Back in 2014, in response to a comment that Rick Campbell made about CFNY-FM, I wrote a a manic appreciation of the station, at least the "wonder years" as far as I'm concerned (1978 to 1982). I posted this as a Facebook Note. Since those Notes are all but inaccessible, and since that format is practically obsolete on Facebook, I thought I would repurpose it. It's almost word-for-word what I wrote in 2014, which makes sense since I still feel pretty much the same about CFNY-FM and its importance to my life (it is definitely one of the 500 things that define Jim Shedden). Here goes (thanks Rick, and thanks David M, Brad M, Tim K, Ivar H, Bookie, et al):
You’ve given me reason to think about ow important CFNY was to me back in my high school days. Specifically , 1978 to early 1982 were dominated by listening to CFNY and identifying with that station, their playlists, their DJs, and their overall ethos. Sounds pretty similar to what you were experiencing.
What amazes me, however, is how every individual who was tethered to that station back then has a slightly different memory of what they were playing. You remember songs that I’m not sure I heard till now. Adam Sobolak remembers others.
Obviously so much credit for what happened goes to Dave Marsden, so I’m tagging him here - maybe he can clear up some of my murky memories of how things unfolded back then.
I’m pretty sure my sister Lisa told me about CFNY. Or Lisa Godfrey, who went on to become a radio producer as it turns out (now at CBC’s Q) was also into it. Probably it was both. I remember being somewhat loyal to CHUM-FM, but already divided between it and the brand new Q-107 so I could barely get another radio station into my consciousness. Radio may have been in the hands of such a lot of fools, trying to anesthetize the way that you feel, but I first heard that song on CHUM-FM, and they were the station that promoted and aired Elvis Costello’s legendary first show at the El Mocambo. I also heard a live broadcast of a Diodes show on CHUM-FM in 1978, so I was pretty happy with what was going on there, and I certainly remembered occasionally spending time listening to it in pre-punk days, when it was very freeform and very hippy. Sometimes they’d be playing classical music; other times the Beatles; and other times prog rock.
(Q-107, similarly, is where I first heard stuff like Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died’. Program director Bob Mackowycz had a pretty open approach too. By 82 all three of the rock stations would find their formula.)
I didn’t really have any reason to jump ship to ‘NY, or so I thought.
I soon discovered two reasons. I’m not proud of this, but as long as CFNY was marginal, I was in. I was so uncomfortable with myself at that time that I wanted desperately to both fit in and, since that was never going to happen, be different, radical, ahead of the curve, “unique”. For the first few of the Marsden years, CFNY was the soundtrack of suburban youth uniqueness in the late 1970s.
The second reason is that I was so excited about what seemed like a new moment in music, my generation’s “1960s”. I’m not sure if that was true or not, but something was happening, even if we didn’t quite know what it was. CFNY was the place we could go to to hear it emerge.
In my school of 2000 kids, I suspect the like-minded souls equalled around 1% of the school! or 20 of us. That included my sister Lisa, my friend Dave, and then Lisa, sara, Kim, Wendi, Bib, Grant, Philip, and a handful of others. But how would I know?
We never fully expected to deliver everything. We knew we had to go to hip record stores, exchange mixed tapes, read rock mags and fanzines, and just take in whatever news we could about the emerging music. But in CFNY we could hear it all happen live, and coming form what seemed like voices of authority: Mardsen himself, but also Brad MacNally; Tim Keele, who graciously hosted a benefit for my fanzine, The Hanged Men Dance; Ivar Hamilton, a serious music lover who I’m sure is still pulling the strings somewhere in the music industry; Daddy Cool, just to remind us that ‘NY was also playing blues, r&b and classic rock ’n roll (I had Daddy Cool DJ an AGO event back in the 90s, the night we had Kim Campbell do The Twist with Ron Mann); Ted Woloshyn (before he went to Q-107 as the morning man, and before he was replaced by “Pete and Geets”, formerly of CHUM-FM - that was the nature of the scene then); Live Earl Jive, who I associate with the post-eclectic CFNY (not because of him, just that he started sometime in 1981); Hedley Jones; Liz Janik…
]I gave up on all radio but the college variety (mostly CKLN and CIUT) and CBC from 1983 until about 2000 when streaming radio changed everything, and allowed me to access creative radio formats worldwide.
Ultimately, what interested me most was the eclectic conceit of CFNY, the idea that I might hear anyone and anything on the station, at least from 1978 to 1981. There might be a particular sensibility at play, and a commitment to playing the new music that was emerging, but that could potentially include anyone, and it would be presented in a context that might occasionally be historical.
My favorite show was Brad McNally’s The Eclectic Spirit, a free form, hour long, poetic radio documentary organized around themes. One such theme, Heroin, I had suggested to McNally, but I’ll never know if it was just a coincidence that he actually did one, since he never responded to my typewritten proposal. The show did include Patti Smith’s “Land” and America’s “Horse with no Name”, Eno-produced ambient music, and the more obvious “Heroin” by the Velvet Underground, so I am more and more convinced my enthusiastic letter was at least a catalyst.
McNally also wrote “Working on the Radio,” by the 102.1 Band, which was hilarious and a tiny bit offensive. I talk about it here, as well as my whole history with radio: <a>https://www.facebook.com/notes/1000-songs/song-303-working-on-the-radio/10150216031086451</a>.
You might also hear a monologue by Marsden, like this strange, manic, political, paranoid, and brilliant rant that follows Long John Baldry’s “A Thrill’s a Thrill”: <a>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQiFI0pYz4k</a>
I was hungry for any creative use of radio, and by 1982 was moving on to CBC, where interesting things would show up on their Ideas program, and where I discovered the brilliant work they had done with Glenn Gould over the years. Further, I discovered a great show called Neon Nights that came out of Vancouver. Sometimes we’d listen live on Saturday nights, and sometimes my girlfriend Wendi used to record them and play them later, finding that DJ JB Shayne was playing more of the music that we were reading about in fanzines and in British music mags, and in the bins of stores like Records on Wheels and the Record Peddler, than CFNY was.
It was on Neon Nights that I first heard Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman”, and I still feel like I remember every single second of that life-changing night: <a>https://www.facebook.com/notes/1000-songs/song-3-o-superman-for-massenet/10150193683596451</a>.
By 1982, CFNY had found its niche, which was no longer about anything goes eclecticism. They were plugged into a genre that was went by various names over the years, starting with new wave, after that came to mean a particular electropop kind of thing, alternative, etc. From that moment till today, the station would oscillate between a danceable kind of pop to guitar bands and back.
It was almost always dominated by white bands after that, which I don’t say critically necessary, but the r&b/soul/funk/hiphop line was generally absent from their story, which ended up limiting them. I didn’t really think about that then, but when I look back on their playlists, I don’t ever remember hearing Chic or Parliament-Funkadelic or anything like that, and it’s not as though anyone else was playing it on the radio in Toronto in those days.
I do remember a few categories of music though:
“Vintage Alternative” (my term): the prehistory of punk and new wave that influenced everything that was being played from 1978-1982, especially Roxy Music, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Genesis, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Kraftwerk, The Soft Boys, etc.
Goofy novelty songs: some don’t seem so much like novelty songs now, but they were played with great frequency, and you would never hear them anywhere else. “Think Pink,” by the Fabulous Poodles. “Cool for Cats,” by Squeeze. “Warm Leatherette,” by The Normal (<a>https://www.facebook.com/notes/1000-songs/song-816-warm-leatherette/10151489363416451</a>). “Is That All there Is?” by Cristina. “Toast,” (<a>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UZlCRpCXys</a>). And “Working on the Radio” itself. Maybe “Turning Japanese” and “Kitchen at Parties.” “It’s My Party” by Barbara Gaskin and Dave Stewart.
The songs everyone else was playing. I’m glad CFNY didn’t ignore, and even championed, some mainstream monsters like Pink Floyd’s The Wall; Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps; and The Rolling Stones’ Some Girls. The last two are among my favourite albums of all time. They also played Darkness on the Edge of Town regularly. I know that CHUM-FM and Q-107 played those first three albums. Did they play Darkness on the Edge of Town? I really don’t remember. These are the songs that I no longer associate with CFNY, even though perhaps I should. And then there are guys like George Thorogood. I only remember him on CFNY, even though by 1982 they wouldn’t play music like that. Oh, there was also Who Are You? Big on CFNY, but also on the other two FM stations.
The songs that I completely associate with CFNY, songs that excite me when I hear today, and that always bring back a bit of a memory of that station when I hear them, even if I didn’t hear them there first.
“Making Plans for Nigel” represents, perhaps, the best of ‘NY for me.
“Life During Wartime.” This is almost in order now.
Almost anything from the first three Elvis Costello’s first three albums.
The first two Joe Jackson albums.
The first Cars album.
Nick Lowe.
Robert Palmer’s “Bad Case of Loving You” and “Can We Still be Friends” (even though these may have been more of a CHUM-FM thing).
Gary Numan.
Kraftwerk: oldies and “The Model”.
The first three Peter Gabriel albums.
The first two by Kate Bush.
The Diodes.
Teenage Head.
Nash the Slash: “Dead Man’s Curve.”
FM: “Phasers on Stun.”
Gabriel-era Genesis.
In the Court of the Crimson King.
“New York City,” by the Demics
Rough Trade.
Martha and the Muffins.
The first three Siouxsie albums.
London Calling. Sandinista. The first two albums, I guess, but I don’t remember hearing them on the radio.
Goddo.
The Jam: “This is the Modern World.” “That’s Entertainment.”
New Order, but not Joy Division.
OMD.
Echo and the Bunnymen. Not Teardrop Explodes
The first two Psychedelic Furs albums.
Madness, Specials, Beat
Devo
The first two Police albums.
“Radio Silence,” by Blue Peter.
Blondie. Lots of Blondie.
“Imperial Zeppelin,” by Pete Hammill. Or maybe I just owned it.
Bauhaus
Dave Edmunds
Bram Tchaikovsky
Squeeze
Ian Dury
801
Max Webster
The Kinks’ Misfits
Van Morrison’s Wavelength
Joan Armatrading
ELO - Out of the Blue
Aja
The Last Waltz (yep, they played it - you see my point? By 82 they wouldn’t and it would “belong” to Q-107 only)
Bryan Ferry - The Bride Stripped Bare
The B-52s (of course)
Boomtown Rats - Fine Art of Surfacing (“I Don’t Like Mondays” eventually got played everywhere, but not the superb “Rat Trap”)’
Lene Lovich
Ian Hunter
B.B. Gabor
Magazine
Ultravox
Patti Smith’s Wave (no one else played any Patti except for “Because the Night”)
Bowie - Lodger, and then Scary Monsters and Super Creeps (everyone played the big hit from that, but no one played Lodger except for ‘NY).
Fripp’s Exposure
Flash and the Pan
Steve Forbert
Japan
The Only Ones
Bop Till You Drop - Ry Cooder
Dire Straits (that was a very “new” sound to me, and I originally associated it with ‘NY, until it became ubiquitous)
Phil Manzanera
Tony Banks
The Buzzcocks
Chris Spedding
Tom Verlaine
Dexys Midnight Runners
There’s a crisp, upbeat, pop beauty that runs through all of those albums and singles that turns my crank today like almost nothing else. I’m playing “Life During Wartime” right now and it just gets better: the more I’ve heard it, the more I got to understand the Talking Heads’ inspiration, the more I’ve loved this song.
Within reason. I’m 50 and was 15 when I first heard it. Something was active in ears, heart and brain then that’s different today.
At the end of 1979, CFNY included a “worst 10 albums of 1979” in their annual roundup. This was perhaps the beginning of the end: the demise of eclecticism. Some of their choices (listener choices?): Get the Knack, even though songs like “Good Girls Don’t” fit the ‘NY sound just perfectly at the time; Breakfast in America by Supertramp, Dream Police by Cheap Trick, The Long Run by the Eagles, and Head Games by Foreigner (OK, they suck, but that’s not the point); Slow Train Coming (generally considered a great album these days, but I remember the need to vilify it too); etc. OK, they also included Blondes Have More Fun, which was more than terrible.
On their Worst of 1983 list they included Thriller.
Their most interesting list was the “Best 102 Songs of all time” that they compiled in 1982, based on listener responses. It feels like the last moment of eclecticism, a list that could only belong to CFNY at precisely that moment in time. It includes music I may not have heard on that station, but I could have sometime in those first four years.
Yes, Rick, “Suppers’ Ready” topping the list is very curious indeed. I do remember hearing it and other Gabriel-era Genesis on ‘NY a lot, but only up to 82 and then never again. If Marsden stuffed the ballot box (which I’m sure he didn’t), what do I care? I quite love a Genesis song could top the all time greatest list from a station better known for playing Depeche Mode and The Human League at that time.
“Satisfaction” was #2. I could never have predicted this and I remember being surprised even then, especially because it’s followed by “Don’t You Want Me” by the Human League! This is is fantastic craziness!
It’s followed by “Money.” Pink Floyd is one of Mardsen’s favorite bands. A mix of predictable for any list - Beatles and The Doors - mixed in with Tubular Bells (also standard ‘NY fare), Trio (JESUS!), Traffic, Pigbag… You know what? It’s a great list.
"Greatest Music of All Time" from 1982
Genesis - Supper's Ready
Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
Human League - Don't You Want Me
Pink Floyd - Money
John Lennon - Imagine
The Clash - London Calling
The Clash - Pressure Drop
Duran Duran - Planet Earth
David Bowie - Heroes
Beatles - Hey Jude
Earl jive - Tudor the Dog
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
The Specials - Ghost Town
Sex Pistols - Friggin' in the Riggin & My Way
Trio - Da Da Da
Japan - Television
Clash - Rock the Casbah
Beatles - Twist and Shout
Duran Duran - Girls on Film
Beatles - Let it Be
Billy Idol - White Wedding
King Crimson - Fracture
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
OMD - Joan of Arc
Pigbag - Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag
Rough Trade - High School Confidential
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
The Beat - Save it for Later
The Doors - The End
David Bowie - Young American
Echo & The Bunnymen - Rescue
Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill
Generation X - Dancing with Myself
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Nobby Klegg - My Old Man
Madness - Madness
Led Zeppelin - Kasmir
Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel
Romeo Void - Never Say Never
New Order - Temptation
Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
Supertramp - Fools Overture
Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
Animals - House of the Rising Sun
The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
David Bowie - Sorrow
The Beat - Stand Down Margaret
David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Depeche Mode - See You
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Elvis Costello - Alison
Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf
Roxy Music - Jealous Guy
Generation X - Kiss Me Deadly
Japan - Ghosts
Cockney Rebel - Mirror Freak
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
Van Morrison - Moondance
Don McLean - American Pie
OMD - She's Leaving
102.1 Band - Working on the Radio
Pink Floyd - Us and Them
Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
Payolas - Eyes of a Stranger
Roxy Music - Both Ends Burning
Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go to My Lovely
Angelic Upstarts - I'm An Upstart
Stranglers - Get a Grip on Yourself
Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
Genesis - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen
Spoons - Nova Heart
Elvis Costello - Pump It Up
The Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom
Lou Reed - Take a Walk on the Wild Side
Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy
Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
ABC - Look of Love
UB40 - One in Ten
Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock
Asia - Heat of the Moment
Urban Verbs - Only One of You
Troggs - Wild Thing
Leisure Process - Love Cascade
Clash - Clampdown
Laurie Anderson - Oh Superman
Yes - Close to the Edge
Beatles - Help
Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin
Rita Marley - One Draw
Yazoo - Situation
David Bowie - Changes
Yazoo - Only You
Kate Bush
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Teach Your Children
Beatles - She Loves You
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
The regular year-end list for 1982 demonstrates that they were no longer eclectic. There are a lot of great songs on the list, but it feels more like a CFNY genre of niche than anything quite so kookoo as the top 102 songs of all time. For example:
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Duran Duran - Rio
Roxy Music - Avalon
The Spoons - Arias And Symphonies
ABC - Lexicon Of Love
Joe Jackson - Night And Day
Peter Gabriel - Security
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
Flock Of Seagulls - Flock Of Seagulls
Culture Club - Kissing To Be Clever
Clash - Combat Rock
The Beat - Special Beat Service
Men At Work - Business As Usual
Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now
Yazoo - Upstairs At Eric's
UB40 - UB44
Haircut 100 - Pelican West
China Crisis - Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms
Once they were no longer eclectic, I moved on. Not only was I finding what I needed on Neon Nights, by more aggressive record buying and mixed tape making, and by more attendance at live shows, CBC’s Brave New Waves also came into our lives in 1984. I wasn’t listening to CFNY much at all by then, but this new show featuring producer/announcer Augusta LaPaix would have closed the deal for sure, with its programming mix that ranged from the Rheostatics to Philip Glass (eg, a complete broadcast of Glass’s Einstein on the Beach, to Glenn Branca, conceptual poets, Montreal bands I’d never heard of, etc. This, plus other CBC moments, plus college radio meant that CFNY, for me would forever be a 1978-1982 phenomenon.
But that’s OK. That was the period of my life when music mattered more than anything. Music determined who my friends were what authors I’d read, what films and plays I’d go so, how I’d dress, what my politics were, who I’d fall in love in with, and what I’d do with every spare moment.
I feel like I was lucky to have 102.1 as my default location on the dial during those important years. I think I may have even known that at the time. I certainly knew that radio was exciting, and that I looked forward to putting it on whenever I could for a fix.
Thanks, Rick, for stirring this up. And thanks Marsden & Co., for sharing your crazy enthusiasm for music when I needed it most.
