Rating: 
Summary: The Spirit of Radio?
Review: Jim Ladd's sixties and seventies memoir is not so much HIS OWN biography, but the biography of rock radio itself. Ladd comes across as a principled (albeit somewhat self-important) radio DJ; one who refuses to play Army enlistment commercials during the Vietnam War, and leaves a successful radio station to work for a less-popular one which will allow him more creative expression. As a fellow left-leaning radio jock, I enjoyed Jim's book documenting the counterculture-inspired beginnings of free-form FM radio. Ladd knows about the music and has a strong respect for it - including its lyrics - that I like to believe I share. (Too many people in this business are woefully ignorant about the artists, albums, songs, and lyrical messages.) The underlying theme of the book is the good versus evil tale of "the jocks against the suits," the DJs versus management, art going fist-to-fist with commerce. Commerce and the alleged capitalistic bad guys ultimately win, but for a moment there was something special, wasn't there? For a moment we were all simultaneously rocking-out to the longer "deep cuts" from albums by true musical artists, instead of listening to the mindless pulp released by mainstream pop stars. And nowadays - with lax FCC regulations that allow corporations to buy all the radio stations they want - the "art" is lacking and "the format" reigns. Let's blame the fall of radio on those big corporations that are directly responsible... Clear Channel, Infinity Broadcasting, et al. Let me now take a right turn and criticize the book. Ladd fails to see how even a formatted radio station can be a source of artistic expression for DJs like he and I. Yes, Jim, even at "KASH" (with the PD telling the jock what to play) a radio DJ can commune with like-minded listeners and "bang the tribal drum." The station's sales department may not understand the music, but you and a fair portion of your audience do; a common bond that unites the jock and the listener. It doesn't matter that you aren't allowed to play "thematic sets" of music, you can still communicate and bond with your audience. All it takes is a little more subtlety, a bit of "creative cheating" with the format, and the love and knowledge of music you already possess. Another criticism, although it's a nit-picky one. Ladd's frequent "tribal drum" analogy is peppered throughout the book and gets old after just the second chapter. The hippie-inspired "tribal drum" reference is Ladd's way of describing the intangible sense of community felt between a DJ and his like-minded audience. It gets multiple mentions in some chapters; really annoying! Ladd even scribbled something about "banging the tribal drum" in my radio co-worker's autographed copy of the book! And Ladd changes the call letters of all the radio stations he mentions, and changes the names of half their employees as well. I wonder why, when just a little bit of digging would probably provide the inquisitive reader with the CORRECT NAMES of all the radio stations he worked for, and all the people he worked with.
Rating:
Summary: Self Indulgence Rules
Review: The main reason that the kind of radio Ladd is associated with disappeared is that very few people actually listened to it, at least compared to the mass-appeal commercial formats he disparages.
And why not? Commercial radio is based upon the simple premise that stations should play music that appeals to the largest number of people possible. The free form stations of the late 60s and early 70s were commercially viable when few people listened to FM. By the late 1970s, those days had passed. And in nearly every instance, when given a choice between listening to "free-form" progressive radio, and listening to tightly formatted rock radio, the tightly formatted station won (and wins) every time.
Ladd was one of the best of the jocks from those days. He had a good feel for the tastes of his audience. But most "progressive" DJs were lazy and self-indulgent. And judging from the book, Ladd took himself far too seriously.
All in all, however, this is an entertaining look at an interesting time in the history of radio programming. (It would have been even more interesting if Ladd hadn't felt it necessary to change the identities of many of the people he writes about.)
Rating:
Summary: Self Indulgence Rules
Review: The main reason that the kind of radio Ladd is associated with disappeared is that very few people actually listened to it, at least compared to the mass-appeal commercial formats he disparages.
And why not? Commercial radio is based upon the simple premise that stations should play music that appeals to the largest number of people possible. The free form stations of the late 60s and early 70s were commercially viable when few people listened to FM. By the late 1970s, those days had passed. And in nearly every instance, when given a choice between listening to "free-form" progressive radio, and listening to tightly formatted rock radio, the tightly formatted station won (and wins) every time.
Ladd was one of the best of the jocks from those days. He had a good feel for the tastes of his audience. But most "progressive" DJs were lazy and self-indulgent. And judging from the book, Ladd took himself far too seriously.
All in all, however, this is an entertaining look at an interesting time in the history of radio programming. (It would have been even more interesting if Ladd hadn't felt it necessary to change the identities of many of the people he writes about.)
Rating: 
Summary: Keeping Listeners in the Light
Review: This title is great! As a broadcaster who's too young to remember the first days of FM...I've read this book twice and have even given copies as gifts. This may be the most enjoyable book I've ever read!
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: This title is great! As a broadcaster who's too young to remember the first days of FM...I've read this book twice and have even given copies as gifts. This may be the most enjoyable book I've ever read!
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