Assignment #8 Blogging a Scene

Listening to the Radio

I walked down to the basement of the University Memorial Center here at CU, past the garbage dumps to the confines of the Radio 1190 studio. I walked past the first dimly lit room into the main room where the walls were entirely covered with thousands of records dying to get played over the air.

The only objects not covered in music were the doors which were plastered with graffiti and stickers of various artists. I proceeded to sit down on the only couch in the room which didn’t seem to have a particular color but rather dozens of different paint splatters. I was ready to see if the sound of this room matched the small radio station’s sights.

While I was waiting for the hosts of the Hip Hop show called Basementalism, I had the opportunity to listen to the show on just before called Chunk of Funk. As the lovely sounds of Sly & the Family Stone are playing I heard a series of four letter words behind me that have suddenly grown wings. These words would not cease to stop flying the entire evening. The crew was late to the set and rushed in just in time to start their show.

Out of nowhere I heard the inspiring lyrics of “I need to gangsta boogie with my gangsta bitch!” This song was blaring so loud from the speakers with enough bass to make anyone tone deaf for the rest of their life. The entire crew was dancing and singing along with the jam. The mood was light and people came here to relax and have a good time.

Once the host put on a play list, everyone got together and greeted each other. They never greeted each other with a handshake but rather with a slide and a bump. The group didn’t address each other by their government name but with names such as “DJ Low Key” and “B-Money”. The conversation of the crew began with how the past week has gone for everyone. The consensus among the group was that school is still awful and how their significant others aren’t so significant anymore. This talk quickly shifted to how they deal with their daily problems.

This was when the group was most elated. One man was wearing an over sized “fur” jacket and was quickly asked why he bought such a large and absurd jacket. A wide grin came over him and he said “There is so much room for my medicine; I couldn’t get through the day without it.” He opened his jacket and there were pockets filled with several bags of hallucinogens and a sparkling flask. He was quickly adored and congratulated for such a fine collection.

The atmosphere quickly changed once it was time for the crew to get back on the air. Everyone became extremely professional and there was no cursing of any sort. It seemed that these people had two very distinct personalities. The hosts of the show became very passionate about Hip-Hop music and started talking about the history and significance of the music they were playing. The hosts then called up local artists and asked these artists questions about their music and where they were from and how it was possible for the audience to “cop” some of their music.

The hosts were making a great effort and had a strong interest in promoting local music. They thanked the artists and signed off to end the week’s show. As the crew handed over the set for the next show, everybody said their goodbyes. One woman asked her friend what he was doing after the show. He pondered a moment and answered “I dunno, it’s a Saturday night though and that pretty much always involves drinking”. The group left just as they had come into the studio that afternoon, looking for a good time.