Wfmu Marathon Plea

[Weingarden]

Friends, colleagues, soul aficionados, vinyl geeks, music freaks, "Downtown

Soulville" listeners:

Pardon the intrusion, but it's time for that annual ritual when I come to

you, faux-fur Alpine hat in hand, to beg you for money for the radio

station that I have been privileged to call home since 1994.

WFMU is a unique, mind-bogglingly great listener-supported station

programmed by volunteers like me. Every March, for two weeks, we ask our

listeners to give something back. It's a symbiotic relationship: We offer

you terrific programming all year round; you pay whatever you can afford

(and it's tax-deductible, of course!) to keep that happening. Running a

radio station is expensive, and we don't have commercials or corporate

sponsorship of any kind. We rely on your kindness to cover our operating

costs. Our goal this year is $1.2 million. To make matters more urgent, we

haven't met our goal the past two years. This year we really need to.

And we make it more than worth your while to help us. This year, in

addition to lots of cool prize giveaways during my show, I'm offering a CD

I've put together called RARE AND COLLECTIBLE FINE WINE: 27 SOULFUL

ULTRA-OBSCURITIES FROM THE CELLARS.* I must have been crazy to record this

one...I'm basically giving away the keys to the Cadillac here: It's all

one-off 45s from my collection, things that have never come close to being

reissued, un-Googleable records no other collector owns, the ones that

barely exist outside my living room. (There are "rare" and "expensive"

records in the world; some fetch thousands of dollars on eBay. These

aren't them! These are the ones that no one would ever even know to bid

on! And they're insanely good!) All you have to do is pledge $75 or more

and it's yours.

Has a song you've heard me play on the radio made you Google the steps to

the boogaloo, take your 6-year-old for a twirl around the kitchen, or just

smile? Your pledge makes that possible. Are you a record collector in

Poland who's heard me play something obscure via our live stream or our

archives or my podcast and subsequently decided that you simply must add

that 45 to your collection? Please donate whatever you can spare--I know

times are tough; they're tough for us too!--and I'll do my best to ensure

that you add dozens more records to your wants list in the coming year!

As of this June, I will have playing soul 45s on WFMU for 17 years! If you

can afford it, why not give the station a hundred bucks a year as thanks?

Don't worry: I appreciate a $15 contribution just as much.

Oh, here's a tangible result of your past contributions (and something

that's reliant on your future contributions): the award-winning Ichiban

stream, which I'm proud to be a part of! HTTP://WFMUICHIBAN.BLOGSPOT.COM

Thank you for all past and future pledges. Apologies if you've received

this more than once.

Your "Hoarders"-worthy 45-obsessed soul fanatic,

Mr. Fine Wine

SEE MUCH MORE INFO AT WWW.WFMU.ORG

PLEDGE ONLINE ANYTIME AT HTTPS://WWW.WFMU.ORG/MARATHON/PLEDGE.PHP

or call 800-989-9368

My Marathon shows:

Friday, March 4 (TONIGHT), with cohost Michael Shelley

Friday, March 11, with cohost Bronwyn

7 to 8 p.m. U.S. Eastern time

(I'll also be cohosting Michael Shelley's show Saturday, March 12, from 11

a.m. to 1 p.m.)

-----

*Track listing (I'm not so naive as to think none of you have any of these, but nothing comes up on Google searches):

1. Jimmy Toliver - South (T and T)

2. Alvin Howard - Work Baby (Jetstream)

3. Rolls Royce & the Wheels - Ahh Phooey (Ara)

4. Mad Lads - Quit-Shucking (Melic)

5. Alan Knight - The Girl With the Wavy Hair (Bamboo)

6. Kasey Joe - Which One's Gonna Give Me Love (Delpris)

7. Prince Charles - Sick (Jetstream)

8. Mad Lads - Eli the Ice Man (Melic)

9. Fabulous Royal Flames - Doggin' the Duck (London House)

10.Jay Cee & the Incredibles - The Cricket (Class)

11.Jimmy Hayes - The Goose (Commerce)

12.Jimmy Hayes - As a City Sleeps (Commerce)

13.Goodtime Charlie - Let Me Love You (Break Out)

14.Ceaser L. Jenkins - Do Your Own Thing (Tru-Lite)

15.Chris Taylor - Basketball (Big Thunder)

16.Curtis King - Good Times (Ronze)

17.Tornados - Sittin' in the Park (Kerston)

18.Genghis Kyle - Can You Dig It? (Timbre)

19.The Fourth Level - Deep South (U-Larc)

20.Goodtime Charlie - Tough Competition (Break Out)

21.Gerldets - Mini Skirts Time (Pt. 1) (New Frontiers)

22.Danny Small - Minnie (Make It)

23.Deacon Lee & the Prophets - Bad (Revue)

24.Chuck Simmons - Yellow Pages (F.B.W.)

25.Jimmy Toliver - Come Shine (T and T)

26.Willie Smith - My Soul Baby (Royal)

27.Funky Munk - Don't Blame Me (Triple O)