(Manual Scan/Lemons Are Yellow veteran Paul Kaufman discusses how Rodney on the ROQ subverted San Diego ca. 1979.)
One of the most influential sources of music to me during those hyper-formative years (ages 15-16) was Rodney on the ROQ — Rodney Bingenheimer, that is — on what was then a small, upstart radio station: KROQ in Pasadena.
Every Sunday night, I’d have the radio extension cord wrapped around my hands, turning myself into the antenna to improve the spotty reception. There was no other public format to hear many of the bands that I learned about there, both from the UK (Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, Crass … ) and the LA scene (Weirdos, Screamers, Germs, Black Flag, Circle Jerks …)
I’ve lived most of my post-SD life either in the San Francisco or Boston metropolitan areas, two places with very healthy radio options, owing largely to local colleges. The contrast with SD at the dawn of the ’80s was stark — UCSD had a cable station, but nothing a conventional radio could receive. Meanwhile, the left of our dials was blanketed by strong signals from Mexico, stuffing 91X’s version of New Wave down the city’s gullet.
Of course, this was long before the Internet brought niche radio to remote areas, like our little sun-drenched burg. I suppose this made word of mouth and hanging out in record stores all the more important in SD.
Do you think so? What was your source for new music?
P.S. to Rodney fans … If you haven’t seen it, the documentary about him, “The Mayor of the Sunset Strip,” is required viewing. (Spoiler alert: Bring Kleenex; it’s incredibly sad at times. I’m not kidding.)
— Paul Kaufman