Hi friends,

Last week I was in London and saw a giant tower of radios. The tower is built from radios that date from the 1920s through to modern times. Each is tuned to a different station and they all play at the same time. The piece, Babel 2001, at the Tate Modern, is by Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles who calls Babel a “tower of incomprehension.” If you know the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, you have an idea of the inspiration.

When I think about radio (forever my medium of choice), I think about signal vs. noise. A clear, clean signal is what I want to share and listen to. And when I think about signal, I think about clarity of the sonic and informational variety. It coaxes me to listen more closely and absorb what I’m hearing whether it’s music, a baseball game, or a news story.

And then there’s the noise. You know what that is. Our lives are filled with it every moment of every day: the dissonance, the bandwidth/sensory overload, the overstimulation, and the tension. Our bodies and brains weren’t built for this. And, imho, the noise to signal ratio is not in signal’s favor right now.

But the week I just spent in London was a little slice of magic. I went to learn all I could at a conference called MIP London. While I was there I learned, wandered, saw Buckingham Palace, and completely dialed out of the noise from the US. I had no idea how badly I needed to do that until I just… did. I listened to 6 Music and every British band I could think of.

I went to Tate Modern on my last day to see Electric Dreams: Art And Technology Before The Internet (wow!). While there, my friend ushered me to the giant gallery that held Babel 2001. With a clear(ish) brain from the week that was, I threw my head back and started listening. There was the white noise of the multiple broadcasts coming from every individual radio (there are hundreds of them), but I challenged myself to find as many signals as I could — a voice here, a song there. Then I’d fall back into the noise.

No doubt this is what Meireles had in mind when he built the tower. If you ever have the opportunity to go to London, please see this. It was a hard hit of perspective right in the face.

Coincidentally, in our KCRW world, today is Protect My Public Media Day. It’s a national day of action to celebrate and defend public media. I know I sound like that commercial where they say “I liked it so much I bought the company…” but (in a way) it’s true. Radio and TV stations — whether online or on air like KCRW — are locally operated and fully dedicated to our communities whether through independent reporting, emergency coverage, or simply bringing people together.

We care about the signal. We strive to silence the noise. And on a personal level so do I. For us Angelenos it’s been a year (an effing year!) … And it’s only March. Let’s listen to independent voices, focus on the signal, and wipe out the noise. Today is a perfect day to become a KCRW member. And if you can’t right now, do us a favor and sign the pledge.

With love, from LA.

P.S Nerd that I am, a massive highlight of the trip was emerging from the Tate at the end of the day and listening to this. Long live The Kinks.

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