The First (All Things Must Pass)

he ideal inaugural post should probably serve as a mission statement of sorts; an all-encompassing declaration of intent designed to pique the interest and curiosity the reader into delving further into the heart of the Blog. That however is a lofty goal and one in which I am not yet entirely prepared to fulfill. Having only recently arrived in the vast world of blogging, it is a medium I must first try on, play around with and grow into; slowly discovering it's strengths and weaknesses, as well as my own within it. An interest in sharing music and firsthand tales of urban adventure (and misadventure!) are the most fundamental components of purpose for my creating Birds With Broken Wings. Equally important however is my extreme, almost palpable craving for some yet-to-be-as-satisfying outlet of expression; a release I've lacked since abandoning radio broadcasting years ago. That said, I might hope that encouraging comments from those of you that have stumbled upon this humble blog, will help me in molding the ultimate direction of BWBW, thereby assisting me in finding that elusive conduit.

All Things Must Pass

In the spirit of 'free-form' radio, the first mix featured here at BWBW seeks to approximate the sound of San Francisco's once mighty KSAN-FM in it's heyday. For those of you unfamiliar with KSAN, you'll find a 'Jive95' link in the right-hand column under 'Recommended Sites'. This labor of love compiled by Norman Davis, will give you a nearly complete (and fascinating) history of the station which gave rise to 'underground' radio in the late 1960's. I feel honored to know and to have worked alongside Norman, as well as many of the other architects of this pioneering radio station over the years and am forever in awe of their collective talent and vision. It's difficult to explain the immense impact of their creative approach to commercial broadcasting in today's radio world. So much of what they implemented has been borrowed, yet sadly homogenized beyond recognition to anyone without a keen historical frame of reference. Perhaps in time, I will attempt to expound on this further. Meanwhile, I'll simply say that I firmly believe FM radio as we know it in the 21st Century, owes an insurmountable debt to the ground broken by The Ace of the Airwaves, Jive95.

Now to many ears today, the playlist below is merely a salty set of 'classic rock' oldies. But if you lived in the San Francisco Bay Area (or anywhere for that matter!) in the late 1960's/early 70's and heard these tracks delivered with the bonhomie of the KSAN air staff, you would have immediately found yourself in Groover's Paradise; FM radio had never sounded like this! However, Jive95 was about so much more than just the music (although they did touch on nearly every genre), it was also a new attitude in radio with informed DJ's, laid-back vibes, funny commercials, socially-conscious news reporting and superior stereo sound all on a frequency band that had previously been neglected.

The KSAN mix includes the following titles and is labeled 'All Things Must Pass:'

1. All Things Must Pass/George Harrison

2. The Black-Eyed Blues/Joe Cocker
3. Write Me A Few Of Your Lines:Kokomo/Bonnie Raitt
4. Roll Away The Stone/Leon Russell
5. Bell-Bottom Blues/Derek & The Dominoes
6. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart/Al Green
7. Somebody Loan Me A Dime/Boz Scaggs
8. Maybe/Janis Joplin & The Kosmic Blues Band
9. Into The Mystic/Van Morrison
10. More Or Less Hudson Bay Again/The Masked Marauders
11. Cow Pie/The Masked Marauders
12. Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave/Dave Mason
13. Amazing Sparks:Journey/The Who
14. Handbags And Gladrags/Rod Stewart
15. Arcadian Driftwood/The Band

To download, click here. Open file, load contents, close your eyes, use your imagination.