A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Part II) (#85)

The writing was on the wall from the beginning, and A Momentary Lapse of Reason was doomed (if by name alone) to be short lived. Getting off the ground initially was extremely time consuming. Half way through, KPSU experienced all new management, and they were unsure of who I was, what the show was about, and when they could schedule it. (The new staff were unaware that I was celebrating my 10 year anniversary at KPSU.)

And part of the confusion was the fact that I’d quite KPSU twice previously. While it is difficult to talk about this without ultimately pointing fingers, the fist time I left for due to “creative differences,” and the second time was to pursue new projects that, at the time, were very promising. That being said, the name of the new show was far too appropriate; while I thought I was making one joke (regarding Pink Floyd’s return to recording after their “final” cut), it turned out the “momentary” aspect of the program was entirely too relevant. By the end of July of the 2014, the show was over, and by September, the last Momentary Lapse of Reason show went out under the disguise of the last Closet Radio broadcast to go out on KPSU. (Sometime the details of Closet Radio‘s ascendence and disappearance should be covered by someone, but for now, I’ll have to leave that to a future someone.)

There were several factors that led to the end, but one was a simple matter of technical problems. KPSU, at the time, regularly had issues, with equipment, access to the studio, the turntables (as most notably heard on the Closet Radio sessions, which had a hum that was only identified afterward running throughout the performance), and sometimes, there was a band sitting in the studio, wanting to play. This is, of course, the adventure of college radio, but when you rely on the full studio to create your program, these limitations can be very frustrating. On at least two occasions, the station was mysteriously closed and we couldn’t do a show. (We ultimately podcasted in place of those, an entirely other permutation of this show that is also not represented here and now.) And in the end, the station just didn’t know what to make of the show. Trying to explain a collage / interview / talk / music show was hard, and they never understood why it didn’t work to have a rock band recording in the room next door while Rikki & I were trying to talk. (Not to mention how hard it was to mix.) It was clear, for both of us, that KPSU was not the place for this show.

Add on top of all of this availability. In spite of my best efforts, KPSU didn’t make it easy to hear A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Sometimes, the show was not listed on the site. Other times, the feeds weren’t working, so you couldn’t even hear us live. When we did manage to get incomplete recordings, getting them properly documented in a way for listeners to find and hear were a challenge, and at one point, it seemed like I had lost all the source recordings for the program. To say that it was little heard (and badly recorded) is an understatement, so at the very least, bringing these recordings to a wider audience is to finally do justice to these shows that have, more or less, languished in digital oblivion.

Another factor that competed for attention at the same time was my own proximity to Portland, where KPSU is located. Very quickly, due to a number of reasons that are boring and tedious, I found myself moving to Salem rather suddenly. While I initially commuted to PDX for work and radio, I soon landed a job in Salem, and getting to Portland was no longer easy or possible for the time slot we were inhabiting. Initially, this was only going to be a temporary roadblock; both Rikki & I were working out ways that the podcast version of the show could be done remotely, and there were talks of us changing the show entirely to The Secret True History of Rock & Roll, a new idea that grew out of A Momentary Lapse of Reason. But all these plans were scuttled when Rikki moved Closet Radio to KRXY, and then, moved away from Portland entirely. At that point, the nail in the AMLOR coffin was officially pounded in place.

Obviously, something like this is about a time and a place. Rikki & I did some incredible radio at KPSU, and we both enjoyed our shows, and this one in particular. But it was clear that our lives were moving in other directions. But for one year, we managed to create a show that was absolutely a representation of what we are like when we are on the radio together, and that alone is something that is worth quite a bit.  My hope is that, buried in the mix here somewhere, you can hear Miss Rikki and I, laughing and rocking out, so incredibly pleased with ourselves that we got to make such wild radio.

Even if it was only temporary.

Enjoy.

Spinitron Playlist

 

A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Part II)

HOUR 1

Part I: (From Episode 2, 5 February 2014)

01.) Austin FM Theme * Paco Jones * Austin FM Theme * Self-Released (2016)
02.) Silence vs. Answers * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part II: (From Episode 18, 11 June 2014) 

03.) The Warm Up * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part III: (From Episode 20, 25 June 2014 & Episode 21, 2 July 2014) 

04.) Having Something To Rebel Against * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part IV: (From Episode 21, 2 July 2014 & Episode 22, 9 July 2014)

05.) The Subdivisions of Time * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

HOUR 2

Part V: (From Episode 22, 9 July 2014) 

06.) Firesign Wilson & George ‘Lilly’ Theater Play Vanilla Fudge (or, “The 70’s) * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part VI: (From Episode 22, 9 July 2014 & Closet Radio Episode 151, 27 September 2014) 

07.) Small Stories of The Night * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part VII: (From Closet Radio Episode 151, 27 September 2014)

08.) Well I Never * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part VIII (Bonus): (From Closet Radio Episode 151, 27 September 2014)

09.) When You’re Uncool * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

 

A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Part I) (#84)

Some moments in our lives are just wistful memories of which we have little record. But sometimes, you get a glorious snapshot of something from the past, and when you revisit it, you realize there is wisdom and glory is looking back on what had been done before.

For a short period of time in 2014, I returned to KPSU while I was working at PSU. I had twice left the station before, to work on other radio projects elsewhere, but as a student, alumni, and then employee of the school, KPSU was never far from my mind, or my memory. I would hear it as I roamed the campus during work hours, and it soon filled my mind with all sorts of ideas about a new was of doing radio. It’s not like I’d ever strayed too far away. Every iteration of my show has been, essentially, the same. (That is to say, me and my interests, on display, for all the world to hear.) But I wanted to distill all the facets of my radio personality into one, rambling, massive, pulsing thing that was, for all intents and purposes, me in audio form.

It took a long time to set this up. Starting in 2013, I began planning and preparing, working with the station and with Miss Rikki to get it to come into being. There were delays and setbacks, and stations management changes that always make it difficult to explain everything all over again to someone new. But we launched, at the end of January, and for most of 2014, this became my favorite thing to do, creatively.

While the show was never supposed to include anyone else other than myself, Rikki had been so much a part of planning this show, that it only made sense to have her on the first one. Then, very quickly, she was there for every show, and so was a whole cast of characters that littered the conversations and spots on the program, none of which are represented here. The backbone, the essence of the show was Miss Rikki and I, mixing records and other stuff, and seeing how it all turned out.

In fact, aside from the first DJ set of the first show, almost none of what was aired on A Momentary Lapse of Reason was planned any way. The spontaneous and improvised nature of the show relied heavily on the KPSU music archive, which we played relentlessly in various capacities, but this sort of ignores that both Rikki and I would bring piles of stuff to play, too. But one we got to chatting, and picking stuff out, it always became clear that the shows were never going to even get to the stuff we’d selected before, a tradition that is long standing a common in radio.

This show was short lived, and perhaps I’ll talk about the ending in the next episode. But here, let’s focus on some of the best and choicest moments from the first several episodes. While our show was full of segments, talk, calls, and live music, the connective tissue / thread that would hold it all together was our mixes. This is the stuff that has aged the best, represents the spirit of the show that I remember fondly, and is truly wild in a way that makes me want to bring this element back to Mid-Valley Mutations in a big way.

As a special treat, there are a few extra “bonus minutes” on the podcast version, that the FM version did not get. If you were listening live, and want to hear that, the bonus minutes are at the end. And: stay tuned next week, as we continue this exploration, and bring you more magnificent mixes from Miss Rikki and myself.

Enjoy!

Spinitron Playlist

 

A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Part I)

HOUR 1

Part I: (From Episode 2, 5 February 2014)

01.) Austin FM Theme * Paco Jones * Austin FM Theme * Self-Released (2016)
02.) Silence vs. Answers * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part II: (From Episode 6, 5 March 2014 & Episode 7, 19 March 2014) 

03.) That Neu Number Station In Astro Space * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part III: (From Episode 8, 26 March 2014 & Episode 12, 23 April 2014) 

04.) Full Skronk Git Down * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

Part IV: (From Episode 14, 14 May 2014 & Episode 17, 4 June 2014)

05.) The Jazz Numbers Theory on Botflys & Mr. Topsy Turvy * A Momentary Lapse of Reason w/ The Professor & The Professor’s Wife * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)

HOUR 2

Part V: (From Episode 17, 4 June 2014 & Episode 18, 11 June 2014) 

06.) The Meta-morph-osis * A Momentary Lapse of Reason * 2014 Sessions * KPSU Radio (2014)
07.) Tonto * Battles * Mirrored * Warp Records (2007)

Part VI: (From Episode 3, 12 February 2014)

08.) As of Now * Ken Nordine * A Transparent Mask * Asphodel Records (2004)
09.) Tommy Goes Berserk * Melvins Lite * Freak Puke * Ipecac Records (2012)
10.) Gauze * KARP * Stars Kill Rock * Kill Rock Stars (1993)

Part VII: (Episode 3, 12 February 2014 2014 & Episode 6, 5 March 2014)

11.) SPMC * The Icarus Line * Mono * Buddyhead Records (2001)
12.) Up In Her Room * The Seeds * A Web of Sound * GNP Creshendo (1966)