HEY LOS ANGELES RADIO-Orlando Called. It's Too Soon To Play "Pumped Up Kicks"

Tonight on the way home I was flipping through the competition (other radio stations) like normal. Who’s saying what? Who’s playing the new JT? What is our competitor giving away? I stumbled across a station playing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana which led me to a funny thought to share on Twitter right away.

I stuck around (because my focus was on completing the hilarious Tweet) and the next song was “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster thePeople.

This song was the debut single for the group which did extremely well on the charts in 2010 and 2011. It’s still a damn catchy tune! So catchy I caught myself singing along. But have you really heard yourself sing the few words you DO know?

‘Yeah, so what, Mags. Who cares? Why is this important?’

 “Robert’s got a quick hand/He’ll look around the room/He won’t tell you his plan/He’s got a rolled cigarette/Hanging out his mouth/He’s a cowboy kid.”

Catching the imagery yet? Let me continue.

“Yeah he found a six-shooter gun/In his dad’s closet, in the box of fun things/I don’t even know what/But he’s coming for you, yeah he’s coming for you.”

I’m shuddering typing these words.

“All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/You better run, better run, outrun my gun/ All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/ You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.”

Make sense yet? Let me spell it out for you.

Last weekend, Orlando, FL became home to what the media is calling “The Worst Act Of Terrorism” on American soil since 9/11. I’m pretty sure that Orlando is still trying to recover, let alone heal and I still haven’t gone one day without debating whether or not news released about Omar Mateen or the Pulse nightclub shooting is worth blogging about at my job at KOST 103.5.

While Orlando is still trying to cope with a huge loss, the rest of the country is still standing around with our thumbs up our butts trying to decide if we should ban guns or Muslims or both. Meanwhile, a station in Market #2 is playing a song about opening gun fire on a bunch of kids. “You better run…faster than my bullet.” Come. On.  It’s too soon. The wound is too fresh.

I’m not a programming expert by any means. I just love this crazy business called radio and may be acting like a sensitive Sally on this one. (I wouldn't even be offended).  But even when I was programming a country station in East Central Illinois, any time a really devastating storm rolled through (i.e. Joplin, MO), I would pull songs like “Tornado” by Little Big Town or “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood from the rotation, just for a little while. My philosophy….no one is going to be angry over the things I didn’t play; I never wanted to give someone the opportunity to be angry because of something I did play.

Perhaps the Foster the People tune isn’t directly about terrorism; but the imagery painted by the lyrics certainly could be construed that way. All I’m saying is that a little sensitivity goes a long way. “Pumped Up Kicks” is NOT a hit single right now. Heck, the band isn't even on tour. It can quietly disappear for a few weeks and no one will be wiser to your tricks big shot program director.

I’m disappointed in you, radio station-I-will-not-mention in Los Angeles. You should know better.

 

Foster The People "Pumped Up Kicks"

The lyrics are pretty powerful when you can clearly understand them. I'm not saying that this song should be banned from airwaves forever nor that we should sensor our content for listeners; rather give them a chance to heal and form their own thoughts, feelings and opinions about a situation before we shove our own ideologies down their throats. I know that's not how the world, let alone any entertainment media works, but we can all be a little more sensitive, right?

 

 

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Thoughts And Prayers Are Nice But Are They Enough?: Looking For Hope While Orlando Begins To Heal

Today. Its 12:30 in the morning. Thank you for a new day. Thank you for the opportunity to hug my family, drive to work and debate with my coworkers later about what the heck happened yesterday.

Fifty people no longer get to do that. Fifty three more are going to have wait a while to get healthy enough again before they get to experience the joy of a cup of coffee or the rage of morning traffic while their favorite morning radio personality fills them in on the latest Justin Beiber gossip. 

For the first time in quite a while, I spent the entire day avoiding my phone, avoiding social media and avoiding the news. That was tough.  But boo-hoo, right? Remember the aforementioned 103 people…then their entire families, friends and the entire city of Orlando?

My reaction was strong. Instant tears. The only person I called was my best friend, who happens to be gay. I had the unfortunate duty to break the news to her as she was waking up. The tears didn’t stop. They haven’t stopped. I suppose that’s the funny thing about emotions and the human condition, these things don’t disappear with a new day. They can't. They rollover like our cell phone minutes when we all still carried a flip phone.

 

 Orlando is home to the “Deadliest Mass Shooting In US History.” Wow. Let that sink in, the gravity of that statement. It has taken me all day to really put into a cohesive thought my feelings and my reaction to this shooting. This is quite the terrorist attack; as the shooter, Omar Mateen, will probably successfully divide even further, this country with all of the hot button topics addressed here.

The LGBT community was hit hard last night. The very little I’ve been online checking Facebook and Twitter, my gay/lesbian friends have a shared feeling of fear and of hopelessness. The feeling that all the work and progress we’ve made still isn’t enough. The feeling that there are still more people in the world that hate them just because they are themselves.

The Muslim and Afghani people must also be terrified. Omar Mateen was affiliated with ISIS; too many people still refuse to learn about our American born or immigrated Muslim & Afghani friends because it is easier to compartmentalize our feelings of fear. 'The Orlando shooter was brown, so all brown people are bad!'

Omar Mateen legally obtained these guns. How much more gun control can there possibly be? It was also brought to my attention that there needed to be some kind of help. Fifty dead people and fifty three injured, requires quite a lot of bullets and reloading. Reports are saying they are looking for another suspect. Let the conspiracy theories begin. (And I’ve seen them starting to swirl on Facebook…i.e. “Another distraction for the American people as the government passes more laws without us knowing.” Oh, boy do they get worse.)

With the transgendered bathroom issue, the deeply seeded racism because of 9/11, and the ever revolving debate regarding gun control, ISIS did quite the number on Americans today. We are a nation that is angry with our government. We are having a hard time listening to one another because rather than learning to NEED each other, we are focused on being right.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is not the last of the violence. But, I really don’t think that ISIS picked a gay club because they hate gay people. I think they picked a gay club because we as a society can’t make up our minds on how to feel about the LGBT community. One second we are okay with them having their pride parades and being represented on television (even if some of us are saying things like “I don’t hate gay people, just don’t hit on me” or “just don’t make me watch it.”). The next second, half of us aren’t ‘okay’ with the LGBT community in our bathrooms. (I recognize how broad this statement is, but for arguments’ sake, let's roll with it.) No doubt, we like to debate this and we all like to be right and decide how others should live their lives.

The gun control issue is just about as bad as talking about abortion. I have a right to the choices I make for my body just as I have a right to bear arms. There are laws. They are strict. Let’s debate who is correct some more.

Throw in a shared fear of Muslims because of our deep-seeded racism. Wowza. This is quite the mix. If we weren’t divided before, you can sure as hell assume that we are now.

The worst part is, is that we aren’t. People are angry and the online posts on social media reflect that. We are scared. We feel helpless. No one can wrap their head around this and dammit, nobody should be able to.  But, are thoughts and prayers going to help? Are they going to bring anyone of those fifty people back? It will take me days to even begin wanting to read the profiles of the victims.

So what do we do? How do we feel un-helpless?

Yesterday was one of those days that makes me hate what I choose to do for a living. The media will be in circles over this for the next several weeks. Replaying the hate and forcing us to relive the terrorism, desensitizing us all and normalizing this monstrous act.

As a person in media, I hate to do that. I hate to force it down your throat repeatedly. Because you know what? Hate is not the only news. It just happens to be the only thing we report.

As a person in media, I believe that we report on things that are rare and extraordinary. It just so happens that the rare and extraordinary are hate-filled acts of crime and terrorism.  Which means that the reverse has to be true.

As a person, living and sharing this world with you, I believe that kindness is so common and that love is all around us.

As a person, who had a strong emotional breakdown yesterday because of the devastating news in Orlando, I’m not sending my thoughts and prayers. Rather, I plan to continue to share kindness and love. and I encourage you to do the same. Give it as freely as you feel comfortable. Document it. Post it online. Share those stories. No matter how small. High fives, giving a friend a ride, donating blood, giving a homeless person a meal, sitting with an elderly person to have a conversation. These are the stories that will keep us sane over the next few weeks as the media endlessly reports this. These stories of kindness and love will keep us united.

Stay in love with life, my friends.

 

 

Pink- "Who Knew."

 I saw her perform this live shortly after my ex husband and I separated during a show I went to with one of my dearest friends. Pink, a proud LGBT activist, is strong and, like most strong women, she feels incredibly deeply. This song always spoke to me as losing the most important people in your life way too soon or without even realizing it. Although I knew no one affected by the tragedy in Orlando, many family members and friends did  lose someone and many more were affected. The range of emotions they will go through the coming days, months even years...my heart breaks for them. An appropriate song for those who lost someone yesterday way too soon.

Apartment Hunting In Los Angeles Is The Worst Thing Ever

May has been an incredible month for me! It has been the highest grossing month in terms of voice over work. Hash tag Humble brag. But, I’ll ignore your momentary judgement, because I had to bust my ass and work really hard to save up, which means I’ve had to sacrifice a few things. Make enough money to save up for my own place? Or go out on the open mic circuit and continue to work on jokes in hopes of being seen by the right person that wants to hear my television pitch. Money triumphed…this time.

So, I’ve begun the process of apartment hunting; this is the goal I’ve been working so hard to accomplish. But the process is exhausting. Everything is done online, but you can’t get access to information about making an appointment until you sign up through this rental company’s website. Then you email and wait. Text a million craigslist ads and every single one is a scam. Or already filled.  Then there is that magical moment where someone actually picks up the phone!! But then you tell them that you want to move in 2 weeks and the reply is always the same. “Call me back then.”

What? Why? Don’t you want my deposit right now? Prorate my rent for half the month and call it a day. Are there people really roaming around right now looking to move, tonight? Is their stuff packed and ready to go, right now? Are these people refugees? Who is moving today that hasn’t already picked a place to go?

What I’m finding out about living in Los Angeles is that everything is at our disposal. If you can’t do it right now, someone else can. If I can’t get what I want here right now, I can go somewhere else. We have everything and expect it too.

This doesn’t just apply to tangible things either. There is this sense that people need to be able to give whatever they’ve got to get what they want. People in the biz work harder and faster than anywhere else I’ve lived. (And that’s been quite a few places).

You want to be rich/famous/powerful/insert your own idea of success here…then at a moment’s notice you need to have time to record, edit, create, write, be funny, spontaneous, thoughtful and have the best idea anyone’s ever heard. This sounds ridiculous, right?

That’s what I thought when I was told repeatedly today to call back when I’m ready to move. But it occurred to me, that this town always gets what it wants. Those who can ebb and flow with the forever changing and unpredictable heartbeat of the city are the ones that make it to be rich/famous/powerful/insert your own idea of success here.

But, are these the people that have to sacrifice to get what they want? Did they have to work late nights? Did they have to skip out on fun things? Maybe. Is the apartment going to make anyone rich/famous/powerful/successful? No. But I started planning ahead so I could FIND a decent place in a geographically desirable area. Now, apparently, just like everything else in this town, I have to compete harder, faster and think smarter than everyone else just to have a home.

I knew this town could be ruthless….but shit. I didn’t expect it to be so over housing, too. A bruising to my ego because you don’t get my talent? Pfffft. Dealing with that emotional trauma now, is a breeze. Being told my money is no good because it’s not useful “today.” Whew…that landed like my 22 year old self after a night of binge drinking. Heavy and hard.

SO, I suppose this is me pullin up my knickers to do the dirty work and get smarter and faster and work harder than everyone else that wants my apartment too.

Happy Apartment hunting. Welcome to L.A.

 

Ray Charles "Hit The Road Jack"

And dontcha come back no more no more no more no more....

This is exactly how I felt when the leasing agents/officers said "Call me when you are ready to move in!" Ouch. Kicked to the curb. But, now we will have this lovely song stuck in our head.