Originally published at: The WKRP in Cincinnati Disc Jockey Control Center - Boing Boing
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It can’t play 77s? Sacrilege!
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Playing records at 44 RPM is where the A432 Hz movement originated from.
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… omg that’s a thing
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Via Jennifer Sandlin
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IIRC, Vanity Fair was a Radio Shack house brand, so presumably that’s where these were sold. But I remember Sears sold a similar product, minus the WKRP branding, and it looked like one of their regular kids’ turntables.
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ok, this looks super cool and I love WKRP, but [stupid pedantry] the term “disc jockey” refers to being able to play records back-to-back without the audience having to listen to nothing while you switch records, requiring at least one extra turntable and a method of hearing the next record to pre-cue it (e.g. headphones, but radio stations also have that circuit built into the monitors). To the audience, the DJ is just the “radio personality” that talks (and in the modern context, this is a lot more accurate) hence the microphone completes this build rather than a second deck, which would make it a lot more expensive and the kids probably wouldn’t understand why it was there. [/stupid pedantry]
I know everyone probably knows this already, but dammit, these things bother me.
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I want to yell “booger” into that mic!
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"Aaand thanks for calling in, J.S., always good to hear from you.
“Next up, 'Do You Believe in Magic?” by the Lovin’ Spoonfuls, and 'Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf.
"Speaking of carpets. Are yours looking dingy, dull, downright dirty? Man, you need to call Crazy Carl’s Carpet Cleaning. They can get out anything. I. Mean. Anything. Catch my drift?
“It’s kinda like Magic…”
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I wondered the same thing about this album cover. Maybe the other turntable is simply out-of-frame?
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yeah, the WKRP studio had one deck all the way to the viewer’s right set 90° from the main desk, which went across the rest of the studio to the left. there were mics and tabletop in between until you got to the other deck set inline with the desk.
I mean, this was set design, but I don’t think it’s inaccurate. my college station was down to one turntable, but the other inputs – CD players, cassette, cart machine, mics – were catch-as-catch-can.
so the Fagen cover seems plausible. although, there’s also a good chance that it’s in a photo studio rather than “on location” at a real radio station. in which case, the second deck is not just off-camera, it just ain’t there.
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Yeah, also: who mounts a wall clock that low, &/or to the side?
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yeah, the whole shot has a “put together” sort of feel
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I remember reading that the Nightfly cover picture was taken in Fagan’s apartment after building a fake studio. Kind of a cool thing.
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i can’t believe i’m just now learning that this toy existed. WKRP has always been one of my favorite shows!
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Never had this, but my friend did have a record player and a small microphone and we would play “radio” sometimes. IIRC his mom did work at the local radio station.
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I’ve always had a visceral reaction to the cover of The Nightfly. Not terrible, but I can actually smell a cold ashtray and stale coffee when I see that picture.
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