OT: Melody reunion night
- Thread starter RUaMoose
- Start date
Nah he’s just too sophisticated to participate in a thread with such banal gibberish. He’s a scientist after all
Hey, if Matt Pinfield has moved on, maybe it's time...
And I probably answer them every year, lol. He's been fighting those demons since I met him in 1982, when he was DJ-ing at Todd's, before he started at the Melody. There were more than a few nights at the Melody where he'd disappear for 10-20 minutes, so one of us would have to step in and play a track or two while he was otherwise occupied. Has been in and out of rehab many times (alcohol mostly) and had a horrific accident a couple of years ago being hit by a car while crossing the street. Had another relapse during quarantine, but is 20 months substance-free and maybe this one will stick, but he will tell you that the rock and roll lifestyle makes it very hard to resist the draw of the drink. Matt is an incredibly kind and generous soul, though, and he has a ton of people pulling for him. And he just happens to know more about music than anyone on the planet, as far as I know.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/soldierin...al-accident-song-killers-wrote-212802983.html
A few weeks ago, it was looking like he could make it back to NJ for the 15th Reunion, but he is a busy guy and a work gig came up. For the vast majority of people who go to the reunions, though, Matt being there is just a bonus. It's always been about enjoying the music we all loved back then and the people we used to hang out with, just like any reunion - and last night was no exception - my wife and I and some friends had an absolute blast and danced as much as our aging bodies could handle...followed by a pit stop at the White Rose in HP for a 1 am "dinner." And only small-minded people make fun of other people who are obviously having a great time - I don't know of any other defunct bar, restaurant, club, whatever that consistently draws 200-300 people every year for a reunion, 20 years after the original place closed.
Yep, it was definitely Ed Wong and normally, if you were there while he was setting up we would've met, as I've been helping Ed set up his impressive, but complicated sound system for 10+ years before the reunions and helping him break it down and load out afterwards, as it's way too much for one person and Ed is a prince of a guy who needed the help. But last September the day of the reunion was our last day of our OCNJ rental and the UM game was on TV, so I only helped with the load out.
I've said this before, but for people who may not have seen it, Ed still has the best radio show on the planet, every Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm on WRSU, 88.7FM (it's on the web, too). He plays an incredibly eclectic and engaging variety of music sampling from almost every genre and era, with a ton of obscure stuff that I don't always love, but I enjoy hearing new things that I wouldn't hear anywhere else, plus he sprinkles in enough well known tunes for most folks. Not many places where one set might include everything from Patsy Cline to Devo to Wu-Tang Clan to the Who to the Strokes to Ned's Atomic Dustbin to Girl In Red to Madonna to Kraftwerk to Old97s to Marvin Gaye and everything in between.
I’m sure some of the places he hangs at could be triggers. I could imagine the temptation must be overwhelming at times.
That’s why the main slogan in the 12 step program is “people, places and things” and changing those three is essential in recovery.
Everyone’s journey is different, and not everyone goes the 12 step route though.
Hiking and the outdoors is very grounding.
Hopefully he continues on a straight path….
One day at a time.
Dude, it's 100% overkill his setups, it was insane. Nice guy though.
And I helped with the load out that night, we had to bump into each other.
No doubt, but the quality of his sound is superb. However, having said that, it's not worth the effort, IMO, as I've told Ed, but he just loves the challenge and the process of it. Ed wasn't there last night and they used a simple 2-powered speaker setup with a few different inputs (vinyl/digital), which is similar to what I use and while it showed some distortion at very high volume, I'm guessing very few cared that much as the dance floor was pretty full - the quality of the music selections is far more important than the quality of the sound for most.
I'm sure we bumped into each other then - I would've been in shorts with my vintage, Melody era 1990 topsiders, lol.
A
anon_ivydyf0amkzay
Guest
My one memory of the melody is going with my Newell 11 roomies and dancing…my Filipino roomie was hot after this one “girl” but it wasn’t a girl…he had not even tucked his pecker and therefore it was pretty obvious when the crowd thinned out. Poor Sergio…he was devastated while the rest of us laughed. He never went back!
I wonder if the “girl” posts on this board and went to the reunion
A
anon_ivydyf0amkzay
Guest
And that wasn't an incentive for you to go to the Melody? The gay crowd was still a bit under the radar back in the 80s, although the ones who were "out" were typically way out, like the famed Dani Day - more than a few pics of Dani on the continous photo loop projected on one of the walls last night (and every year). Even a few of us...
Could be - the reunions definitely still have their share of gender/sexual diversity, which is cool - the diversity of the crowds at the Melody was one of its biggest draws for many: just about every group went and very rarely did anybody get any shit about how they looked or acted.
The lure that the Melody had for me was as a tandem with the Roxy. We'd go back and forth across the street. Different places, different vibes, different girls. All good.
When I saw the picture of the dog, it reminded of who I believe managed the Melody at 1 point & later owned the Roxy, Chris Butler. Chris moved to Oregon about five years ago and passed away while walking his dog. Apparently, he fell and hit his head. Sad
Quite amazing hubris, isn't it? But we need to find a way to find common ground and come together as a nation instead of sparring with each other.
Funny you asked, since usually Ed Wong puts together the setlist for each DJ and includes a bunch of notes on what was selected and why from the DJ's perspective - they're quite entertaining. However, Ed wasn't there this year, so nobody has posted setlists on the reunion page yet, so I recently asked the DJs, who have posted their set lists on their own FB pages, to also post them on the reunion page, so they're at least all in one place. I imagine that'll take a day or so.
With all the Brut aftershave hovering in the air & men wearing leather jackets two sizes too small, how could the ladies resist !
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I think "sparring" is not the best analogy here.
IMO, what hardcore libs/cons do is chase each other endlessly around a mouse-wheel. Because they do and say exactly the same things for pretty much their whole lives, over and over and over again. And for all that repeated nonsense, they never get anywhere at all with it.
it's the hamster approach for both.
Doesn't matter what the issue as long as you can spin it your way.and make the hamster alongside you mad
Groucho Marx expressed the hamster approach to discussing issues the way far left/right are famous for
I don't know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I'm against it!
No matter what it is
Or who commenced it
I'm against it!
Your proposition may be good
But let's have one thing understood
Whatever it is, I'm against it!
And even when you've changed it
Or condensed it
I'm against it!
I'm opposed to it
On general principles
I'm opposed to it!
(He's opposed to it)
(In fact, he says he's opposed to it!)
"I'm against it!"
Good story- @RU848789 ---
"Upcoming is Melody ReFlux at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the New Brunswick Elks Lodge on Livingston Avenue. Ed Wong, the longtime Rutgers University WRSU (88.7 FM) deejay, is the host. DJ Lisa Uber and DJ Pete Santiago will also spin the Melody hits and “favorite tunes from the Golden Era of College Radio.”
Opened in 1981, the Melody was a haven for misfits, social climbers, social outcasts, the sexually ambiguous, punk rockers and fashionistas. DJs played alternative rock — the music of the Smiths, the Cure and Depeche Mode — when it was new, along with dance and house music, electronica, hip-hop, and oddities like “Rappin’ Duke.”
"Upcoming is Melody ReFlux at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the New Brunswick Elks Lodge on Livingston Avenue. Ed Wong, the longtime Rutgers University WRSU (88.7 FM) deejay, is the host. DJ Lisa Uber and DJ Pete Santiago will also spin the Melody hits and “favorite tunes from the Golden Era of College Radio.”
Opened in 1981, the Melody was a haven for misfits, social climbers, social outcasts, the sexually ambiguous, punk rockers and fashionistas. DJs played alternative rock — the music of the Smiths, the Cure and Depeche Mode — when it was new, along with dance and house music, electronica, hip-hop, and oddities like “Rappin’ Duke.”
Melody Bar deejay picks songs that rocked the dance floor in the '80s on eve of reunion
DJs Ed Wong, Lisa Uber and Pete Santiago will spin the Melody hits at Melody ReFlux, Saturday, April 29, at the New Brunswick Elks Lodge.
www.app.com
Thanks, story popped up in my FB feed this morning and Chris Jordan (author), Ed and I and many others have been posting about it. Very cool article. Chris has always done a very nice job writing about music and music in NJ and he posts here occasionally, as @CJ1987 iirc.Good story- @RU848789 ---
"Upcoming is Melody ReFlux at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the New Brunswick Elks Lodge on Livingston Avenue. Ed Wong, the longtime Rutgers University WRSU (88.7 FM) deejay, is the host. DJ Lisa Uber and DJ Pete Santiago will also spin the Melody hits and “favorite tunes from the Golden Era of College Radio.”
Opened in 1981, the Melody was a haven for misfits, social climbers, social outcasts, the sexually ambiguous, punk rockers and fashionistas. DJs played alternative rock — the music of the Smiths, the Cure and Depeche Mode — when it was new, along with dance and house music, electronica, hip-hop, and oddities like “Rappin’ Duke.”
Melody Bar deejay picks songs that rocked the dance floor in the '80s on eve of reunion
DJs Ed Wong, Lisa Uber and Pete Santiago will spin the Melody hits at Melody ReFlux, Saturday, April 29, at the New Brunswick Elks Lodge.www.app.com
I try to tell people every once in awhile that they should listen to Ed's Saturday morning WRSU show (10 am to 2 pm). I still say it's the best radio show anywhere, as he plays literally everything, from Patsy Cline to LCD Soundsystem to the Clash to the Strokes to Kraftwerk to Marvin Gaye to the Who to Courtney Barnett to Public Enemy and everything in-between, including more than a few songs every week I've never heard, which I enjoy even if I don't like all of them. His wheelhouse may be Melody Era music, but he plays way more than that, except for the couple of weeks leading up to the reunions, when he plays exclusively that.
