Ghosts And Crazy Girlfriends

Jimmy Carter in his homebase Nashville.

August used to be dull ... "dog days of Summer," it was called ... "hurricane season" ... hot Summer nights. Well, it's still hot but August is weird now.

School in my house has been on for days ...Taylor Swift has a big Fall hit in one week and 75,000 people with candles were outside a dead rock star's house.

Elvis is dead but who's talking about tha? Elvis week was huge with even the Today show inside Graceland for yet another tour ... 35 years of them, we've had. Never gets old to me ... Maybe it does, but I love an excuse to run an Elvis clip on TV.

One radio friend was so thrilled to play "Return to Sender" Thursday morning. Another radio friend got yelled out for playing Taylor Swift. Research not back on that song yet.

Wouldn't you like to hang that "consultant" up by his toes and everyone else who researched radio to death?

Taylor song is called an event record. Or event song. It's pretty pop and real sing-along uptempo. Her core audience of little girls stole from piggy banks or momma's debit card to buy it. 500 ... 600,000 of them.

I want to puke every time I hear someone who never gained a rating personally or have done anything in life say, "Don't play the new Garth" ... or new George Strait or you name it. Not ready yet. Got to wait and see the research.

In theory, yes. You want to make good decisions. But where is the emotion? Emotion is also about hating something.

I want to know my radio station is going to tell me things I don't know and play me music that might change my life. Certainly change my mood.

If radio doesn't bring back the energy and emotion, it is surely dead.

I can't say where I heard this ... and it was this week. A huge presentation on future of music business. Not once did these 20-year-old researchers mention radio. Streams and you name it, but not radio. Radio is great and it's free and it's run mostly by alien life forms.

The good ones still shine and getting excited about a new song is a breath of fresh win. Not the breaking wind you hear and feel playing the same old song for the 1,000th time.

Come on, folks. Taylor's song is not "Friends in Low Places," but it is kinetic. Good and bad generating talk and energy.

Elvis is dead and you're not playing his music, either. He just had 75,000 in his lawn. Colt Ford just sold 31,000 units and no one plays his songs on the radio, either.

Something is real rotten in Denmark! EMOTION, get a tattoo and try to get a spoonful of it out there before you end up working at Chick Fil A, or handing out candles in Memphis.

What is Taylor's deal with men anyway? She gets rich busting on them. But TMZ this week had a real funny segment on the subject. Look it up...

Oh yeah ... Radio didn't play Lionel Richie, either. I'm going to be quiet now.

It's August ... I should be under an umbrella ... chilling ... If I didn't care, I wouldn't say a word. I love radio ... have since I heard my brother listening to it in a 1957 Chevy -- when that Chevy was new.. AM radio with a newly graduated West Point brother. Never fell out of love with that radio!