Radio is a Learning Process

In which your marvelous hostess shoots herself in the foot by admitting that she’s not quite perfect yet.

So I’m three shows into Particles and Waves, and am currently listening to the stream of Saturday’s show. It might seem self-possessed, but I like to think it’s also to help me hone my craft now that this is a regular gig for me. And also because I really do learn things from listening to a piece of work that 1) could be rehearsed, but usually isn’t, 2) is never going to be editable no matter how much I want it to be, and 3) therefore requires the development of certain oratory and improvisational skills which haven’t been worked on since I was a drama nerd in high school.

I tried to look for an image to fit a “Cunning Linguist” joke but the result was exactly as you’d expect.

I really liked this past show. The song selection was a lot of fun and I got to play some really neat vinyl. That said, I wouldn’t be a creative type if I wasn’t self-critical, so there are two things I’m noticing: first, that I can do a lot better in reducing my filler words; and second, that the sound board is a filthy goddamn liar about quality levels. There are one or two spots where things kinda got blown out into muddyville this week, for which I apologize. The BoC song sounds fucking gorgeous, though. Because BoC is magic.

On the subject of filler words: I am loathe to realize that I do use them, and it’s a conscious work in progress to eliminate them. Just as I had to train myself off of using scripts while in studio in my first year of hosting, I am also re-training myself to just shut the fuck up when I run into a mental roadblock. I think I’m a lot better than I used to be (there are some Big Broad Casts that I’m very glad are gone to the sands of time), but as I spend more and more time in front of the microphone I aim to end up sounding like I know exactly what I’m doing. Someday.

So that’s my takeaway. This is the sort of post that would completely bewilder my mother, because why on earth would you point all this out to your audience, bubbeleh? But better I call myself out on these things and aim to improve them as time goes on, rather than have some people think it but silently judge. So next week will kick even more ass than this week did, and will continue until we reach the asymptotic limit of asskickery.