The Fight Against Cancer Never Rests. Northwestern’s Rebecca Blank and WXRT’s Lin Brehmer Have Revealed Their Battles.

Rebecca Blank and Lin Brehmer (Photos courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

Two days this week, two announcements that saddened me, one of which really shook me.

A 1975 Northwestern graduate, I wear the purple proudly. A family trip to Ryan Field for a football game is an annual event. So I was disheartened to read the email this week that Rebecca Blank, the incoming university president-elect at NU has stepped away from her role to face a battle with aggressive cancer. I wish her the best and trust that my alma mater will again find a top-notch academic to fill the role of university president.

The other notification has struck me more deeply. I missed the Tweet yesterday, spending a lovely afternoon on Lake Michigan, but this morning, the first news story I read was about WXRT radio guy Lin Brehmer. He too is stepping away for a while, taking a sabbatical from his role as the midday jock on my favorite radio station to begin chemotherapy for metastatic prostate cancer.

While I must concede that Rebecca Blank is just a name to me, Lin Brehmer has been a daily voice in my life for years. I would time my morning commute to be sure I was in the lab for “Three for Free,” the on-air trivia game orchestrated by Lin and Mary Dixon. A double-digit number of wins soothed my ego still bruised over long ago losses on Jeopardy! and It’s Academic.

And thanks to social media I am one of the thousands of listeners who have a bit of a relationship with Lin. He and I have Twitter bantered over Janet Jackson’s nomination to the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, over an awful Guster song, and most recently over my allegation that the station program director required one Cure song per shift. “Just don’t play Friday I’m In Love on Fridays…”

As a pathologist specializing in the diagnosis of urologic diseases, I see about 5 cases of prostate cancer a day. While many, perhaps most, of those men do well, I still feel a sense of loss for each of those husbands, sons, and brothers whose prostate biopsy is under my microscope. I know their lives have changed. So it is for Lin. (No, he is not a patient of mine and I was not aware of his diagnosis or the previous treatment that he has revealed in his Tweet.)

Lin is always everyone’s best friend in the whole world. I know the wishes from all of those admirers are bringing him strength and leading to a successful outcome. I can’t wait to hear his voice on “XRT once more.

And just a final reminder to all of you. Men, ask your primary care physician to check your PSA level. Ladies, remind the men in your life. Just do it.

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The above is the opinion of the author and not UroPartners LLC.

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WXRT Hires New Jock–A Greeting To Her From the Program Director.

Getting More from Les Blog Readers: You might have read that WXRT has hired a new DJ, AnnaLisa Parziale, a radio veteran with stints in San Francisco and Boston. Somehow, an email from ‘XRT program director Laura Duncan to Annalisa wound up in my inbox. I reproduce it below with only slight editing for brevity.

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Dear Annalisa,

Welcome to Chicago and WXRT. As your program director, I am sure that I will be your new best friend in the whole world, no matter what Lin Brehmer tells you.

I know that throughout your career you have heard great things about WXRT and that you are looking forward to all the freedom and variety that you will have while programming your show. There are just a few little rules, or as I like to call them, suggestions, that will help you fit into our family.

You are required to play one song by The Cure on each shift. We have six tracks to choose from. I prefer if you don’t play Friday I’m In Love on Fridays. It is just sooo cliche.
The Clash must always be referred to as The Only Band That Matters, even though we only have two of their songs on our allowed playlist.
Terri plays the Beatles. Period.
We feature a heavy rotation of one Grateful Dead song a month. Last month’s selection was Touch of Grey. This month I haven’t yet decided between Uncle John’s Band or Touch of Grey. I will let you know when I make up my mind. In the meantime, in case you have any inclination to play Truckin’, don’t.
Sprinkle in a few anecdotes of the first time you heard a particular band in concert. It doesn’t have to make sense, but it shows the listeners you are just like them.
Playing Chicago music means playing Smashing Pumpkins, or occasionally Wilco. And a couple of blues guys to prove how hip we are. Their names escape me.
For the first 45 years of this station, Aerosmith was just the misspelling of a Sinclair Lewis novel. But ever since The Loop, Chicago’s harder rock station, shut down, we at XRT have been courting their Incel former listeners. Therefore we have been rocking Dream On every other Tuesday. Ditto, I’m looking for a slot to crank out some Van Halen. You good with Panama?
We don’t do news, Huey Lewis or otherwise. Mary Dixon has left the building.
In view of your recent history in Massachusetts, and because our listeners fantasize over Phoebe Cates, you may play The Cars Moving in Stereo as often as you desire. On the other hand, playing the band Boston is strictly verboten. So is playing Chicago.
Måneskin. Always more Måneskin. I’m begging.

Good luck and welcome.

REM forever,

Laura

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Hey, NPR. You Are Making Me Feel Old!

In July of 1984, I mentioned to a friend that for the first time that I could recall, the number one song on the Billboard charts was something I had never heard. The song was “When Doves Cry” from Prince’s Purple Rain soundtrack album. It had totally escaped my ears and for the first time in my life, I was all of 28.

So imagine my feelings today at age 65 upon reading the NPR list of best songs of 2021, and not recognizing a single song, from #100 down to #1. A total shut-out. And this wasn’t a list from some hip new-age media outlet. This wasn’t the 100 most streamed songs on Tik-Tok. No, this was a list from National Friggin’ Public Radio, the network programmed for old farts and fans of over-enunciated world news. NPR is 100% cooler than I am.

I did recognize the name of one artist on the list. Robert Plant showed up for a duet with Allison Krauss. For those of you even more out of touch than I am, Mr. Plant was once the lead singer for a band called Led Zeppelin. No-those boys didn’t make this year’s NPR 100.

It’s not that I have stopped listening to music. I still do. And “my” station, WXRT plays some new music along with the oldies. But I guess not one of the adult alternative songs they play (that’s the description of the format from Audacy, Inc. the station’s owner) was one of the year’s 100 winners. What a losing record! That’s what they get for letting Mary Dixon run off to WBEZ. Hey–isn’t WBEZ the local NPR affiliate? Mary must be even hipper than I thought!

So what was NPR’s Number One Song of the Year? Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” took the number one slot. If I had a nickel for every time I have heard it, well, I wouldn’t have a nickel.

Yes, I am old, crotchety, and out-of-date. On TV I’m watching the new documentary about John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The last books on music I have read were by Keith, Bruce, and Patti. I just am not on a first-name basis with Cardi and Nas and Megan Thee.

So I’ll just sit back and listen to my radio. “Once In a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads is playing. I remember when they were avant-garde.

And so was I.

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Stop Playing this Song. I’m Beggin!

I’m at my desk listening to the sports radio “experts” discuss the White Sox chances in the playoffs, and the future of Andy Dalton now that Justin Fields is the Bears’starter. I am peering through my microscope, drawing lines and dots on the prostate slides. All is as it should be.

And then I hear it. Again. For the third (or is the fourth?) time in the last 90 minutes, I am forced to sit through that song as it plays on the radio in the lab, the one right outside my office. And I shudder.

I am suffering through a song called Beggin’. A little research (isn’t that what we call looking things up in Google and/or Wikipedia?) tells me the song is a remake of a Four Seasons song from 1967. This cover version is by an Italian band called Maneskin and isn’t even new. It was recorded four years ago but has only hit the charts in English-speaking countries this year.

How can I describe it to those fortunate enough not to have not yet been exposed? Remember Dave Seville and the Chipmunks? Think of one of their songs, recorded at 45 rpm, sped up 78 rpm. Then imagine that English is not the Chipmunks’ native language and that they seem to have no idea what the lyrics mean. And then pretend you are hearing the song over and over and over.

It’s not just that the song is being played by the Eric Ferguson-less-Mix every quarter-hour. I can’t escape it at my Fitness Center where it’s on the overhead music stream. And the final indignity, it has hit the WXRT heavy rotation list. C’mon Lin Brehmer, this is Chicago’s Finest Rock? Just play Sympathy for the Devil one more time.

It has happened to me once before, a song drifting from the lab into my office over and over. It was back in 2006, the first summer we were in operation. That is the summer Justin Timberlake was bringing SexyBack…and back…and back.

At least ‘XRT never jumped on the JT bandwagon.

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Oh well, I assume Beggin’ will wear out its welcome in the next month or so. Just in time for the people in the lab to switch the radio to WLIT and non-stop Christmas music. By then I will be ready for a little Santa Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

Should I Try To Win Tickets to a Genesis Concert?

The DJ’s on WXRT are super-excited. The station is giving away tickets to see Genesis perform at the United Center in November. Call In To Win!

Should I make that call? So many thoughts come to mind, so many questions.

First, as I have said before, I am not particularly lucky in contests–though I used to do OK on Lin Brehmer’s 3 for Free back in the day, back when Lin still hosted early mornings on ‘XRT. But there were no prizes for winning, and 3FF was broadcast at 6:30 in the morning–not a heck of a lot of competition.

Next, will I be ready to go to an indoor concert at the United Center in November? Like everyone, I am entertainment starved. And public health officials say we are getting to an inflection point in the pandemic. Barb and I are both well-vaccinated, and we wouldn’t turn down a booster if it was necessary.

So yes, we are edging toward losing our inhibition about indoor recreation. I am back working out at my (nearly deserted) fitness center. We are noticing that Broadway is going to be opening back up in September, though we will be holding off on a New York City trip until the Neil Diamond jukebox musical opens in 2022 (tickets to opening night would be appreciated.)

And we do have tickets for a couple of indoor things–the Van Gogh exhibit on Father’s Day and Six on our anniversary. But none of that is like going into the cavernous barn that is the United Center. The contest is for admission to a “luxury suite,” but I still would anticipate lots of crowds in the walkways and on the stairways. Will I be ready in November to rub elbows with the hoi polloi?

Lastly, there is the band itself. How much do I care about Genesis? I have a personal rule, I would never go to a concert if I can’t name at least 10 songs by the band. I have no trouble doing that for Genesis–but could Barb do the same? That is a lot less likely. Plus, Barb likes her concerts at the United Center more mellow–she still complains about being dragged to see Bruce Springsteen there. Besides, who would babysit Cooper?

So all you Genesis fans out there–don’t mind me. I won’t compete for those tickets. Though if Phil and Mike and Tony want to play a set in my backyard, that’s cool–I am sure we can get the Home Owners Association’s permission for a great night out on the lawn.

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Cole Porter and Suburbia–A Great American Weekend

Just slippin on by on LSD

Alliota Haynes and Jeremiah- 1971

Yes, I know. I swore I would not go near the Taste. I documented my reasons, and I swear by every one of them, even though Whitney from SpotHero did give me some parking alternatives. What I had neglected to take into consideration was that we had plans for Saturday evening that DID include our making the trip downtown to the lakefront. Friends had invited us for supper in their Lake Point Tower apartment, followed by the Cole Porter Celebration at the Pritzker Pavillion at Millenium Park. So it was into the city we headed!

The drive from the northwest suburbs to the city on any given Saturday can vary from a breeze (a rarity) to a centipede-like crawl (the normal,) but we anticipated the worst for Taste Saturday, so the long slow drive was no surprise and easily taken in stride. It was our hunt for clearly visible but difficult to approach Lake Point Tower, one of the rare buildings east of Lake Shore Drive, that almost doubled our commuting time. The NAV system in the car sent us flying towards the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium-definitely an overshoot. Finally, after several U-turns, a desperation call to our hosts led to their sighting our car from their high-up apartment, and then guiding us to the building, as calmly as any air traffic controller at O’Hare or the long defunct Meigs Field.

Subsidized parking in the building (sorry, Whitney) was followed by a tasty supper and then a bus ride to Millennium Park. What a lovely evening it was for an outdoor concert! An orchestra, a chorus and four soloists going through the Cole Porter song book. I was especially delighted to see and hear Karen Mason, who we had last seen in concert with Don McLean (yes, THAT Don McLean) in the early 1980’s. Karen looked and sounded great, then and now. After the show we strolled back to the apartment, our way illuminated by the fireworks show at Navy Pier. Final note to suburbanites-you do NOT want to drive west on Ontario to get to the Kennedy on Saturday night. Take Grand to Milwaukee to Ogden. You will save 45 minutes (at least.)

For those of you eagerly awaiting our house progress, well, it looks great. The exterior stone is 95% in place, limestone window ledges mortared in, the roof a fait accompli. Neighbors continue to walk by and compliment the look of the house. Barb’s due diligence is paying off. We also had a productive meeting yesterday with Ham and Jeff, going over some layout details and considering the shape and composition of the backyard deck. Still no decisions there. I am partial to cedar, but know the ongoing maintenance that is required. Any thoughts for us?

A promised shout out to friend and neighbor Barry B for naming the most songs/artists with a year in their title in our little quiz. He bent the rules a bit, but still came up with the most names that met the “Approved” list. Just like “3 for Free” on ‘XRT, no prize for this one.

That’s it for this edition. In the newly learned greeting of our granddaughter, “Have a good day sir!”

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Easy Tuesday Music Trivia with a Prize!

“B.B. Bumble and the Stingers…

…Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singer”

Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)–1974

Summer days, full moons, and the heat is rising. Chicago may not have it as bad as many parts of the country, but it is still time for chilling out, cracking out your favorite lemonade and listening to the music “soundtrack of your life.” I get my tunes from a Pandora stream, a personal station I have named “Decades.” I chose the name to remind me to include music from all the periods of my life, not to strictly focus on the classic rock of The Drive (sorry Greg), or today’s pop that sneaks in past my headphones in the fitness center. It is sort of like ‘XRT without Lin or Terri. I preloaded the selections with Steely Dan, U2 and Foo Fighters, and Pandora fills in the blanks from there.

But let’s not dwell on my musical tastes. Instead, let’s celebrate summer with an easy peasy lemon squeezy music contest–and this one even comes with a prize. One Amazon $25 gift certificate will be given away, and everyone who enters the contest is eligible. So give it a try, even if you don’t know a thing about the music of the last 50 years. And share the contest, by email or Facebook–give your friends a chance to win too. Then sit back and have that lemonade.

Contest Rules:

Follow this link: Les’s Music Quiz

All entries received by midnight June 26, 2016 will be eligible for random drawing for a $25 Amazon Gift Card. You must include your name and email address to win. Answering all questions correctly earns a double chance to win!

And remember–the quiz is easy! Just fill in the blanks. And pass it on.
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Virtual Prizes for Virtual Contests-White Sox, WXRT and Donald Trump

Feelin’ Groovy!

59th St. Bridge Song

Simon and Garfunkle-1966

Remember Sarah Palin’s “Bridge to Nowhere”? It was a convoluted tale that garnered a lot of attention when the Alaska Governor was selected as John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 Presidential election. Since than Madame Palin has had the career to nowhere, but that is a story for another day. But do bridges to nowhere lead to “contests to nothing?” Two of my favorite local media outlets have gone that route.

Even though I grew up on the North Side (Rogers Park to be precise), I have spent my life a diehard White Sox fan. And like many White Sox fans, the past few years have been dreary, dreary, dreary. Whether the fault has been lackadaisical players, a too laid back manager, or too many Ken Harrelson “Hawkisms”, watching the beloved Pale Hose on the tube has been a type of torture specifically outlawed by the Geneva Convention. This year has been a breath of fresh air as new players Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie have had a spring in their step, Robin Ventura has suddenly remembered to manage, and most importantly, there has been a new voice in the White Sox TV booth. Jason Benetti is now the Sox play-by-play man for home games. Paired with color announcer Steve Stone, Benetti has brought a lively new spirit to the broadcast. They have also brought a new contest, the aptly named “White Sox Math”. It’s a daily contest with problems such as “Multiply Jose Abreu’s uniform number by Jimmy Rollin’ s strikeouts in 2005 and then add Chris Sales career saves.” If you are a total stats geek or happen to have the Baseball Almanac handy, you will of course quickly arrive at the answer of 5621. And your prize for having all that information rattling around in your brain? A trip to the “Virtual Prize Shelf”. That’s virtually–nothing!

Not to be outdone, or perhaps underdone, my favorite radio station WXRT has a contest of its own. Every morning at about 6:40 Lin Brehmer and Mary Dixon host “Three for Free.” Tweet in the correct answer to their audio quiz about the celebrity of the day and you can win exactly…nothing!

Yet somehow there I am watching the White Sox with my calculator in hand, or intently listening to Lin and Mary’s musical clues. And since there is a winner every day, I suppose I am not the only one willing to put out all that effort for nothing. So I suggest a few more contests with prizes of questionable value:

Volkswagen will give a new diesel car to the first correct answer in their “Predict Our Next Estimated Mileage Report” challenge.
Elon Musk will present a hyperloop ride from Wrigley Field to the Cell to the winner of the “Who Can Predict How Long the Tesla Model 3 Will Be Delayed” contest.
The Department of Transportation will give a TSA job to the first person who–well, basically to anyone. No contest entry needed.
The Republican National Committee wants to award the Vice Presidential nomination to the first voter to provide Donald Trump with a foreign policy. Send the RNC your plan, single spaced, with a self addresses, stamped envelope and prepare to go to Cleveland.

And of course, just by reading this, you are entered into my contest to win–nada. Happy trails!

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