13.03.12 California Diner - 'Time Change Blues!'

I need to go back and check my records. I’ll bet that last year at this time, I whined and complained about the annual time change to Daylight Savings Time. You know, the one where we lose an hour. We set the clocks forward by one hour, in an effort to make evenings last longer. Great idea, right? I gripe about it every year. How wrong is this? Let me count the ways. First off, legend has it that the American version of Daylight Savings Time was originally conceived in an effort to maximize working time for farmers. They were already accustomed to getting up in the wee hours of the morning, when it was dark--so this would just add additional daylight hours to the end of their day--so they could work longer. Who thought this up--their bosses? Nope, it’s usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers, and the guy who pretty much invented everything before 1800. Let’s see, did he work on a farm? Nope--he was a printer in Philadelphia. Hmmm...that’s pretty suspect, isn’t it. Okay, so I just dissed one of the greatest patriots and thinkers in American history. Bad form. So instead of that, why don’t I just rant about the time change itself. The standard time here is called, well, “Standard Time”. That used to be the norm, when the sun is highest in the sky at noon. But over the past few decades, we’ve been starting Daylight Savings earlier, and ending it later, to the point where it now starts the second week of March, and ends the second week of November. So if “Standard Time” is only four months long, and the “non-standard time” is eight months long, I think we need a name change. Standard apparently doesn’t mean standard anymore. Yes, I’m crabby that I lost an hour of sleep, and I’m still feeling the effects as of this writing. So I’ll just wrap up this little rant by sharing what a couple of my Facebook friends had to say about it over the weekend. They both posted something to the effect of “if you cut a foot of cloth off the top of a blanket, and sew it to the bottom, you still don’t get a longer blanket”. Amen to that. But I bring this up to point out that I’m confused, because I think my show will now be starting an hour later here in America, through no fault of my own (1:00 p.m. on Tuesday). However, my British brethren and sistren at Recharged Radio have the good sense to continue to air it at 8:00 p.m. GMT. So just follow whatever it says on the website, and we’ll find each other. So about the music. What keeps me happy in these trying times? On this week’s show, we’ll spin some great tuneage by the likes of Kaz Murphy, one of my favorite Americana singer-songwriters, he from Los Angeles. Some more new music from Debora Iyall--this week, she covers herself, updating one of her old Romeo Void hits with a “Second Decade of the 21st Century Spin” (my words--you can quote me on that!) And a fiery song from gentleman rocker Bud Rogers--one of the most personable rockers I’ve ever had the pleasure of interviewing. He’ll shred the guitars and wail on the vocals for you this week! www.kazmurphy.com www.deboraiyall.com www.reverbnation.com/budrogers Hey! Recharged Radio now has a magazine! It’s a free monthly music e-zine called Sound of the Suburbs (not to be confused with our radio show of the same name--oh heck, go ahead and confuse it--we don’t mind!) It’s our joint effort with our friends at Perfect Pop Co-Op. You can get it on the left hand side of the home page of Recharged Radio. Just scroll down a bit, and get reading! If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 1:00-3:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com. See you then! Chef Mike mike(at)rechargedradio.com MN2BDNC Missdavinalee - Come On Three Minute Tease - Love Is Onion Bill Mumy - Take Us Home Goodfinger - Sounds Of The City Baby Scream - The Ghost Of Valerie She Makes War - In This Boat Cy Taggart - Cut It Out Jet Electro - Through Debora Iyall - A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing) Mad Tea Party - Blues Slip In Kaz Murphy - Killin' Wheel Blake Jones and Tom Magill - Life Turns On A Dime Popdudes - Desperation Time Sexfresh - Dilemma Great View of the Moon - One Weak Natalie Cortez & The Ultraviolets - Up All Night Maxi Dunn - Messed Up Sound Sessions - Baby's Just An Avatar Peter Daltrey and Damien Youth - Blue Girl Eyes The Scratch - Destroyed By The Look of Love Poplord - Save the Monkey Duncan Faure - Where Is The Music Laurie Biagini - The Heart Of The Song Sparklejet - The World Before Longitude Bud Rogers - Slave To Passion Sue Leonard - Bend This Circle Chancellorpink - Muster Lindy LaFontaine - Alizee Vegas With Randolph - Supergirl The Corner Laughers - Transamerica Pyramid Brave Chandeliers - Sinking Ship Fortune Dwellers - Al's Song