Saturday Night…
I’ve got a new favourite radio station. It’s called WFMU FM, it broadcasts from East Orange, NJ across the river into NYC. It describes itself as ‘freeform radio’, which means it lets the presenters choose the music they play. Of course, this sometimes results in a load of self indulgent tosh (by which I mean stuff I’m not interested in). However, it also results in some fantastically exciting radio made by obsessed, enthusiastic experts.
Prime among these is the tremendously monikered Mr. Fine Wine. He presents Downtown Soulville, a Friday night sweatbox session of some of the most joyous, uptempo, obscure soul 45’s I’ve (n)ever heard before. Often played off really crackly vinyl, and always chosen with love, the show (and an hour long podcast, in which form it’s become required Saturday evening cookalong soundtrack music chez Hall) just bursts with fantastic stomping instrumentals, unheard of artists crying soulful entreaties, and back catalogue obscurities from artists like Tina Turner and Little Milton. Mr Fine Wine is obviously a soul nut, but not blinkered – one show sees him playing Chuck Berry and reminding listeners afterwards ‘Remember the rule – if I say it’s soul, it’s soul.” To judge by the unlabelled acetate played recently, given to him by his Uncle Maurice, it runs in the family.
If you’ve got even the slightest interest in soul music, you need to hear this show. But before you do, please make sure you’ve got room to move before you start, as rugs will most definitely be cut, moneymakers will be shaken, and midnight oil will be burnt. Terrific.
…and Sunday Morning
And after the late night sinning, comes the early morning redemption. The same station also host a Thursday evening gospel show, Sinner’s Crossroads, hosted by Kevin Nutt. If ever there was a podcast that would make a churchaphobic non-believer feel a little bit sanctified on Sunday morning it’s this (and not the happy clappy inclusive live from a soulless concrete tepee somewhere in the home counties they insist on clogging up Radio 4 with on a Sunday morning).
Beautiful acapella quartets, ranting down home preachers from the earliest days of broadcasting (including brazenly naked instructions for the faithful to send in cold hard cash) and joyous high octane gospel choirs are all pulled out of the archives. They all go to show that, while the devil might have all the best tunes, a bunch of flat topped true believers channelling the holy spirit through the medium of intricate bass parts and call and response harmonies runs him mighty close. Hallelujah!
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Tags: East Orange, eclectic radio, gospel, NYC, Soul, Sunday Radio, WFMU
Your write up alone for both of those shows has sent me off to the podcasts already – thanks!
Great blog, love the show…..
Andrew