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"My Midlife Crisis" with Neil Litt

Life During Wartime was posted to the web on April 28, 2003--too late for the actual war. It is the longest "crisis" yet and the war seems to have ended before I finished it! In this latest "crisis" I compare my feelings about the war with Iraq to the war I protested in 1970 as American troops crossed the border into Cambodia. I talk with Rabbi Arthur Waskow, a life-long activist for peace and justice and director of The Shalom Center, and I touch base with Lew Goodman, a fellow "draft dodger" back in the day. And there's music--an anti-war mix that includes new recordings from Warren Zanes, Luka Bloom, Grand Drive, the Beastie Boys, Stephen Smith, and many more, as well as some old war horses (you should excuse the expression!) from Joni Mitchell, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Big Country, Ducks DeLux, and a bunch of others.  3hr 39min.

The Anniversary Edition was posted to the web on February 18, 2003--too late for the actual anniversary; too late for Valentine's Day; too late even for the eighth anniversary of the Idiot's Delight Digest. This "crisis" turned into an extended meditation on the origins of love and many of the possible outcomes, as well. The music ranges from the overly optimistic love songs of our youth to the more nuanced musings of sadder but wiser bards. Eleni joins me for a very rich conversation on what love has to do with it (whatever "it" is) and was also instrumental in putting together the final mix. Free-form as usual, the mix ranges from Mendelssohn to Lou Reed, with stops in between for Wilco, Warren Zevon, the Roches, P.J. Harvey, Al Jolson, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Buffy Sainte Marie, Judy Collins, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Cab Calloway, and many, many more. 3 hr 31min.

Radio Days was posted to the web on December 24, 2002. I blame Lew Goodman for this "crisis" because Lew sent me a tape of "The Lew Goodman Story," originally aired on WFUV on March 30, 1973, and it got me thinking about the special energy and spirit of young people on the radio. This "crisis" is all about then and now--how it was and how it is. Looking back, I resurrect one of my own oldest programs, which includes a "visit" to the Trojan factory in Trenton, NJ. In present time, I talk with fellow veterans of college radio days--Jeff Bernstein, Lew Goodman, and Alan Seltzer. Between one thing and another, I also go through a lot of music, with a free-form mix that includes Tony Bennett, Dayna Kurtz, Joe Ely, Chumbawamba, Tom Petty, Joshua Redman, Biff Rose, The Ramones, Elvis Costello, and many, many more. 3 hr.

The Bar Mitzvah from Hell was posted to the web on November 20, 2002. But it wasn't the bar mitzvah that pushed me over the line, it was the country club reception that followed the service. Lord knows, if they hadn't made sure to put the "bar" back into bar mitzvah and provide vodka on demand, I wouldn't have lasted. I've got a lot to say about the decline and fall of religion, and about Rick Moody's take on Elton John, but mostly I've got a free-form mix that ranges from Vladimir Horwitz to the latest from Mark Knopfler and Rhett Miller, with stops along the way for Frank Black & the Catholics, Carl Perkins, John Hammond, the Handsome Family, and many more. 3 hr 6m.

The Fat Man's First Date with His 'Ex' was posted to the web on October 10, 2002. Pay no attention to that husky Nazi--his weight problem doesn't begin to compare to mine, which I wrestle with in the first hour of this 'Crisis'. Then, for a change of pace, I revisit my first date with my ex-wife, which was originally broadcast in March 1970. On that historic occasion, I was a mad Nazi spaceman and she was the madam of an intergalactic whore house in the red-light galaxy. There's lots of music from the fat zone--ranging from Allan Sherman to Lydia Lunch, from Tommy Dorsey to Queen, as well as new songs by Jackson Browne and Steve Earle, and many more. 2 hr 30m.

Rosh Hashanah was posted to the web on September 6, 2002. "God said to Abraham, 'Kill me a son'. Abe said, 'Man, you must be puttin' me on'." When Abe responded to God's call, he established a model of faith that Western civilization has used to transform child sacrifice into the art of war. Every Rosh Hashanah, the story of the trial of Abraham is chanted from the Torah scroll in synagogues all over the world. This story has also been the direct inspiration for songs by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen . . . and an indirect inspiration for music by Wilco, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Television, and Natalie Merchant. Should God have given the world to the Monkees? Just in case, I include them, too. It's free-form music for a post-modern Jewish New Year--shofar blowing and kaddish on Highway 61. The d'var Torah that I delivered on the second day of Rosh Hashanah (completed after the program was recorded) can be read here. 1 hr 43m.

"Studio N" was posted to the web on August 26, 2002. It had been over a month since the last new edition of "My Midlife Crisis." In that time, I assembled a new studio and learned how to use it, and part of this midlife crisis is certainly coming to terms with the commitment of making a serious investment in continuing this series. In addition to the ongoing struggle to define the reason for my existence, this program also contains two kinds of wedding music--the songs every bride and groom should heed as they plan their nuptials and the songs they will want to choose for their first dance as husband and wife; we also return to a hot August night over twenty years ago when Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes rocked the Asbury Park Convention Center. And there is a free-form mix that includes Uri Caine, Tom Waits, Ruin, Ani di Franco, XTC, Linda Thompson, the Yankees, and Bruce Springsteen. 2 hr 17m.

"A Little Travelling Music" was posted to the web on July 15, 2002. I put it together after several days driving through Florida looking up old friends and family. The music is at the heart of this show and it is a truly free-form mix that starts with Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos and ends with Ella Fitzgerald. In between, we visit with The Mekons, Van Dyke Parks, Graham Parker, Norah Jones, and many more. Plus stories of what I found out there.  1 hr 41m.

"It's Father's Day and everybody's wounded" was posted to the web on June 21, 2002. As a father and as a son, I have a lot of feelings about the parenting that I've done and the parenting that I've had done to me. My dad was a tough old bird and he knew how to sell anything to anybody. Here are stories about my dad and other adventures in parenting, as well as music about fathers and sons by Bruce Springsteen, Randy Newman, The Temptations, Neil Young, Steve Goodman, Lou Reed, and many more. For more background on my dad, click on The Dad Link. 1 hr 47m.

"Temptation & Other Distractions" was posted to the web on June 1, 2002. Ever since the snake offered Eve a taste of the apple, humanity hasn't needed to rely on snakes to fuel the flames of pointless and random yearnings for forbidden fruit. No, sir, just do an advanced search on Google for pages containing the words "nude" and pictures" and the exact phrase "Brittany Spears" and you'll get no fewer than 5,000 hits. So, this edition of "My Midlife Crisis" is an acknowledgement of the corrosive impact of pornography. It includes stories of wasted nights and unfulfilled fantasies, as well as Long John Nebel's attempt to do a radio commercial for a pornographic movie, and a certain infamous bit that is completely unfit for broadcast. And, I include a Talmud lesson, as well as some great music by the Pretenders, TOFOG, Charles Mingus, the Buzzcocks, and many others. And while I didn't know it when I posed the question on the program, here is a link to a link to the answer to the question, "Who is Scotty Engel?" Part 1 = 1 hr 15m. Part 2 = 47m.

"Jean and Joey" was posted to the web on May 13, 2002. What do Joey Ramone and Jean Shepherd have in common? Well, for one thing, they're both dead. But more importantly, both were able to conjure up memories of a care-free age when the world was young and horny. However, it is what set them apart that is at the center of THIS midlife crisis, and to find out exactly what that was, you'll have to tune in. The music is by Joey Ramone, The Only Ones, The Hoodoo Gurus, Maurice Chevalier, and many others. 1 hr 15m.

"We Now Return to the Amazing Adventures of Superman" was posted to the web on May 1, 2002. And while that's my head on George Reeves's body, I don't actually play the role of Superman on the excerpts from the 1969 radio play that originally aired on WUSB (the radio station of SUNY at Stony Brook) that are included in this 2002 free-form mix. In fact, I play Perry White, a thug named "Lefty" and the announcer. The music is by the Ass Ponys, Norah Jones, Warren Zevon, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Maria Muldaur, Gil Scott-Heron, Donovan, and many others. (Sorry, Tim, I couldn't get hold of the Spin Doctors's version of "Jimmy Olsen's Blues," but thanks ever so much for suggesting that I have a better physique than George Reeves.) 2hr 30m.

"Her Midlife Crisis" was posted to the web on April 15, 2002. When I realized that the first two editions of "My Midlife Crisis" contained no music by women, or even performed by women, I wondered if there was something gender-specific to MY midlife crisis. So, I invited my wife to join me in listening to some of my favorite women artists and to talk about what we were hearing. The music is by Joni Mitchell, Etta James, Lucinda Williams, Aimee Mann, Linda Thompson, Sarah Vaughan, and many more. Is my husbandly deference to my wife's reactions a sign of maturity or insecurity? Whose crisis is this, anyway? 1hr 30m.

The Democracy Edition of "My Midlife Crisis" was posted to the web on April 5, 2002. It contains music that celebrates the American way of life, including Herbie Mann's "Battle Hymn of the Republic," Leonard Cohen's "Democracy," Neil Young's "Let's Roll," and many more, as well as a grim comic fantasy in which the youth of America take over the country, a radio play that originally aired in 1970 on WUSB (the radio station of SUNY at Stony Brook). 1hr 15m.

The Passover Edition of "My Midlife Crisis" was posted to the web on March 22, 2002. It contains music for a 58th Century seder, including the Kinks, Groove Armada, Lester Young, and many more. It also contains excerpts from a very bizarre and comic rendering of the story of Passover, originally aired in 1969 on WUSB (the radio station of SUNY at Stony Brook). 1hr 7m.

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I am tremendously grateful to Frank for invaluable technical support during the construction of this web site and for continuing to provide generous advice and encouragement toward upgrading the sound of these programs. Frank is truly my "godfather of technology"!