Charlie and BBC 1 London liven up Arizona Internet Radio :-)

[MenudoRed]

Mr. Gillett,
I was really happy to find such nice stuff "out there" in radioland. I listen to NPR (Check Feb 1's Bob Marley tribute TOTN online) most of the time as the advertisements now take up almost 50% of the air time on commercial radio. BBC radio and world news is a really nice source of what "really is going on" out there.
I'm 55 and remember those "DooWop" days as a sneaker wearing denim demon in Chicago's lakeshore highrises. I still wear Converse High Tops (31 pairs for now) and some PF Flyers. Your show from 22 January 05 with Sean Rowley and the African from Dakar was very entertaining. I went back in time to those days of the first Sony AM radios we had. The WW II veterans (US, Brit, German, and Japanese) in our neighborhood showed us kids how to carry 10 ft of antenna wire with little alligator clips at both ends. We lived in and were surrounded by high steel so just clipping one end to a doorframe or grounded outlet and the other to our radio antennae gave us a 20 story one block square booster! We picked up signals from 3 or 4 states away. At night we could get Omaha, Cleveland, and even Ontario.
I'm an elementary teacher now and make every attempt to bring "The World" into my classroom of a high percentage of immigrant children. I know they miss and trust news and information from "overseas". Students in my classroom have Islamic, Asian, European, African, and other cultural traditions. By playing music from my own collection and using Internet Radio (Radio 365 is my personal favorite for now) "feet tapping" music that gives me a rush is shared with these students. Discovering your site was a real "hoot" as many Arizona Cowboy Action Shooters say. Being a former Marine, Vietnam veteran, Republican, and Conservative isn't as far "right wing" as most think. Many of us vote and teach across party/union lines believing the opinions of others are critical. Even in Danang most of my "mates" had the "Hey, Dude, whatever floats YOUR boat is cool" attitude toward others. So the twinkling eyes and broad smiles of the Iraqi, Iranian, and Afghani students as I played my Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's CD's in the classroom afterschool detention made all the difference in the world. A huge reduction in the discipline problems. Chalk one up to music to soothe the savage beast, eh? Or to Paul McCartney's previous discussions of music to help with the emotional and learning disabled children. During my temporary "retirement" to get my graduate studies completed, I'm looking into Sudanese, other African, Balkan, and Eastern European popular and classical music. A fun activity is to play only 8 to 16 bars and have the students guess the geographical origin.
I'll be listening and perusing your site. I'll probably put it up on the classroom wall for the kids to "see the world" from their West Phoenix Valley homes when I return. Keep up the good work and BRAVO to you and your staff...and Sean Rowley, too.

Cordially, Philip L. Boddy Jr. aka "Menudo Red" when blasting away in costume with .44-40 rounds or Philip of Kent the Obscure when loosing arrows as an English yeoman in the Medieval Society, the SCA."Huzzah!"

[howard male]

What a pleasure it is to read a new voice from another part of the world in this Feedback section - welcome to the club Philip!
Keep us informed of your kids musical education - what they like, what they don't like and what gets them dancing on their desks.

As you have anticipated, many of us here might view your political allegiances with some suspicion, but you seem like a good guy with an open mind, so good luck to you!

[MenudoRed]

Thank you Howard. I will endeavor to continue promulgating a sense of global interdependence and just plain common courtesy among our students. It is indeed a pity most of the world thinks of us as New York City, Washington D.C., Dallas, or Los Angeles. Most of us feel the "talking heads" of the media haven't a clue what is going on outside the aforementioned cities' suburbs. Music, good regional cuisine, and a stout sense of humor coupled with good manners seem to solve many problems. That's why sources of thought and philosophy like Charlie's music world remind us of the really important things in life. I'll stay away from the politics. Our regions are so varied it is impossible to put a finger on the "American pulse". I'm sure these diverse regions exist in the UK as well. I'm glad for these differences. So, as some of us politically incorrect Arizonans might say, "Quit that jabberin' about the governor an' pass me some more of that homemade salsa. Oh, yeah, turn up that Mariachi music a bit, partner...Let's DANCE!"

Have a good one, Howard.

Cordially, Philip in Cactusland