The Stormcock Community

For BOB and all the others, I finally gave WXRT-fm a less puzzling push to play ROY's music. Hope I found the right combo of humor to crumble a portion of the brick wall of ignorance and indifference. Here is what I submitted (after I found the right link on their site, the one that doesn't require me to sign up for mac mail):

I’m the 1983 WXRTv Theme Song Contest Grand Prize Winner and it’s been almost a month since I last/first emailed XRT.

I had hoped for an acknowledgment by now. I had also hoped you would be intrigued by the rather easy though detailed puzzle I gave you regarding an artist you seem afraid to play.

I know there are many excuses/reasons for not playing the music of ROY HARPER, but none of them get me to listen to XRT at home or in my car.

In the early days, you eschewed playlists in favor of the music. That’s when I had my radio on for hours almost every day. Sure, I was younger, and vinyl was state of the art, but those aren’t the primary reasons I don’t listen to XRT very much any more. Age isn’t the reason either.

XRT no longer stimulates my mind with an intellectual mix of old and new, pop and art, lyric and music, political and satirical. I found out ROY HARPER has produced an enormous library of new and extraordinary music in the ABSENCE of WXRT and all the other 100% commercial all the time FM radio stations you try to lead.

While you’re censoring Roy’s music, don’t play Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar” because it’s sung by ROY HARPER. Don’t play LED ZEPPELIN III because it has a tribute song to ROY HARPER on it. Whatever you do, don’t tell Terri Hemmert there’s a song by ROY HARPER with Paul and Linda McCartney on it she’s never heard -- she might play it on air. Don’t play ROY’s jazzy tribute to MILES DAVIS, or his British take on American Blues.

According to WXRT’s current philosophy, don’t play good, excellent, or truly special music unless it’s already solid gold. Your listeners are smart enough.

Don’t worry about the millions of Zeppelin fans who will resent you’ve never played the album “(Whatever Happened To)JUGULA” by ROY HARPER and JIMMY PAGE. What would your explanation be after more than two decades of ignorance?

I had hoped the underpaid and idealistic interns screening your emails would have been intrigued enough to find ROY HARPER online at his shop, or at the forum Stormcock.net.

The list of superstar musicians who play with ROY is staggering and quite possibly unmatched in the history of Rock and Roll. Why is it the Artist admired by all those we admire is virtually unknown in the U.S.?

I know all the excuses for not playing any ROY HARPER. Excuses are all I’ve ever heard. I’m not interested in excuses.

Not acknowledging thoughtful input from a listener is disrespectful and suggests you are not capable of understanding what you are missing.

Good luck. If you have a genuine interest, I will try to respond in kind and in a timely fashion.

BACK TO MY FORUM BLOG: Am I a Roy Harper fan, or what? The praise I won't heap on ROY to help his music and poetic messages spread.

I also gave XRT my real address to respond or check against their prize winners. Hope it works this time...