Multi-genre Rado Hits Indy

By S. Mannheimer

A new radio station in Indianapolis has been playing an unusual mix
of music. The programming philosophy or aesthetic of WITT in Zionsville,
91.9 on your FM dial, http://www.919witt.org/news.html, is, in a word,
eclectic. At any given moment in the broadcasting day, listeners might be
treated to an unpredictable line-up of, say, an old Dylan tune followed by a
Sinatra ballad followed by a short Mozart concerto then a smattering of
contemporary Canadian folk, with the occasional mainstream rocker or Broadway musical thrown in for balance. There are also dedicated segments or block programming, such as
the weekly shows highlighting rock from the late 1940s and into the ‘50s.
No doubt there are other interesting programming elements in the WITT
schedule, or will be soon.

Most radio stations are programmed to appeal to a definable demographic slice of the market. Their broadcast content, their programming, generally revolves around a central genre or musical aesthetic. This seems obvious to anyone with even a casual, drive-time radio habit: Radio stations have definable personalities. A station known for rock ‘n roll oldies is unlikely to punctuate a series of songs by the Stones, Led Zeppelin, REO Speedwagon with an assortment of toe-tapping favorites by 1940s-era Big Bands led by Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman. But this is the sort of mix-and-match programming WITT has been doing.

This WITT aesthetic descends from the idea of the multi- or trans-cultural connoisseur, the person equally attuned to the delights of Japanese koto music, Balinese gamelan orchestras, a Bach organ sonata, 18th-century English sea shanties, early Beatles and electronic “world music,” etc. and etc. A century ago, this was a Victorian ideal, personified by the likes of Sherlock Holmes, the detective with a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of the world’s cultures, especially the cultures that comprised the British Empire. More recently, we have seen this multi-cultural sensibility in Holmes’ distant offspring James Bond, who always seemed to know the right way to drink Japanese saki or Turkish coffee.

Such people truly exist, in modified form: Schooled, skilled and experienced in multiple genres,
able to appreciate a panorama of tastes and speak
knowledgeably about a small encyclopedia of cultural products. They are out there: College professors and well-traveled professionals who return from vacations and posting abroad with Burmese tapestries and Norwegian sweaters. A glance at the hangings and bookshelf knick-knacks in their living rooms reveals the breadth of their sensibilities.

In recent years, such broad consumption could be identified with "post-modernism." Post-modernism has been pitched as a liberating reaction to the monolithic monotony of modernism and the repressive uniformity of consumer capitalism. Maybe. Or maybe it's just another marketing strategy more in tune with the realities of digital technology and the global consumer society.

Too heavy? Well, just enjoy the music and don't worry about the theories.