I’m a big fan of Bobby Darin. Would it surprise you to know that I won’t be seeing the movie “Beyond The Sea,” then? The primary reason is that I don’t need to see it. Anything that I want to know about Bobby Darin can be found online. And if I want to hear Bobby Darin sing, then I just need to toss in a CD or fire up an MP3 player. If I want to see one of his performances, I can watch one of his movies.

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So, what possible value can there be in seeing the movie? Ah, you say, but what about Kevin Spacey’s performance? Don’t I want to see how closely he can mirror Darin’s voice, mannerisms, and appearance? Uh, frankly, no I don’t. Spacey has always been rather off-putting to me; for some reason, he seems to ooze sleazy contempt in every role that I’ve seen him in. He’s a relatively talented impersonator, but mimicry is just a bit to play on Saturday Night Live and in nightclubs – it doesn’t automatically translate into a 2-hour movie. And the fact that he has wanted to play this role and make this movie for years seems almost creepy – as if the only thing he cares about is wowing the public with his impersonation of Bobby Darin, as opposed to telling the story of Bobby Darin.

Oh - and I heard Spacey’s version of “Artificial Flowers” on the radio the other day, and it was a pale shadow of Darin’s recording.

The first radio station that I identified with - that I felt was “mine” - was KMET, 94.7 FM, in Los Angeles. I lived about 90 miles away in the Mojave Desert, and at the age of 14, I was really getting into rock music (The Doors, Rush, etc), and in the LA listening area back in the early ’80s, you had two choices: KMET and arch-rival KLOS (95.5). I preferred KMET; I have very fuzzy memories of some of the names of the DJs/personalities: “The Burner” Mary Turner, Jeff Gonzer (of “Gonzer’s Grill"), Jim Ladd, and a few others. I distinctly recall hearing “Valley Girl” when it premiered on KMET, and the DJ played it three or four times in about two hours. I never understood the King Biscuit thingie, and Dr Demento was hit-or-miss, but what did I know back then?

So anyway…thinking about KMET the other day is what prompted the earlier post about “Hump Day,” because KMET had “titles” for each day of the workweek. If memory serves, it went like this:

Margarita Monday
Titillating Tuesday
Hump Wednesday
Champagne “Payday” Thursday
Finally A Friday

And that was my first Radio Love. There have been others since: KSOL, 98.9, in the SF Bay Area, circa 1994-97, which specialized in R&B/Old School; a college station in Oklahoma called “The Spy” back in 1997/98; another college station in Spokane (1982/83) with hosts Jeff & Julie; and my current favorite here in Great Falls, the nationwide “Music Of Your Life” format on 1310-KEIN am.

In case you’re wondering which Clint Eastwood movies will air during the month of December, just check out the TV Now site – it will tell you which movies, what times, and what channels. For example, “For A Few Dollars More” will air on December 11th at 10:00 pm on American Movie Classics, and also at 5:15 pm on December 16. Of course, if you want to schedule your movie viewing around pure crap, you can do that, too.