Radio - Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

Click here to download Equalizing-X-Distort for Sunday April 22nd. This show was a fundraising show for CIUT. In preparing for the fundraising show I spent a lot of time thinking about the relationship that punk has with radio. I was thinking back to the trouble that the Sex Pistols had to endure when “God Save the Queen” came out and I had caught wind that the same single is going to be re-issued this year given the Diamond Jubilee for the coronation because the first time around the single was banned. I remembered that the “Some Product” release had some of those hostile clips and when I listened to them I remembered why punk bands wrote so poorly about the radio. I thought back to the TV interview that a young Hana Gartner did with Steve Leckie of the Viletones. This was before the days when she became a respected journalist for CBC’s “Fifth Estate”. She reflected the same generation gap exposed witnessed in the Sex Pistols interview with Bill Grundy. She was ignorant and unprepared and deflected all negative attention. This was the first real sign that the CBC was going to badger or ignore the punk scene in Canada. Thirty years on and nothing has changed. The CBC continues to ignore the big punk stories in their own backyard and treat it like it doesn’t exist. It infuriates me how they rely on overexposed cultural territory while claiming to be the public broadcaster. Does Feist or K’naan really need more exposure? It infuriates me how the active punk scenes across the country and I can see why punk bands write so poorly about radio. The only exception are the new wave bands but they (Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson) were always more cozier with the mainstream media than punk ever was. They had a chance of getting airplay so you can’t bite the hand that feeds you. So for fundraising, we wanted to have a look at how lucky we are to have CIUT, with the 14 hours of punk they dedicate to this genre through shows like EXD or Heavy Rebel Rumble or Dementia 13. In fact since the last drive a new show has been added to the roster called “Rock ‘n Roll radio” which is further testament to CIUT getting behind punk rock. Here is the playlist reflecting part of our tribute.



MPA – Super Antenna (Ragamuffin Soldier)



SEX PISTOLS – Is the Queen a Moron? (Virgin)
THE PROFESSIONALS – Payola (Captain Oi!)


BUZZCOCKS – Radio Nine (I.R.S.)
BUZZCOCKS – Airwaves Dream (E.M.I.)
THE CLASH – Capitol Radio One (Epic)


HIGHSCHOOL ROCKERS - - Fun Tonight (Uru)
THE BRIEFS - Poor and Weird (Cut and Run)
NIPPLE ERECTORS - Vengeance


RAMONES - We want the airwaves (Sire)
SCREECHING WEASEL – Radio Blast (Lookout)


SLIGHT SLAPPERS - I won't belong to your side (No Idea)
LURKERS - ain't got a clue (Captain Oi!)
FEEDERZ - Velvateen (Broken)


C.I.A. – I Hate Radio (Big City)
RHYTHM PIGS – Radio Silence (Unclean)
THE F.U.’s – Radio UNIX USA (Lost and Found)


STILL LITTLE FINGERS – You can’t say crap on the radio (Chrysalis)
KNUCKLEHEAD – Hostage Radio (Longshot)


KURBITS I.R. - Livlos (Really Fast)
SATANIC THREAT - I Ain't gotta worship (Gloom)
EYESORE - Radio Dependent (Realid)


XTC – Radios in Motion (Virgin)
TRANZMITORS – Look what you’re doing (Ugly Pop / Cat Call)


TITS - We're so glad Elvis is dead (1977)
HOSTAGES OF AYATOLLAH - Geh doch nach drueben (MOVby)
BIKINI KILL - New radio (Kill rock stars)
BLIND SOCIETY - The fine line (Black)