Song For Guy

Ask not for whom the wayback machine calls; it call for thee. Mixing John Donne and Mr. Peabody is a fitting segue into Space Pirate Radio.

A good friend recently came upon The Melting Watchtowre, the official page of Guy Guden and Space Pirate Radio. I was only a casual listener and not among the diehard fans who spent Sunday night from midnight until 6:00 am on Monday morning listening to electronic music with some of Guy's original comedy pieces (sometimes brief but always sharp) thrown in for color.

Still, this chance encounter with the past stirred many a memory for me. The giant ants on the side of the Granada Theater is easily the most vivid visual remembrance. I would typically listen to the first and last 30 or so minutes, as sleep would call and win, despite my best efforts and willingness to blow off the 7:00 am calculus class at SBCC. To paraphrase Guy, it was night music for night people. "Sponsored" by the Nippon Gin Company of Tokyo, the ads included Godzilla Stout Malt Liquor and the infamous Rodan Light White ("One sip, and you too will say...BANZAI!").

Despite the years, there are a number of threads across this vast electronic playground that focus on SPR and/or Guy, and at least two Facebook pages. I last thought about both when I was selling off my vinyl collection a few years back and found someone who wanted my copy of his 1978 release. The fan base still exists and it is good to know he is alive and well out there, somewhere.

Alvin Toeffler said “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” I relish in Guy's ability to re-invent himself again and again.