New laws are in the works that will make it prohibitively expensive for us to continue. We pay royalties through LoudCity. It's not enormous money, but in all honesty, we don't have an enormous audience. Thankfully, that audience is fiercely loyal, so we're doing something right. The fact is, we're making royalty payments which will amount to more that what we'll pay once we're shut down by this law.

Once again, legislation will try to "protect" the artist, when in fact, they'll be shutting down a major conduit to their exposure.

We need you to contact your representative to NOT sign this into law. For the survival of diverse internet radio, please do it today. Thanks, all. Here, from the SaveWebRadio website, is what you need to know.

Protect Your Right To Diversity

Protect your right to hear eclectic indepenent radio and discover new artists.You can save Internet radio with less than five minutes of your time. Write your congressional representative today. Pass the word to anyone you know that loves or makes music. Also, please bookmark this page and check back frequently for updates. We need your continued support and action as the situation further develops.

Tell your representative:

I do not support The Copyright Royalty Board's (CRB) March 2nd decision to substantially increase royalty rates. Not only will it impact my choices, but the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) manipulation of these rates, and the CRB's indifference will hurt working artists, damage small record labels and force law abiding small webcasters, already paying a large portion of their revenue per month in royalties, out of business. This decision will also damage hundreds of small businesses providing goods and services to working artists, small record labels and small webcasters.

I respectfully ask that you evaluate the CRB decision and do whatever is necessary to establish a reasonable royalty rate for all the parties involved.

Who, What and When

On March 2, 2007, The CRB approved royalty rates that will bury any small webcaster, and create a heavy burden even for big broadcasters like Yahoo, AOL Music and Pandora. How high will these rates be? Around 100% of a small webcasters revenue, give or take a few points, in most cases. What?! That's impossible to pay! Yep, it sure is..

How did this happen? The RIAA told the CRB thats what they wanted, and the CRB just gave it to them.

Your're probably thinking, hey that's awful, but who are the the RIAA and CRB?

RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is a lobbying group formed by the five largest record labels. They are embedded in Washington D.C. They make sure laws are written to keep them rich, no matter what. They made headlines a few years ago opening lawsuits against elderly people, single mothers and children for trading music online, even though some of them didn't even have computers. Check out the latest RIAA headlines.

The CRB (Copyright Royalty Board) is part of the US Copyright Office. The Board is charged with determining the royalty rates that would be determined by a willing buyer and a willing seller in a marketplace transaction. They decided to jack the rates beyond a broadcasters means despite decades of royalty rates being 1 - 2% of broadcaster revenue. Raise your right hand if you want to take away consumer choice, hurt working artists, damage small record labels and put small webcasters out of business.

Take Action Now

Great Big New Logo

2007-02-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

THIS changes everything. The new logo has improved the music, doubled our broadcasting power and has put us on the top ten most listened-to radio stations list - period.

Yeah, the new logo has made all the difference! When you have a new logo, you have the world by the grapefruits.

If only. Still, it's pretty cool.

Thanks for Getting the Word Out

2007-02-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

We depend on word-of-mouth, which is what all enterprises without advertising money say. Pass it around to your pals and enemies at work - seems to be our biggest venue since our day numbers are pretty spectacular. Thanks for all the great email, too. We'll make more.

Denny Doherty, 1940-2006

2007-01-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

I want my rock heroes to stop leaving us. The front voice (no, it wasn't always John Phillips) of the Mamas and Papas, Denny Doherty (photo, bottom right), has joined John and Cass Elliot in rock and roll heaven.

I play a lot of their music at Great Big Radio because I was always amazed at the way they applied their craft. The true four-part harmonies, the orchestra which always sounded like it was playing in the restroom down the hall (which gave their hits their haunting undertones) and the occasional audibles which you can hear with their earlier stereo albums and a good pair of headphones. A lot of that was cleaned up when they rereleased them in digital.

While "Monday Monday" and "California Dreamin'" will probably remain their signature songs, and "I Saw Her Again Last Night" stands out as a top-to-bottom masterpiece, I'd also like you to seek out two lesser-known standouts.

Glad To Be Unhappy - At about a minute and a half, it's almost a full half-minute shorter than the Box Tops' "The Letter" - but what a great 96 seconds. It actually reached #26 on the US charts.

No Salt On Her Tail - Just a beautiful song to have in your collection. I first heard this on their first anthology album in the 70s and it instantly was filed in my "Why wasn't this a hit?" drawer. Turned out it was the "B" side to their autobiographical hit "Creeque Alley." I'd bet over half the people who owned that single never heard it - and they're worse off for it.

I'll program these and many more this weekend as a tribute to Denny on Great Big Radio.com. We'll play their best at the top of every hour.

The Mamas and Papas, along with Spanky and Our Gang, wove incredible harmony into our little musical genre - with dazzling and timeless results. The architect of that sound, Denny Doherty, is forever 66.

Denny Doherty, one-quarter of the 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas, known for their soaring harmony on hits like "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday," died Friday at 66.
His sister Frances Arnold said the singer-songwriter died at his home in Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto, after a short illness. He had suffered kidney problems following surgery last month and had been put on dialysis, Arnold said.
The group burst on the national scene in 1966 with the top 10 smash "California Dreamin'." The Mamas and the Papas broke new ground by having women and men in one group at a time when most singing groups were unisex. John Phillips, the group's chief songwriter; his wife, Michelle; and another female vocalist, Cass Elliot, teamed with Doherty.
"Monday, Monday" hit No. 1 on the charts and won the band a Grammy for best contemporary group performance. Among the group's other songs were "I Saw Her Again Last Night," "Go Where You Wanna Go," "Dancing Bear," and versions of "I Call Your Name" and "Dedicated to the One I Love."
"What made the group special was their haunting and sumptuous harmony singing," according to "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll."
"Everybody used to think that John Phillips, who wrote the songs, was also the main voice of the group, but it wasn't - it was the angelic voice of Denny Doherty," said Larry Leblanc, Canadian editor of Billboard Magazine. "He was often overlooked but it was really his voice that carried the group."

A WKRP Episode

2007-01-11T19:12:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

Server Status: Server is currently down.

2006-12-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

The most dreaded words to us. This means that a power outage knocked our little station out of commission. Our backup crews (our nice neighbors watching our house while we're out of town) are working on the problem and we should be back up by Thursday (when we get home).

Or tonight, if it's just a matter of the neighbors turning the computer on.

If this were a real radio station, I'd fire myself. We'll let you know when we're back!

UPDATE: We're back. Thanks, Andrea!

A Merry and a Happy

2006-12-18T00:17:00.000-08:00

We're coming to the end of our debut year, and we're proud so many of you are enjoying Great Big Radio. Proud and really really grateful.

We'll be away from home base during the holiday, but thanks to remote software, we'll be plugging in a few Christmas Easter Eggs (you may steal that) for you to catch on the big day. Like Jean Shepard's "Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Gang" - the broadcast of the essay which eventually became his classic film "A Christmas Story." Then there's a nifty special Stan Freberg created for the BBC, named for his subversive "Green Christmas." And an incredibly touching Amos 'n' Andy Christmas Show which highlights that great choir - spreading their wings beyond just the show's theme song.

There'll be more, so we hope you'll join us. Whether you do or not, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a Swell Whatever You Choose To Celebrate/Observe. Thanks for your support!

Is Our Big Fat Stupid Smile Coming Across?

2006-12-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

We're lovin' the new server. Lovin' it.

A big ol' welcome to our new listeners who flew in from Ask Ken Levine and Hoffmania. We can always use new listeners - and now we have the ability to grow with the audience. I can boost the avails at any time with these new servers with zero hassle. Go on. Make us try it. We're daring ya.

Speaking if listening, we're clocking an astounding average 7+ hours of listening at a time per person. 7+ hours! That's mind-blowing for a music format. We must be playing some good stuff here.

We ought tune in ourselves and listen. As always - thanks for your great big loyalty.

NEW SERVER!

2006-12-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

We're now part of the BroadStreamer family. Big fat thanks to our pals over at Buzznet Media (JACK-FM, Rhythm and Gold, etc.) for finding these guys. Our old server simply chose not to respond to the problems we had this weekend, so we ended that relationship.

We'd appreciate it if you would follow the site links and listen through LoudCity so we can keep track of royalties and so forth, but if you really want to bookmark the new stream into iTunes or Winamp, here's the address:

http://ibiza.broadstreamer.com:7040/listen.pls

Thanks for your patience during our changing of gears! Let's play some radio.

Blah Blah Server in Germany Blah Sorry Blah

2006-12-03T11:18:00.001-08:00

Our apologies for the connections this weekend. 24Server is working on the problem. We may be jumping ship soon if this keeps up. We'll keep you updated. If anyone can recommend a good inexpensive server, we're all ears.

We have added our Christmas music which we're playing through the holidays at the top of every hour. Once we get our overseas friends to fix the damn stream, you'll hear classics like Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Christmas, The Three Stooges' Wreck the Halls and Darlene Love's Christmastime For The Jews.

Did I mention Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody? Happy Holidays!

First Oops In A Long Time

2006-11-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

And again, it wasn't anything on our end! Woo hoo. Our servers in Europe were rebuilt. They forgot to tell oh, y'know - the clients. Jack-FM had the same problem, so I don't feel left out. We rebooted ours remotely, and voila. We're back in all our loud-ass glory. Aside from that, it's been real smooth.

We're still adding new stuff every week, and we're always open for suggestion, as long as we like it. Enjoy!

The Belkin N1 Wireless Router

2006-11-01T02:07:00.000-08:00

We may be celebrating prematurely, but after installing this baby just before the weekend, we've been absolutely problem-free. This router has been getting high marks from just about everywhere. What put our decision to get one over the top was a recommendation by an Apple employee, after we had to return our second Airport Extreme. So far, the Belkin is solid as a rock.

We loaded in a pile of music from the late 80s over the weekend, so our bulbous library is now represented by more of that newer music from (*gulp*) two decades ago.

Hope you're still enjoyin' GBR - we're having a blast bringing it to you guys.

October 16, 2006 - 11:10pm File That Under "S" for "Sucked, That Really"

2006-10-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

WOW was that horrible. AdelphiaTimeWarner with a lot of wiring on our end finally got the bandwidth problem licked - in fact it's smokin'. 6.7mb/sec download and a respectable 1.1mb/sec upload...which ain't bad for a cable modem. So we're back in all our dazzling 128kb/s streaming glory.

For the time being.

When we got the connection going, a fascinating thing happened. Our ROUTER was cache-ing Adelphia's error screen from last night, and every computer at Great Big Headquarters was sporting it until we reset the damn thing to factory defaults. Still waiting for Apple to get us the new Airport Extreme to replace this one.

Until that happens, we'll keep hobblin' along. Hey. IT'S FREE. Deal with it.

Thanks for hanging in there...

October 16, 2005 - 2:15pmMeeeeeeeeep Meeeeeeeeep...

2006-10-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, thanks to Adelphia's conversion to Time Warner, we're off right now.

Last night, I was blaming the router. Turns out that Time Warner is having a meltdown in the L.A. area. Half the internet service is out, and the entire e-mail system is dead.

The problem we were having yesterday was TW's service: Uploads were traveling at 10 (yes, TEN) KB per second. That's why the signal was going through in 15-second bursts.

The problem we're having today is that uploads are traveling at - well, zero. We're affected by the outage.

Even when service comes back, TW still has to reinitiate our line since they were in the midst of reseting our modem remotely when the problems began. Zap. Something fried there and we'll find out what it is later today.

Stay tuned. Er...better yet, just try later.

October 15, 2006 - 10:38pmWaiting For Ms. Goodrouter

2006-10-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

That's about as creative as I can get this time o'night. Apple's supposed to send us a new Airport Extreme to replace the router nervosa we're using now. Sorry for all the off 'n' on today. We did indeed peg it to the wireless router (which GBR is hardwired into). Meanwhile, if you have encountered a better router, we'd love to know about it.

We keep loading new additions to the music library every week, and we appreciate the nice feedback we've been getting. Glad y'all are enjoying it as much as we are!

September 29, 2006 - 11:15pmCrassier and More Commercialesque

2006-09-29T23:14:00.000-07:00

And damned proud of it. TM Century made some magnificent singin' of our Great Bigness, and we feel like a few more pistons have just fired up. This makes me feel better, 'specially since we were down for a few hours today. But who cares. We got singers. Take that, Boystown Radio. Checkmate, Party Planet. In yer face, Billy-FM. Your bedroom radio stations can't touch our bedroom radio station.

Nyah.

(Sheesh. Give a guy a few jingles and he becomes King Fathead.)

September 23, 2006 - 10:38amThe Star's Really Ascending Now

2006-09-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Listen for big improvements in the next couple of weeks. One will make us sound more like the obnoxious Top 40 station we aspire to be. You'll know it when you hear it. I won't say exactly what - but let's just say it ensures their logo/link will adorn our home page and blog page for a long long time.

Also, I finally completed the restoration of Beaver Cleaver (Ken Levine)'s contribution to our nightly Legends of Radio thing. Congratulations, Ken. You're now old enough to be "a legend."

Man, that wasn't easy, either. Ten-Q was notorious for speeding up some of their records anywhere between 2 and 5%. That would be easy to match if I had actual records. But using digital files, it's all trial and error. Technology really screwed me up this time. But it's done. I shot a copy over to him, and he hasn't spoken to me since. It must be brilliant.

Speaking of which, Ken gave us a nice plug at his website, By Ken Levine. If you haven't checked it out yet, you're a total loser. Or you've been busy. It's a great insider's blog on the TV industry, along with personal columns which rival Dave Barry.

Okay, Ken. Three paragraphs. You owe me big time.

More hits and stiffs that shoulda been hits are being added. Hope you're enjoying the chaos!

September 4, 2006 - 12:50pmLegends

2006-09-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

We just got hold of some real gold for our nightly (1am ET, 10pm PT) classic Top 40 radio replays. (We really need to come up with a catchy name for that.)

Ken Levine gave us some hilarious shows he did as Beaver Cleaver on L.A.'s Ten-Q. We're in the process of restoring the music into them. We also acquired a gem: Jackson Armstrong's final show on Hartford's WPOP from 1970...it's amazing to say the least. We also found some Chicago tapes and some rare WOR-FM/New York stuff from the Scott Muni days. Look out for those.

Seems that Armstrong's work at WKBW in Buffalo is a hard-to-find commodity, but we've got some shady nudnicks working on it.

The Great Big Radio Machine is acting very interestingly today, somehow instinctively playing twin-spins by the same artist. Weird thing is, there are just ever-so slight differences in the way I entered the info in the "artist" field - like "Elton John" and "Elton John and Kiki Dee" or "Emerson Lake & Palmer" and "Emerson Lake and Palmer." Yet, the Great Big Machine is playing these tunes back-to-back. Damn thing's almost human, because it also screws up occasionally. But this was a nice surprise. Twice in the same hour.

And nobody can yell at it or hotline it. Sweet!

As always, let us know what we can dig up for you.

September 10, 2006 - 11:14amProblems - And Guess What?

2006-09-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

They're NOT OUR FAULT! Yay!

But our carrier is having headaches of the gods. Kay at 24Server says:

Big problem with the redundant router and the core router at DCA Amsterdam. Whole Data Center with all servers is offline.:( They are working to solve asap. I am really sorry for that inconvenience. Only positive thing is, that this was not happened at peak time between Mon - Fri...

Wow. It must be serious. I have no idea what he just said. But they're working on it.

As they used to say on TV: Please stand by.

So we're using the down time to add a whole bunch of musical numbers designed to entertain, enlighten, and half the time, make you say "What the HELL...?" Enjoy - once we're back on, anyway.

12 Noon PT: And we're back.

September 9, 2006 - 10:05amLegitiness

2006-09-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

Some of you have noticed you're directed to a thing called LoudCity when you click to listen. Yes, there's a damned good reason, but what's it to ya?

Oh, right. You're our loyal and beloved listener. Sorry. We never leave the house and our social skills are rusty.

LoudCity now handles our royalties for playing this - uh, eca-lectic playlist, as a certain president might say. Yes, Great Big Radio is legal. You are not aiding and abetting anything shady when you tune in. Rejoice! Dance! Crank it up!

And I can't help but imagine the look on the face of the folks who wrote "Daytime, Nighttime" or "1900 Yesterday" when they get that $.04 check in the mail every month.

You guys are welcome. Don't spend it all on one newspaper...

September 7, 2006 - 10:05pmUp Until Now, Everything's Been Quasi-Okay

2006-09-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

But tonight, we switched to the Airport Extreme router. All the earth's problems should now be gone completely. Right? RIGHT?

September 2, 2006 - 11:15amWeekend Cable Modem Blues

2006-09-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Since Time Warner took over our system, it seems we run into problems on weekends. Whatever it is seems to wreak havoc with our in-house wireless hub, causing it to reset often. (GBR is hardwired into the router - but when the router blinks, so blinks the GBR.)

Sometime this week, we'll install an Airport Extreme, which by all accounts is much more stable than the D-Link/Netgear/LinkSys/You Name It routers we've been wrestling with.

And the business model of spending more money is working out REAL well...

September 1, 2006 - 11:35pm1900 Yesterday?

2006-08-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Figured we'd check in and say hi. How've ya been?

Every once in a while, we'll throw something into the mix that even astounds us. And it was something which cropped up on XM's "It" which is now into the 70s.

XM likes to call "It" a chronological history of pop music. What "It" really seems to be is the chance for each decade channel to go as deep as they can without completely pissing you off. As "It" slid into 1971, they played a song that I thought was gone forever - a haunting little piece of business I played at my very first radio station. Once.

1900 Yesterday by Liz Damon's Orient Express came oozing out of my car speakers and that crappy little studio layout suddenly appeared in front of me. Knowing that this deal was available digitally (as XM played it) knocked me out - and sure enough, I found it on a mellow rock CD collection.

Liz Damon's Orient Express. The name always sounded like a progressive wannabe group to me. Brian Auger's Trinity Express. Just something you kept in the back of your mind if you needed time filler at your college station. But Damon's group was in reality the complete polar opposite. Based in Hawaii. Her family backed the vocals. The orchestration was a revolving door of studio musicians ala Steely Dan. But because of her geography, they were usually Asians. Hence the name.

And that song. If you hear us play it in the middle of the night, it'll give you the chills. It sounds as if they picked up scraps of 40's, 50's, and 60's velvet before finally pulling it all into a big plush smoking jacket in 1971.

So now that I've added it, the GBR Playlist Monster will either play it once and never again, or play it to death, just like that damned Japanese version of Questions 67 and 68 (which I finally yanked manually for now).

I'll be listening for it. There's a one in 2,017 chance of that happening. I'll take those odds.

August 23, 2006 - 12:05pmYou Be Listenin'

2006-08-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

To coin a tired old expression: "Wow." We nearly maxed out JACK.FM's server today, hitting 74 out of 75 listeners at one time. And we didn't have any huge technical difficulties to embarrass us, either! That in itself is a huge accomplishment for us.

Our own server had (gird your loins - here it comes) TEN out of 35 avails at one point this morning! Woo hoo! Maxing our server out still seems to be a distant fairy tale for now, so our being carried on JACK's broad shoulders is definitely very nice for us - and very generous of Jack, our mentor when we got this thing up and running.

Don't forget, you can hear classic original broadcasts every night at 1AM ET/10PM PT. We added quite a few over the last few days, including some VERY early KHJ and a hysterical London and Engelman show from 1986. We never know which one will run, so tune in and prepare to be completely blown away or horribly disappointed - ONLY on Great Big Radio.com!

Leave a comment if you have the guts, pal.

August 20, 2006 - 9:15pmShhhh...

2006-08-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Don't speak too loud - but I think it's fixed.

And how do ya like the new homepage?

August 20, 2006 - 1:20pmBeep Beep Yer Ass

2006-08-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

...harkening back to an old '70s poster.

Time Warner's Road Runner has taken over Adelphia, and now my upload speed has been cut to just slightly better than acoustic modem. We're working on it. In the meantime, enjoy missing 30-second chunks off your favorites.

Beep beep indeed.

August 19, 2006 - 1:10pmWhy Do We...?

2006-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Addressing a few inquiries which wafted into our mailbox...

Why do you play three versions of ABBA's Waterloo?
Because we can. We play the French, German and an alternate English version of Waterloo. This song, to me, is the absolute hands-down greatest pop song of all time. I was completely knocked out the first time I heard it, and today, I'm still amazed at the kitchen-sinkiness of it. Waterloo starts by grabbing you by the neck from the first split second and finally lets go two minutes and forty seconds later. ABBA's had bigger hits since - but this one defines "pop."

There are other songs which deliver that pop punch I'm talking about. Hundreds of deejays will agree with me on Go All The Way by the Raspberries. It's relentless. It's aggressive. It's dirty. When I first heard this one, I said, "Damn! Paul McCartney finally put out the perfect hit record." When I found out they were in fact a group from Cleveland, I got pissed off at Paul. I ran into my college radio station and stole the album - and to this day, all my Queen, Rascals and Ramones albums still smell like the raspberry scratch-n-sniff sticker that adorned that LP. GATW was one of the few songs that came produced with AM radio style processing. Anyone who played it sounded like a million bucks.

And then there's Asia's Don't Cry - the greatest hit record that never was. It's almost as if they said, "We're tired of midcharting. Let's throw everything we have into this sucker." This wasn't the kitchen sink. This was the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, the entire damn pantry, and for good measure, the living room and roof. If that weren't enough, the video was just as overwhelming, combining Spielberg, Lucas and William Wyler into a triple thriller which had absolutely nothing to do with the song. In other words, standard operating procedure for music videos. (Here it is - don't let the messy image here fool ya. Just play it for laughs.)

For all that work, it barely cracked the top ten and failed to make the top 200 of 1983. Still - a killer pop song.

I'll delve into more pop phenoms later. First, I have treasure and a damsel to rescue in Tibet...

Saturday, August 19, 2006 - 12:49pmSay Hallo To Our Leetle Frands

2006-08-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

Just gotta send along links to some of our fans/people who tolerate us...

Of course, the reason we HAVE listeners this weekend: JACK.FM. In case you're wondering, yes - they're the original JACK-FM - and still better than what JACK's imitators are doing on real radio stations.

And my pals who tune in regularly:

JOHN THOMS - Filmmaker, actor, GBR listener.

STEVE MORRIS - Filmwatcher, comedian, actor, GBR listener. He does one more thing than Thoms - although Thoms is funny in his own way.

KEN LEVINE - A TV director/writer who actually works.

BOB WEST - He voiced Barney the Dinosaur. Really. He did. Go see for yourself.

The gang at BLAH3.com - Stranger's a professional musician who's glad we play The Move's version of "Do Ya." So are we.

I hope by outing these folks, I'll drag the rest of you out of the closet to admit you listen, too. Thanks for your support, guys...

August 18, 2006 - 7:55amThe Power of Jack

2006-08-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

Cadillac Jack is still relaying Great Big Radio on their dime while they're "on vacation." The numbers are awesome - at one point double what our puny little capacity can handle if it did max out. And Jack told us something all warm 'n' fuzzy - GBR is pulling record numbers for "substitute" stations on JACK.FM's "vacation" time. How's that for obtuse? And dammit, we'll take it! (Check the numbers on their server here.)

So our thanks again to JACK.FM - very cool.

Gotta go to Costco for more folding chairs for the guests...

August 16, 2006 - 12:47amJACK-FM Streams GBR!

2006-08-16T00:51:00.000-07:00

Our pals at the planet-famous JACK-FM are streaming us on their signal while they "hit the beach" for a spell. Yep - the good guys at Big Sticks Broadcasting who created the JACK format are giving us a much-needed publicity boost, and we couldn't be happier - or more honored.

Man. That's like Jimmy Page lending you his guitar to learn how to play like him. I think. It's too late to come up with a good metaphor. But you know what I mean.

JACK - yer the best.

August 8, 2006 - 7:52amGreat Big Generic Update

2006-08-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Still hummin' along nicely. It sounds like we licked the skipping and skewing problem once and for all. Any VERY occasional glitches are now your fault. Unless the cats unplug the server. The little cretins. I blame them for everything. Except Iraq. But that's another blog.

If you're hearing a lot of songs you heard yesterday, it's because late last night, we reset our library. Everything is now as if we had just started - again. We also added a bunch to the playlist while we were at it.

I want to thank my pals who have contributed some great tracks to our bulbous collection. Mike in New York provided some terrific Dusty Springfield, Kinks, and Jackie DeShannon tracks, among others. My local friend Lindsay just gave us the Beach Boys track "It's A Beautiful Day" - a long-lost song from the cult film "Americathon."

We do NOT accept emailed files, so please don't wreck our mailbox with 'em. But if there's something we should be playing, drop us a line - not the song. Have mercy on our servers. Thanks!

Oh, and Great Big thanks to Rob at Home Grown Radio NJ for giving us a link boost with our Jamba Juice order. Beauty!

Now I gotta fix "Centerfold" and "Take A Giant Step." It's a freakin' nursery.

August 5, 2006 - 9:16pmHow Did THAT Happen?

2006-08-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

We fiddled with the settings and GBR is sounding AWESOME all of a sudden. We ratcheted down the fatigue factor, and aside from the vagueries of how I converted the music to begin with, it's much better.

Got some suggestions on the crossfading problem and it's somewhat kind of not so sucky as it was. It's still not exactly where I'd like it (Cleveland), but we're getting there.

Yeehaw, and all that.

August 5, 2006 - 9:23am:Okay. That's It. Asses Will Be Fired

2006-08-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, wait. I'm the only one running this thing.

Hey, but we fixed the bumper rotation! The five you were hearing over and over and over and over were given the artist slug "Great Big Radio.com" while the other 70 were just "Great Big Radio." Sounds dumb, but somehow, that really screwed up the rotation. So much for random.

So the love/hate/annoy relationship I'm having with SAM3 continues. The next thing we're addressing is the horrific crossfade module. The old software analyzed each element for a beginning and an end and it mixed things beautifully. I'm sure there's something like that in this program, but obviously I haven't mastered it.

Isn't this fun? Watching me lose brain cells before your very ears! We soldier on.

By the way, feel free to leave comments here at the bottom of each post. Especially if you know how the hell to run SAM3.

August 4, 2006 - 6:39 am: And We're Back

2006-08-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

Actually, we came back on last night around 8:30. The Time Warner victory over the evil Adelphia is now complete. Meep beep and all that.

I'm still learning the playlist thing. Like our old software, this program running the show seems to like certain things. The old software had a fondness for Dylan's Positively 4th Street. If this new program plays that "request line" bumper one more time or if it plays Miguel Rios four times a day again, I'm gonna shoot it. (Song Of Joy is playing as I write this. You're on notice up there.)

I'm getting happier with the audio. When we first fired up the SAM3 a few days ago, we used the default settings. Bad idea. Everything sounded like a cross between a transistor radio with a lousy battery and a dumpster full of volverines. Now it sounds like a dumpster full of nicer wolverines.

August 3, 2006 - 6:02pm PT

2006-08-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

Adelphia must be handing the keys over to Time Warner as we speak. There's no web service at our world headquarters at this time. We're keeping an eye for the dark "online" light to flicker back to life.

Farewell to Skipping?

2006-07-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

We may have done it. We dumped the venerable OTSdj software we've been using, and it turned out to be the root of the audio problems we've had practically since day one. We're now using a much more sophisticated (which doesn't cotton to my inherent laziness) program called "SAM3."

We've tested it for a couple of days, and we've had zero problems with the stream, along with much more flexible audio processing (GREAT separation, five-band processing and a big fat learning curve).

Creating playlists is going to be like learning a new language. And I don't mean learning Spanish or Italian or a language that uses our alphabet. No, no - it's more like Hebrew or its sister language, Klingon. While OTS kinda did it automatically, SAM3 wants me to WORK. Sheesh.

Check back for more...but in the meantime, enjoy the tweaking!