Jim Aquino hosts and produces A Fistful of Soundtracks (anytime at Live365.com and Sundays 2-4PM on KZSC 88.1 FM in Santa Cruz), writes for Silicon Valley Community Newspapers in San Jose and has a big announcement...

The end (on KZSC, that is)

After five years of broadcasting A Fistful of Soundtracks on UC Santa Cruz's noncommercial college radio station KZSC, I've decided to end the program's run on KZSC sometime next year, perhaps as early as January. Fistful will continue broadcasting on the Internet, so it's not as if the program is going away. KZSC has been good to me these past few years, but it's time to move on.

A five-and-a-half-year run is a pretty long run for a program on KZSC, which goes through so much DJ turnover because many of the station's programmers are university students. I guess my program is now like the KZSC equivalent of Gunsmoke. During Fistful's first five years, I've gotten to do some cool things because of the program: I've interviewed some interesting people, I got to be a guest lecturer at a Film Music class at UCSC and I even served as a judge for the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition.

I know my program has a cult following in the Central Coast, but the audience is not large enough for me to want to continue broadcasting down there. Also, I'm getting tired of commuting from San Jose to Santa Cruz, and because I'm juggling two jobs at the moment, I don't have time to do volunteer hours for the station, which is a requirement for DJs if they want to keep their programs going. To top it all off, my girlfriend is nagging me to be more of a daddy to her child and to start providing child support or else "these legs ain't ever gonna open for business for you ever again, honey." (Alright, I'm kidding about that last part.)

I've actually been planning my departure from KZSC for quite a while. That's why I launched the 24-hour Web radio station version of Fistful earlier this year — so that the program would continue in some form or other after I end its run on KZSC. On the Internet, Fistful has ended up attracting more listeners than it ever did in its first five years on KZSC. Because Fistful's stream is heard all over America and all over the world, the audience is larger, more diverse, more knowledgeable about film music — and far more responsive — than the KZSC audience. I don't have any exact figures about the size of Fistful's Internet audience, but I know it's larger than the KZSC audience because of the volume of e-mail I receive each month from Web radio listeners.

So to those of you Santa Cruz fans of Fistful who don't have a computer with a sound card and a modem, sorry, but you're going to have to quit scratching your butts in your trailer parks or farms or whatever and start saving up for a computer. As for the rest of you Santa Cruz fans, I hope you join Fistful in its 24-hour online incarnation at www.live365.com/stations/291434. You'll probably end up enjoying the Webcast even more than the two-hour weekly version of Fistful on KZSC. I know tons of people all over the world who tune in from their cubicles already do.

Letters

This month's mailbag includes some responses to the "I've Got Mail Again" episode of Fistful, in which I introduced the program's new mailbag girl, Gracie. I decided to add her to the mix after tuning in to a couple of those "Love Zone" nighttime slow-jam radio programs in which the host would have a lovely female sidekick read listener mail, so I thought it was time that I got my own mailbag girl for my program. Also during the "Got Mail Again" episode, I told listeners to remember that the program is prerecorded and that their requests will be played, but not right away, so they have to learn a little thing called patience. I also told listeners to quit bombarding me with complaints about how the Fistful IDs and announcements are too loud because I'm already working on making them less loud. I like what Jay Silver said in his e-mail about the whole sound level issue (and he even disses one of the complainers too — I like this guy) ...

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Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 10:13:10 -0700
From: " Christopher Green" <zold@... >

Hello, Jim.

I could sure use a dose of the "Patton"
soundtrack right about now. How about
you?

Thanks in advance

Chris G

from NYC

p.s. alternative requests (perhaps one or two
of these can inspire you):

some of that odd "Mata Hari" music from "Casino
Royale" (don't even know if
that's available), main theme from "Westworld"
(used to have it on vinyl),
something from "A Clockwork Orange", music from
"Altered States"

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Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 10:40:43 -0700
From: " Christopher Green" <zold@... >

Okay, so I tuned in and sent that message before I heard today's
theme.
Sorry.

Hm. Rocketeer. I actually worked on that movie.
Unfortunately, for the life of me I cannot think of any flying movie
music.

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Date: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 09:54:31 -0400
Subject: feedback
From: "Ash Arnett" <aarnett@... >

sure, it's your station - you can do what you want. you're obviously a
smart
guy with a good sense of humor and good taste in music. but your voice
is
not an announcer's voice; as such, your station would be infinitely
more
enjoyable if you minimized the announcements and let the content speak
for
itself. compounding the issue are the large variations in dynamics
between
announcements and other content - the announcements are comparatively
REALLY
loud. so, i hope you'll take these suggestions in the spirit in which
they
were intended - as constructive feedback to a station i generally like
but
whose volume i have to continually adjust...or mute.

best regards,
ash arnett

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Date: Mon, 02 Sep 2002 10:56:03 +0100
Subject: Request for a Fistfull song
From: "Phil Cartwright" <philcart@... >

I am listening in Manchester England, the sun is shining for the 4th time
this year!!!!, how lucky are we?

Anyway could you play one of the cool ass tracks from the Fight Club
soundtrack

Rock on for your birthday
Phil

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Date: Sun, 08 Sep 2002 23:18:59 -0400
From: "Alissa Stockage" <ageliss@... >
Subject: Hello from UCONN

Hello Jim,
My name is Alissa, but everyone calls me AJ. Just writing to you
to
tell you I love your show. I'm a major movie buff and your unique
blend
of "classics" is awesome. Keep up the good work. And I'd really
appreciate it if you would please play the sound track from the Bond
movie: From Russia With Love. Enjoy your evening.

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Subject: Sound Check
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 10:01:40 -0400
From: "Tony Affrunti" <taffrunti@... >

Jim,

I've been looking for an internet radio station like yours for a while
now, and I love A Fistful of Soundtracks. Except for one thing -- could
you please make a sound level check and keep your voice a little closer
to the mid-range volume of the music?

I recently discovered A Fistful of Soundtracks and now listen to your
station all the time. But my workmates are getting annoyed because your
voice is so much louder than the music, and so I have to turn the
volume down whenever you come on! I actually enjoy your comments, but
they're too loud! If I remember, I turn it back up when things are quiet, to
hear the music. Sometimes when the radio's ID comes on I have to just
turn it off - the jarring transitions between the extra-loud soundtrack
sound-bites and sound effects are too much.

If there is anything you can do about this, my workmates would probably
appreciate as much as I would -- maybe more. Then I could listen all
day!

Thanks for bringing the diverse music of the movies to my little corner
of the world.

Tony Affrunti
Senior Web Designer
WURLD media, inc.(tm)
www.wurldmedia.com

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Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 14:34:15 -0500
Subject: request
From: "Andrew Lucia" <alucia@... >

let's have the soundtrack to the french connection. we are enjoying the
tunes at work. keep em coming. thanks

lucia

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Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2002 04:22:07 -0700
Subject: Love your Music - Can I have some?
From: "Mike Sarkany" <syzygy96@... >

Coming home after night shift and turning on Fistful of
Soundtracks
hits the spot like a good steak.

Got a yearning for some beautiful music like watching a sunrise
from
the Alps.

How 'bout a selection called Piz Gloria from On Her Majestry's
Secret
Service?

Appreciate it

A new fan

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Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 03:56:33 -0400
Subject: Wowy kazowy!
From: "Harry Kollatz Jr." <harryk@... >

--
Harry Kollatz Jr.
Arts and Entertainment editor, Senior Writer
Richmond Magazine
2201 W. Broad St. Ste. 105
Richmond, Va. 23220

Jim:

Up late and facing deadline pressures for a feature piece on
public
education here in Richmond and what should I find but your piece of the
Internet. Love it! International Music of Mystery is just what I
needed. I
hope I can listen to it at some point, my suggestions would include
"The
Battle of Britain" sound track, especially the opening theme and the
German
oom-pah-pah onward to victory march; "The Great Escape" and "The Eagle
Has
Landed" themes. Also, don't know if you do television stuff at all, but
"Lost In Space" actually had two themes, the first being more mid-1960s
sleazy listening, as you say, the second the more remembered beeping
and
whirring variety.
Speaking of which, if I could find somebody who could identify for
me
the origin of the theme from the old Andy Griffith junk man-in-space
series
from the the late 1970s called "Project One." It was a big, instrunetal
score and my junior high school chorus teacher told me once that it was
from
a Verdi opera. But I don't know.
And there is a piece of music that has stuck in my head and I have
no
idea the name of the film. I saw it on a Sunday afternoon here about,
goodness knows, nearly 20 years ago and I'm sure the film was made in
the
late 1950s or early 1960s. It was a dubbed foreign movie, possibly
Mexican
or Italian and had to do with UFOs landing in a small town. Since I was
about the age of Hormonal Activation I remember the uniformed town cop,
a
guy in a peaked hat and a moustache, rolling around in a hay bale with
a
lusty farmer's daughter and he telling her, in his Anglicized voice,
"Call
me your little pig," and so forth. It has this crazy sound track that I
taped at the time and due to how the mind works at that age, the music
is
permanently engrained in the whorls of my cerebellum--but only snippets
of
it. Nutty.
Thanks for doing what you do.
--HEK

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Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 18:31:03 +0200
Subject: HI, JIM. I AM A LISTENER FROM SPAIN WITH SOME REQUESTS
From: "JOSEAN" <josean@... >

First of all, congratulations for your programme. I have very recently
come
up to it, and it is the kind of radio show I was waiting for. There is
nothing like it in my country, yet there are one hour shows about
soundtracks in some broadcasts, but nothing like a 24 hour soundtrack
broadcasting. It is great!

I love soundtracks and I try to collect them. I particularly like the
ones
to the sci-fi and horror movies in the late 70's and the 80's (the
greatest
era of the genre!) And some of them are difficult to find in this side
of
the river. So here are some requests of s/f and non s/f movie
soundtracks
i'd like to listen to:

Great Ennio Morricone's ORCA, THE KILLER WHALE
Jerry Goldsmith´s BASIC INSTINCT
The duel of banjos from DELIVERANCE
J.Williams' version to Cole Porter at the beginning of INDIANA JONES
AND THE
TEMPLE OF DOOM
The lullaby that appears in Roger Moore and Stacy Keach' movie STREET
PEOPLE

Probably these are too many requests, but surely I have more. I will
write
again. (Excuse my English) Best regards,

Josean (HO-ZA-UN, more or less)

From VITORIA - EUSKADI - SPAIN

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Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 14:17:38 -0700
Subject: Request
From: "Jay Rendon" <jay@... >

Hey Jim,

Great station. Listen to it all day at work.

How about that opening vocal track (I think it's in Portuguese) on the
Primal Fear soundtrack or something from Hoffa?

Thanks,

Jay in SF,CA

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Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 19:05:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Crystal DeGrote" <madcrystal22@... >
Subject: the music

Jim
I just wanted to tell you that I am really enjoying
your shows featuring Paramount movie soundtracks.
Overall I think your radio show is excellent and also
enjoyed your website. I agreed with many of your top
2001 choices. I even used a link from your website to
read an article about racism in the movie and passed
it on to my sociology class (coincidentally, at the
time I was even doing my sociology homework, or not
doing it I guess).
Keep up the good work with the soundtracks!
Crystal

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Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 21:11:53 -0500
Subject: Xanadu
From: "Tesia Kosmalski" <tkone@... >

Hi -

I simply love Olivia Newton John's/Electric Light Orchestra's masterpiece
Xanadu! But, I've since lost my older brothers copy of the soundtrack.

Could you play a track from that album for me??? Preferably from the ELO
side if possible. Thanks!

Tk
Minneapolis, MN

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Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 09:24:02 -0400
Subject: Fistful of Requests
From: heathernmoore1969@...

Like you've never heard *that* joke before...

I'd like to enter a request for a webcast of music from Russell
Crowe
movies, especially LA CONFIDENTIAL, GLADIATOR, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD,
VIRTUOSITY, and A BEAUTIFUL MIND.

Yes, yes, **especially** GLADIATOR and A BEAUTIFUL MIND. Gorgeous
work, there.

Thanks, Jim! Love the show!

-- Heather Moore
Orlando, Florida, listening to you on a spiff new iBook
700mhz.

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From: "Quandt, Marc" <Marc.Quandt@... >
Subject: INSTANT REQUEST EMAIL
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 08:39:46 -0700

Jim,

Just found your station on iTunes. It's just what we've been looking for at the Judge Mathis TV Show offices.

Could you play us a track from Vanilla Sky?

Thanks,
Q

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Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 10:53:09 -0600
Subject: REQUEST FROM ALBERTA!!!!
From: "Ben Moodie" <benm@... >

Jim,

Play me a tune from either the new ‘Four Feathers’ or ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ scores. If they’re too new, let’s hear the theme from Crouching Tiger.

Thanks a heap!

--
Ben Moodie

Promotions Coordinator

Cascadia Motivation Inc.

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Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 11:29:18 -0600
Subject: ALBERTA REQUEST AGAIN
From: "Ben Moodie" <benm@... >

Jim;

You’re gonna kill me but I couldn’t listen long enough yesterday to see if you played my request. It sounded like you pretty much had your playlist already figured out though, so here’s my request again. Let’s hear something from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Thanks in advance

Hey - I have a question for you too. My buddy who works across from me says he used to listen to CJSW in Calgary (College Radio) and they had a soundtrack show called “Aquino Ear” and he thought he recognized your voice. So we were wondering if that was you or if maybe you have no idea what we’re talking about and we’ve just proved how we have too much free time on our hands...

Anyway later love your show

--
Ben

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Jim here: Nope, that wasn't me. That's a different Aquino.

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From: "Weinstein, Phil" <Phil.Weinstein@... >
Subject: Request
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 17:05:11 -0700

Jim,
Great scores, not so great movie, request:

John Debney's score to 'Cutthroat Island' and Allan Sylvestri's score
to
'The Mexican'

Thanks,
Phil

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Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 10:37:27 -0700
Subject: Theme idea
From: "Jay Rendon" <jay@... >

Hey Jim,

Diggin your show up here in San Francisco. I had a theme idea for you:
Sword
Fightin' Soundtracks--movies that have sword fights in them. Movies
like:

Lord of the Rings
Return of the King (Animated version)
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Destroyer
Excalibur
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves
Gladiator
Highlander
Princess Mononoke
The Man Behind the Iron Mask
The Three Musketeers
Cyrano DeBergerac
The Sea Wolf
The Musketeer
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Braveheart
Last of the Mohicans
Camelot (The musical)
The Mission
Lion in Winter
Ben Hur
Elizabeth
Shakespeare in Love
Henry V (Brannagh version)
Hamlet (Brannagh version)
First Knight
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Empire Strikes Back
13th Warrior

Okay, so I took a few liberties. I¹m not sure there were any word
fights in
Lion in Winter or Camelot. The fights in Shakespeare in Love or the
Mission
aren't terribly central to the plot. Light sabers aren't really swords.
And
yes, most, if not all, the musketeer movies blow huge chunks. That said
I
think there are some great tracks in those movies and I'm sure there
are
tons that have slipped my mind. Anyway just a thought. Keep up the
great
show.

Best,

Jay

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From: "David Green" <panr235@... >
Subject: yo
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 15:47:35 -0700

Yo Jim:

Your program rules. The mailbag girl rules. Gracie rules. Gracie is
reading
this right now, and that rules.
You know what else rules? Michael Mann's THE INSIDER and the music
that's in
it. If you could play something from THE INSIDER, that would rule. The
track
"Iguaza" especially rules, and it would rule if you could play it.

Keep up a show that rules.

Mike, from Berkeley

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From: dcscribe@...
Subject: From A Fellow Filmtrax Fiend
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 19:28:41 -0400

Hey, Jim:

Just discovered your show on Live 365, after doing a random search on Google. Wish I had discovered your show a lot sooner, so I could've saved a lot of bucks on buying the albums that I wouldn't hear otherwise. (I think I have so many at this point, I could probably do a show of my own...or maybe sub for somebody while they're on vacations (HINT HINT!) LOL!)

Anyway, what really drew me to your site and the station was the title, since I consider Morricone to be "Da MAN" as well. It's really hard to find music he's done that is anything but superb, (even if the movies he composed them for weren't all that.)

I don't have any specific requests, but I do have an idea you could use for a future show, if you haven't already. It just so happens I am a champion for good music from bad films (or shall we say, "non-box office smashes,") and I think that great soundtracks from films that didn't quite make it are always given short shrift.

So, how about a show that spotlights these gems, with a title like, oh, I don't know---"Dissed Discs?" You definitely know what you're doing in the way of selection, so what follows here are just my suggestions for the playlist you could use for this particular segment:

Main Titles: WISDOM (Danny Elfman)

"The Hell Of It": PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (Paul Williams)

"Boyd's Journey": RAVENOUS (Michael Nyman/Damon Albarn)

"Regan's Theme/Magic And Ecstasy": EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC (Ennio Morricone)

"Driver Down": LOST HIGHWAY (Trent Reznor/NIN)

"Magalenha": DANCE WITH ME (Sergio Mendes)

"Big Battle": DUNE (Toto/Marty Paich/Allyn Ferguson)

Okay, I'll shut up now and go back to listening. Thanks, man, and keep up the good work.

L8ter,
C.T. Chase

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Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2002 11:48:10 -0300
Subject: Kudos, a soothing 'splanation and an idea
From: "Jay Silver" <spectacle1@... >

Hey Jim,

Yay! At last - some new stuff! The "I've got mail - again!" show is
great
and I think the addition of your mailbag girl Gracie is a good one. Who
couldn't use a sidekick in their everyday life?

I wanted to throw my two cents in on the whole "sound levels" thing:
except
for that one clown who doesn't want to hear you at all, I think
everyone
only wanted you to point out that your announcements can sometimes seem
considerably louder than the tunes, like how a commercial can be louder
than
the shows on TV. Speech is just a different type of sound than music
and
should be at a lower volume so it isn't too intrusive. I hope this
doesn't
just enrage you further - personally, I think anyone who regularly puts
together anything this entertaining deserves a lot of credit.

I've also got an idea for a show. I'd like to hear one featuring the
music
of experiment movies that made great waves in their particular genre,
or
were so innovative that they created one - the kind of stuff that
requires
the kind of leap of faith you don't usually get out of Hollywood.

A few suggestions to get you thinking:

Fantasia
Tron
Legend
Star Wars
Blade Runner
The Dark Crystal
Citizen Kane
Memento
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Akira
King Kong
Snow White
The Last Temptation of Christ
Fight Club
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Love the show!

-j

-

Jay Silver

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Date: 02 Oct 2002 13:44:10 -0500
From: "Sarah Branson" <sbranson@... >
Subject: a fistful of greetings from minneapolis

Hi Jim,

Thanks so much for playing my requests, and for including the
effervescent Grand Slam theme. The running commentary provided me with the best
laugh I'd had in weeks, which in turn scared nearby coworkers. They
thought the new kid had finally snapped. You and Gracie warmed the
depths of my cynical ad agency soul.

Keep doing that voodoo that you do. Thanks again!

Sarah Branson
Assistant Interactive Writer, Intern
Periscope

P.S. Do you have another indie film tribute in the works?

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Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 07:53:37 -0700
From: "Carlos Guerra" <cguerra@... >
Subject: Thank You

Hey bro thank you for the really cool music station...
I dont know what I would do without Fistful of Soundtracks
every morning...
Carlos G.

Jim Aquino
October 5, 2002

© 2002 Jim Aquino

See previous "Intros"

September 2002: Recent writing gigs

August 2002: Forgotten music video hotties and recent episodes of Fistful on Live365

July 2002: Listener requests and favorite summertime TV shows, and also, another peek into the Fistful mailbag

June 2002: Fistful's fifth anniversary

May 2002: Spider-Man, "Fistful Internacional Month" and Cowboy Bebop