June Space Bridge

[ll-xn!scubed!crash!victoro (Dr. Snuggles)]

The following is probably copyright 'The San Diego Spacebridge,' the 
newsletter of a like named Sunday (9PM) program that proceeds 'Music From 
the Hearts of Space' and provides information on NewAge music on KPBS FM 
89.5 in San Diego which is a member of National Public Radio.  The producer 
in Mike Starling who uploaded this to a local BBS but has not given me
express written permission but since it might be of interest and I haven't 
been told no, but I have given credit to all those involved I guess it's ok.

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23 Jun 87 - 10:34 pm
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THE SPACEBRIDGE OBSERVER
Devoted to New Music For a New Age....
 
 
LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO OUR SONG, MA
 
Inexorably drawn into the main mania.  Happening incrementally, almost 
imperceptibly...welcomed at first as an acknowledgement of innovation. 
Pleasing to know some were listening and emulating with the sincerest
form of flattery.  In time this passed and the snippets, slivers, and
slices became exasperating.  A fortiori, they began to copy the hypnotic
meter and cadence in a crass cacaphony devoid of the subtlety and
resplendent luminescence of the originals.  It had become a creature of
MARKETING.  Perceived a passing fancy by those who gave it cursory comity
at best, it became laden with the inevitable mediocrity of mass appeal.
It once was NEW MUSIC for many.  But here in the 21st century we view its
inchoate evolution and admire the depth, innocence, and innovation 
that distinguised it as a promising artform.  A promise tarnished by the 
hucksters from Madison who began stealing it for its magnetic draw and 
relegating it to the background of bursting self-adulation, importuning,
and naked commercial self-interest.  It soon became the bane of serious 
musicologists because it was behind innane video spectacles of every
description, especially those characterized by cheap production values.
Accessibility had doomed it....excerpts from I was a New Age Disk Jockey
by Don T. Nome, self-published in 1996.
 
It's possible the currently defiant New Age (or as we prefer, simply "New 
Music") genre will weather the creeping assault on the identity of some
of its best offerings.  But lately it's becoming more troubling to hear
new music selections serving as the backgrounds for all manner of radio
and televison commercials.  If Dan Grubb ever discovers it's appeal to his
target audience we might finally get relief from those obnoxious
"elevator" strings but sacrifice something unique for a mundane,
fragmented landscape obscured by talking billboards.  Itwill likely not
improve ing aweness.  KIFM and are both airing some of the best crossover
New Music and KTWV in Los
Angeles is even touting itself as an all New Age format (but sounds more
like crossover jazz with an occasional new music selection).  Yes,ant jocke
tent
h atationstoat innovtion is sometimebout i themercial broadcast
industry:pity result of projec
vision



SOUNDS SUMMITAL
 
Ah, there's great news for all Southern California new music fans: in July

SOUND PASSAGES, a one hour showcase for new music will be aired Sunday
thru Friday evenings from 11 pm til midnight over KPBS Radio.  The program
is produced by WHYY in Philadelphia and the pilot sounds exquisite.  We're

delighted the management at KPBS is expanding the new music programming
with a daily recurrence.  Make it a point to give SOUND PASSAGES a close
listen....ALSO, thanks to your support THE SAN DIEGO SPACEBRIDGE will be
expanded in July to TWO HOURS (8pm til 10pm on Sunday nights)!  The
SPACEBRIDGE ranked second among discrete programs in KPBS's winter ratings
(second only to A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION) -- not too shabby for a show 
still shy of its first anniversary.  Chuck Carter, who has been producing
the SPACEBRIDGE solo for many months now, is joined by veteran new music
programmer Dr. Skot Norton in expanding the program to a full two hours
each Sunday.  Keep your cards and comments coming and Chuck and Skot will
keep the segues cookin'...
 
SUPER KELVINATING
 
Current breakthroughs in superconduction (whereby electrical resistance is

virtually nonexistant) is promising to transport us to the precipice of a
new technological age.  Michigan researchers have just discovered a
material that is superconductive at 155 degrees Kelvin (-177 Farenheit).
This marks the third record breaking temperature for superconduction since
last December when the Swiss broke the previous 23 degree Kelvin barrier
for superconduction (which had existed since 1973).  0 degrees Kelvin (or
absolute zero) = -273 degrees Celsius.  Even more eye-popping are reports
from several independent laboratories worldwide with evidence indicating
superconduction may be possible at temperatures as high as 79 degrees
Farenheit!  Some are predicting these remarkable breakthroughs in new
families of ceramics (using copper, oxygen, barium, and yttrium) may soon
lead to dramatic new techniques for creating magnetically levitated
trains, supercomputers the size of a desktop pc, and radical savings in
the creation and transmission of electric power by the turn of the
century.  Perhaps in our lifetimes the inevitable lure of colonizing the 
heavens will have begun in earnest due to this remarkable triumph.
 
 
A USERS GUIDE TO THE HALF-HOURS:
 
Comments received at the OBSERVER indicate a certain favor taken with the 
mythical 21st century commercials included in the program. Somewhere in
the last few months we seem to have created a few recurring themes and 
nomenclature, to wit:
 
"Marrow-cloning" - process whereby late-era dinosaurs are cloned into real
living dinosaurs (this one might not be completely bonzo since as recently
as the 1950s frozen Mammoth meat was reportedly thawed and served to
members of the Explorer's Club -- See DISCOVER Magazine May '87 pg 100);
here in the 21st century an entire vacation asteroid (IF 2781) has been
converted into a prehistoric marsh with some twenty species of dinos
roaming about...it's called Walt's Dinoland where kids and parents can
ride above the marsh in private trams.
 
"Crab Network" - futuristic pirate radio programmers who recklessly jam 
establishment signals such as the Spacebridge's broadcast to ships in
transit -- the pirates run outrageous power levels and primarily appeal
to younger listeners curious about its lurid fast-paced programs and
hefty giveaways -- the Spacebridge and the FCC (yes, they still exist)
are continually rescrambnrevent Captain Crabomoverrierios broacast service.
Unfortunately some ofhe
moend encryptiongineers have ten up residence Crab's
hideoutd invcumventpe.
 
Doug'scking Bay - fast forwarded version of trucordello/oasis/
supply depot - riginal Doug's was established on the Moon and there
are now Doug's franchise operations on all seventeen outposts.
 
Thompson's Star Charts - reportedly started by the successors in interest
to the ancient Thomas Brother's terrestrial charts.  Thompson's is the
traditional bible of intrasystem transits - Thompson's now come as the
standard navigational database in all shuttlecraft Navicomps (navigational
computers).  Most new shuttlecraft dealers will beam the quarterly
database updates to the memory banks of your navicomp for the first
earth-year of ownership.
 
Holovision replicators - installed in every modern craft for
entertainment on the long flights.  Holovision replicators provide a
three-dimensional laser generated image of dramatic and theatrical works
in the cabin of your very own craft...you feel like you are an observer
at an event rather than a spectator of a stale recording.  There are two
incompatible modes of Holovison replication, but most docking posts stock
both types of bubble cartridges.  A number of older two dimensional
classics like Star Wars and Jungle Book have been computer-
dimensionalized.  Naturally some arcane purists persist in preferring to
watch this quaint screenboard technology as it was originally presented.
Note that Doug's Docking Bay was the first to charge no extra rental
deposit on long flight checkouts for all .98 class craft.
 
.98 Class Craft - latest generation of intersystem vehicles which achieve
98% of light-speed...At this speed space-time extension is becoming a key
factor in travel and elongation and transit trauma are problems associated
with travelers subjected to long periods of dormance in the multi-year
flights to neighboring systems.
 
Transit-trauma - originally the blanket term for any psychotropic
reactions to long flight isolations and extended deep hibernation...now
used to encompass a host of discrete ailments which still affect many
deep space travelers such as disassociative denial syndrome wherein
returning pilots refuse association with offspring which due to space-
time compansion may now be older than the returning deep space voyager. 
Sociophobia, manic escape disorder, hypercommunicadia, anarchia, and
penchiperbole are but a few of the identified deleterious reactions to
deep space travel. 
 
PIMS - (psycho/neuro-interactive mood stabilization) in flight,
hibernative subliminal programming technique developed by communications
and psychiatric experts at the San Diego Spacebridge launching platform.
The technique basically consists of continuous monitoring of brainwave
telemetry and altering background music beamed to each space traveller to
replicate the natural purging mood swings of healthy terrestrials.  The
Spacebridge was a favorite launching platform for many years not only
because of its 84,000 top deck but primarily thanks to the one program
monitor to one dormant traveler ratio maintained into the late 21st
century.  Funding cutbacks eventually led to somewhat less satisfactory
but substantially less costly automated monitoring.  By 2125 the SDSB's
competitive edge was a mere historical footnote and commercial
sponsorships were now being accepted as part of the regular in-flight
programming beamed by the Spacebridge.
 
SOURCE BUZZ:
 
Fortuna and Celestial Harmonies have penned a manufacturing/distribution
pact which is opening new vistas for Fortuna artists.  Notably affected is
San Diego's Steve Roach whose exceptionally popular STRUCTURES OF SILENCE
and EMPETUS are coming out on Compact Disc even as we speak.  Steve's
TRAVELER andQUIET MUSIC II are being slated for re-releases on CD in the
near future as well.  He tells us he is currently working on DREAMTIME
RETURN scheduled to be a double CD release for early '88.  In connection
with the project Roach will be venturing to the outback in Australia to
capture some rich aboriginal dream imagery.  For an illustrative wisp of
the awe and age of aboriginal dreamlore see the June '87 OMNI page 16.
There's a lot to learn about dealing with the universally cataclysmic
nature of living from dream research and the aboriginals have many
centuries of study we're still striving to understand.  Roach pulled a
marathon at the recent SPACEFEST '87.  Not only did he perform for three
different near capacity crowds at the SPACEFEST but then proceeded to 
program live over KPFA in Berkley from 1 til 6:30 am.  As Will would say,
"Aye, there's the rub, for what dreams must come when we have shuffled off
this electric coil....
 
FORTUNA's distribution agreement via Celestial Harmonies means that the
famous TRANSFER STATION BLUE will soon be available on CD as will Patrick
Ball's works, Summerland's SONG OF THE REED, and Richard Burmer's
excellent MOSAIC.  Kayla at FORTUNA says Burmer is completing a new work
entitled BHAHTI POINT which will be out very soon as well.  Given Burmer's
talents this one promises to be a don't miss.  Stay tuned to the
SPACEBRIDGE for a prompt airing.  Speaking of new FORTUNA releases,
Richard Vimal's AQUARYTHMIES is due out momentarily.  SPACEBRIDGE regulars
have already been treated to some pre-release tidbits from this gem.  Also
a new master FORTUNA catalogue is in preparation and we'll advise you when
it's available.  For anyone in the Berkley area on June 27th Julie's Place
will be featuring Rudiger Opperman, whose JOURNEY TO HARPISTAN will soon
be available on FORTUNA.
 
PRIVATE MUSIC informs us Carlos Allomar's DREAM GEMBNERATOR is out and
that in August Lucia Wong's second release, SECRET LUMINESENCE will be
available.  Also in production are upcoming releases from Yanni and Azuma
(which will be entitled AZUMA).  They are also working on a second PIANO
album.
 
BACKROADS DISTRIBUTING will be served by a nationwide (yes, even
California) WATS line starting in July.  We don't know the number yet but
800 information will have it for you.  We inadvertently published their
NON-California 800 number in the last issue and received the appropriate
response from a number of OBSERVER readers.  BACKROADS is nearing
completion on a new 16 page catalog which will give the full rundown on
the HEARTS OF SPACE listings and some other new releases such as
BACKROADS's first CD venture called TAKE IT TO THE HEART by Bruce Becvar.
Lloyd at BACKROADS has turned us on to some new self-published artists
that you'll soon be hearing on the Spacebridge.  With hundreds of in-home
studio musicians cranking out varying degrees of greatness there's no 
corner on the market for discovering a good release and spreading the
word.  Let us know if you encounter a work that we're not playing and you
believe will fit.  Like it says on the New York Times masthead "All the
news that fits" [well sort of].
 
WHERE TO BUY NEW AGE MUSIC:
 
[Written by Chuck Carter, originally published in the May 87 INFINITE
THOUGHT magazine]
 
The best place to buy New Age music is one of the chain record stores
like Tower Records, the Wherehouse, or Sam Goody's (formerly the
Licorice Pizza and Musicland chain), right?  Not necessarily.  There are
a few reasons to shop the chain stores, but a few reasons not to,
also.  Tower Records (Sports Arena) has a great selection and clearly
marked New Age sections.  A drawback with the chain stores is that they
rarely play New Age on the in-store system.  One of the places where
you will hear New Age music played is a metaphysical bookstore.  They
merchandise the music the right way...by playing it for the customer.
In North Park it's the Controversial Bookstore.  The store personnel
are knowledgeable and the music is played almost every hour they are
open.  They have good suppliers and demo copies to play, if you have a
question about an artist or the type of music they produce.  Massage
schools are a natural for this type of music.  A major part of massage
is to relax the muscles and New Age music can assist by relaxing the
mind.  New Age can be a transitional tool for transporting the
mesasagee from the here and now to a far away place.  The Mueller-Dean
College of Massage on Park Blvd carries the best selection for
purchase.  In Pacific Beach you'll find the Institute for
Psycho-Structural Balancing and a few blocks east of IPSB is the
Motivational Tape Center on Garnet.  Other sources for New Age music
I've found range from Kung Food, a restaurant/deli on Fifth Ave to the
Better Back Store in University Town Center.  Both play the music and
have it for sale.  A number of record companies and distributors have
catalogs with descriptions of the works they offer.  Among the best are
Backroads (who have just acquired the Music From the Hearts of Space
Catalog listings) and Fortuna Records.  Contact the Spacebridge at
619-265-6431 if you need addresses and/or phone numbers for Fortuna
and Backroads.....
 
 
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SAN DIEGO SPACEBRIDGE airs on KPBS-FM Radio 89.5 every Sunday at 9:00 pm
(8:00 pm starting in July).

The SPACEBRIDGE OBSERVER is reproduced here exclusively for the 
information and entertainment of PRIDES CROSSING participants.....

-- 
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!  Victor O'Rear {hplabs!hp-sdd, akgua, sdcsvax, nosc.mil}!crash!victoro      |
|  ARPA: crash!victoro@nosc.ARPA and the Byte Information eXchange [victoro]  |
|                                                                             |
|  "Don't Give Up,                                                            |
|        Because somewhere there's a place, a place where we belong.."        |
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