Barracuda Radio

It’s hard to imagine a world without televisions. Today, TVs are not just ubiquitous, they’re everywhere. But in the 1940s, television was an expensive, new gadget that very few households owned. When the World Series was televised for the first time in 1947, only 44,000 TV sets were in use in the entire U.S. In 1948, only ten percent of Americans had ever even seen a television program. The only thing more scarce than TV sets was TV programming. Radio had been widely adopted for decades, with over 40 million sets in use in the late 1940s. So, the majority of talent and advertising money was still going into radio. In addition, television was so new that no one had really figured out what to do on TV yet. In just a few years, skyrocketing viewership would cause radio hits like Dragnet and Jack Benny to move to television. But in its infancy, many early TV shows weren’t much more than radio with a picture. The traditional radio music program was adapted to TV by simply showing the musicians playing their instruments. That was a TV show. And, it was pretty amazing stuff by 1940s standards. A music show that premiered during those pioneering days of television was Korla Pandit’s Adventures In Music. It was broadcast out of KTLA in Los Angeles beginning in February 1949 and had more of a hook than your average music program. Pandit was Indian musical prodigy born in New Delhi. He played exotic themes on a Hammond organ or a piano (sometimes playing both instruments at once). As he played, the turban-clad musician gazed wistfully, directly into the camera. His only communication with the viewer was through his transe-like stare and what he called “the universal language of music.” He never spoke on the show. What at first glance seems like a simple music program became something wildly exotic and otherworldly. Pandit’s organ arrangements were accompanied by dark lighting, slow camera moves and close-ups of his eyes. The resulting show was all at once hypnotic, noir, exotic and surreal. He performed Adventures In Music live on the air, five days a week. Over 900 episodes were aired, but only a few survive to this day. Pandit’s show aired during TV’s boom years and he became wildly popular. In 1951, he played a two-hour concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and was called back for three encores. A version of the show was syndicated to independent TV stations nationwide and he became a huge hit. He became friends with eastern religious figures and released dozens of albums. His music laid a foundation the exotica genre, made famous in the 1950s by musicians like Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Yma Sumac. But what seemed wild in the uptight days of 1948 was considered laughably tame by the freaky-deaky standards of 1968. Pandit and other exotica musicians fell out of favor. Korla Pandit’s celebrity faded, but he worked as a musician and a music teacher, and continued releasing albums through 1971. He reclaimed some of his fame during the exotica / lounge revival of the 1990s, but passed away shortly after. Director John Turner has just finished a feature documentary about Pandit’s life called Korla. The documentary doesn’t just tell the lost story of a TV pioneer or an Indian musician. It also tells a story that turns out to be uniquely American. And it’s based on a secret that Pandit kept hidden even from his own family. It’s a secret that wasn’t discovered until years after his death. Korla – Trailer from Appleberry Pictures on Vimeo.

The groundbreaking TV show Mad Men is now in its final season. For seven seasons, the show has immersed its viewers in the treacherous world of New York ad executives. It centers around the iconic Don Draper, whose genuine talents and charisma are constantly being undermined by his self-destructive behavior. Mad Men’s unhurried story lines and morally feeble characters have broadened the possibilities for a basic cable drama. Its plot lines are rarely wrapped up at the end of a single episode. Some plots last several seasons long, giving the show the pace of a novel, rather than that of a TV series. Another one of Mad Men’s essential elements is its ambitious visual style. One part is the show’s meticulously-recreated post-war fashion and decor, complete with cigarette smoke so thick, you can almost smell it coming out of your TV. The other part is Mad Men’s cinematic photography. It lends the show a gravitas normally reserved for feature films. It also bolsters the show’s vintage elegance in a way that makes this journey to another time seem even more authentic. As the ads for the Mad Men’s final season state, this is the end of an era. In honor of the show’s final days, we’re going to talk with Chris Manley. Manley directed several pivotal Mad Men episodes and was the cinematographer for almost the entire run of the series. We’ll hear about the challenging career choices that brought him to work on the show. We’ll also discuss the ideas behind big and small choices that were made while directing and shooting Mad Men, including what Lou and Cutler were saying in the computer room when Ginsberg went nuts. The series finale of Mad Men airs May 17th on AMC. Chris Manley is now directing and shooting for Masters of Sex, which begins airing new episodes July 12th on Showtime. Dialogue editing on this episode was by Seven Morris.

It’s hard to imagine a world without televisions. Today, TVs are not just ubiquitous, they’re everywhere. But in the 1940s, television was an expensive, new gadget that very few households owned. When the World Series was televised for the first time in 1947, only 44,000 TV sets were in use in the entire U.S. In […]

It's hard to imagine a world without televisions. Today, TVs are not just ubiquitous, they're everywhere. But in the 1940s, television was an expensive, new gadget that very few households owned. When the World Series was televised for the first time in 1947, only 44,000 TV sets were in use in the entire U.S. In 1948, only ten percent of Americans had ever even seen a television program.The only thing more scarce than TV sets was TV programming. Radio had been widely adopted for decades, with over 40 million sets in use in the late 1940s. So, the majority of talent and advertising money was still going into radio. In addition, television was so new that no one had really figured out what to do on TV yet. In just a few years, skyrocketing viewership would cause radio hits like Dragnet and Jack Benny to move to television. But in its infancy, many early TV shows weren't much more than radio with a picture. The traditional radio music program was adapted to TV by simply showing the musicians playing their instruments. That was a TV show. And, it was pretty amazing stuff by 1940s standards.A music show that premiered during those pioneering days of television was Korla Pandit's Adventures In Music. It was broadcast out of KTLA in Los Angeles beginning in February 1949 and had more of a hook than your average music program.Pandit was Indian musical prodigy born in New Delhi. He played exotic themes on a Hammond organ or a piano (sometimes playing both instruments at once). As he played, the turban-clad musician gazed wistfully, directly into the camera. His only communication with the viewer was through his transe-like stare and what he called "the universal language of music." He never spoke on the show.What at first glance seems like a simple music program became something wildly exotic and otherworldly. Pandit's organ arrangements were accompanied by dark lighting, slow camera moves and close-ups of his eyes. The resulting show was all at once hypnotic, noir, exotic and surreal. He performed Adventures In Music live on the air, five days a week. Over 900 episodes were aired, but only a few survive to this day.Pandit's show aired during TV's boom years and he became wildly popular. In 1951, he played a two-hour concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and was called back for three encores. A version of the show was syndicated to independent TV stations nationwide and he became a huge hit. He became friends with eastern religious figures and released dozens of albums. His music laid a foundation the exotica genre, made famous in the 1950s by musicians like Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Yma Sumac. But what seemed wild in the uptight days of 1948 was considered laughably tame by the freaky-deaky standards of 1968. Pandit and other exotica musicians fell out of favor.Korla Pandit's celebrity faded, but he worked as a musician and a music teacher, and continued releasing albums through 1971. He reclaimed some of his fame during the exotica / lounge revival of the 1990s, but passed away shortly after. Director John Turner has just finished a feature documentary about Pandit's life called Korla. The documentary doesn't just tell the lost story of a TV pioneer or an Indian musician. It also tells a story that turns out to be uniquely American. And it's based on a secret that Pandit kept hidden even from his own family. It's a secret that wasn't discovered until years after his death. http://BarracudaRadio.com

As a musician, Jon Wurster is best-known as the drummer for Superchunk, The Mountain Goats, New Pornographers and The Bob Mould Band. He's also half of the comedy team Scharpling and Wurster. Tom Scharpling was the host of a radio show which originally aired on WFMU. Scharpling and Wurster struck up a friendship, and Wurster started regularly calling into Scharpling's radio show, voicing different characters. The Best Show aired for 13 years, and an exhaustive collection of the show's shenanigans featuring Wurster's crazy personnas, has just been released as a box set. We talk to Wurster about his early days in the Philly punk scene in the 1980s, becoming a professional musician and coping with life on the road. Wurster also reveals the surprising inspiration for the voice of one of his most notorious Best Show characters, Philly Boy Roy.

As a musician, Jon Wurster is best-known as the drummer for Superchunk, The Mountain Goats, New Pornographers and The Bob Mould Band. He’s also half of the comedy team Scharpling and Wurster. Tom Scharpling was the host of a radio show which originally aired on WFMU. Scharpling and Wurster struck up a friendship, and Wurster […]

The groundbreaking TV show Mad Men is now in its final season. For seven seasons, the show has immersed its viewers in the treacherous world of New York ad executives. One of Mad Men's essential elements is its cinematic photography. In honor of the show's final days, we're going to talk with Chris Manley. Manley directed several pivotal Mad Men episodes and was the cinematographer for almost the entire run of the series. We'll hear about the challenging career choices that brought him to work on the show.

The groundbreaking TV show Mad Men is now in its final season. For seven seasons, the show has immersed its viewers in the treacherous world of New York ad executives. It centers around the iconic Don Draper, whose genuine talents and charisma are constantly being undermined by his self-destructive behavior. Mad Men’s unhurried story lines […]

We interview independent artists, artisans and entrepreneurs about how they got out of their clock-punching jobs and started their own businesses. We discuss the challenges and rewards of doing your own thing, just the way you like. First, we talk to Melinda Miles, former Barracuda Magazine cover girl and current co-owner of Walden Speed Shop. Then we move from the garage to the studio to interview artist Keith Weesner. Finally, we hear from Jenny of Trophy Queen about how she started her company and keeps it moving in the right direction. Recorded on location at the 2015 Grand National Roadster show.

We took this episode on location to the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. The GNRS is easily the biggest hot rod show in Southern California. The best of the best of the best of the hot rod world get polished up to the nines and put on display here every year. And […]

Punk Rock Blitzkrieg is the new book by legendary punk drummer Marky Ramone of The Ramones. The book tells the story of Marky’s life behind the kit, playing drums for one of the most influential and iconic punk bands of all time, The Ramones. Long before any books were written about the band, wild rumors […]

Punk Rock Blitzkrieg is the new book by legendary punk drummer Marky Ramone of The Ramones. We talk to Marky about the cruel fate that met some of his most beloved cars, the power of a transistor radio and the snare drum sound that was so bad, it set him on the road to sobriety.

P.J. O'Rourke is one of the most popular modern American humorists, but he's also a car nut. In this episode, we find out that O'Rourke comes from a long line of Buick men and then take a humorous look at the sad state of the American auto industry as we discuss his book "Driving Like Crazy."

P.J. O’Rourke is one of the most popular modern American humorists, but he’s also a car nut. We find out that O’Rourke comes from a long line of Buick men and then take a humorous look at the sad state of the American auto industry as we discuss his book “Driving Like Crazy.” Starting with […]