Jen's Column / Radio Show

Here's Wednesday's installment. Enjoy! :), Jen

* * *
About five years ago, Bill Nietz was listening to a college radio station while driving in his car. “The DJ was just terrible,” he remembers. “I thought to myself, ‘You know, I could do at least that bad….’”

So Bill and his friend Curt Johnson (who also thought he could do at least that bad) talked to the powers-that-be at RCTC — the owners of radio station KRPR 89.9 — and voila! Meet the hosts of the Bill & Curt Rock Show, proudly playing your classic rock favorites Thursday nights at 10 p.m.

They play a little Styx and Springsteen (Bill’s favorites), a little Kiss and Cheap Trick (Curt’s favorites), and a little of everything else in between. They have theme shows (“Women of Rock,” “UK Rock”) and have even based playlists on episodes of TV program Cold Case.

But the coolest thing they do is allow listeners to create their own shows. This is where I come in.

You know those people who make you listen to songs when you visit their house? The ones who say, “You’ve got to hear this!” — and then make you sit at the kitchen table staring at their stereo for the next 4 minutes? The ones who, when you try to say something about the real reason you came to visit, interrupt with, “Shhh! This is the best part!”?

I am one of those people.

I love music — all kinds. I listen to rock and country, to blues and showtunes. (That’s right, I wrote showtunes.) In the last 20 minutes, in fact, my iPod has shuffled through an eclectic mix of John Lennon, Willie Nelson, the White Stripes and the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra.

And if I love it, I want you to love it. If it makes me sing or cry, I want you to sing or cry. So imagine my excitement — my sheer glee — when Bill invited me to create the playlist for an entire edition of the Bill & Curt Rock Show.

Making hundreds of people sit at my kitchen table and listen to my favorite songs? Sign me up.

I agonized over my list — which songs to add, which to axe. The Bill & Curt Rock Show is, of course, a “rock” show. So that narrowed the field considerably — nixing Alabama, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson from the get-go. Gloria Gaynor didn’t even make it to the starting line. Bill and Curt put the kibosh on disco with zealous headshakes at the first mention.

But it still left me with groups like The Kinks, They Might Be Giants, Gear Daddies, and Elliott Smith. (Smith, by the way, is my current obsession. And, yes, I do mean obsession. I’ve found myself, on more than one occasion, watching his performances and interviews on YouTube at 3 a.m. and wondering where the last three hours went.)

With great anguish I’d cut musicians (goodbye Blind Melon, so long Bob Dylan), decide that I finally had my Top 20 — and then, bam! — I’d hear Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” and realize that no mix is ever complete without “Tainted Love.” Obviously.

Want to find out what made my final cut? I’ll give you a hint: One song rhymes with “Rangel is a Penterfold.” But that’s all I’m telling you. Tune in tomorrow night at 10 p.m. to hear the whole set on the Bill and Curt Rock Show on 89.9 FM.

If you’re a music lover who’s interested in putting together your own show, e-mail Bill and Curt at rockshow@charter.net.