An earworm is the name given to that little bit of music that the mind plays with as other work needs to get done. It can be a phrase, a lyric, or some notes and it’s the mind’s way of saying it’s bored.
A tiggle is that little idea tucked away in the back of the mind that keeps wriggling and turning as one thinks on the subject. Most great inventions come from tiggles. The lightbulb is such an example. Thomas Edison slowly worked his way through thousands of different materials until he figured out how to illuminate inspiration. Now we have lightbulbs instead of candles.
The local library can often be a source of tiggles with bits and pieces of ideas floating around the books, magazines, and other toys of the creative mind. Just think of the fun that a plastic spider can create when put in the right place and with the right person. Pandemonium yields excitement.
Radio is often a source of tiggles — not the sugary pop stuff that inhabits most of the local radio scene but in more elusive prey. Canadian radio will host a variety of shows from healthcare, science, and other cultures to contemporary music, music forms, and interviews with creative artists. The local radio offerings are poor by any comparison. Yes, playing the latest hit song by some one-hit wonder may appeal to a youthful audience steeped in boredom, but it does little to foster new ideas. Where is the local band on the local airwaves?
The County produces some impressive musicians. Ellis Paul comes to mind. Even though his routes run right through Presque Isle and he has fond memories, family, and friends in town, not one local radio station will give him a show or play his music. Pity, as he can make some of these pop stars sound like a blown muffler on a Ford: Blaaaatz! Windy, smelly, but nothing to write about. Surely such a creative talent could get some airtime on a regular basis. It might make the deejays improve their patter if they were presented with smart, scintillating beats instead of the bland bean sprout spreads they currently introduce. Improvements are only wishes.
Another County singer who definitely fits a country mold is Buck Edwards. Buck and his family have a long and storied presence here in the Star City. From a rascal in high school, with supposedly much more mouth than status, to a senior academic entrusted with the inculcation of youth in a larger community in Maine, Buck has kept his sanity by developing his country roots. His latest contribution: “The Great American Novel.” Best to listen to the samples on his website since local radio and local television will not give the time of day to a decent warbler.
Songs like, “Riding Shotgun”, “God Bless the Country Life” and Been There, Done That” form the base for a variety of cheeky takes on County life. “The Great AMerican Novel celebrates times past, present and future.” Buck T. Edwards gets lots of airplay on European radio stations and hardly a whimper in his hometown, yet his celebration of life here in The County rings throughout the lyrics and beat. Well worth a moment of time. If his songs were taken seriously the priest’s collar would curdle, the maiden aunt would turn crimson, and memories of the parade of cars on Main Street on a summer’s night would come to mind. Check out his website at Buckedwards.com. Perhaps sometime in the future he will be a regular on local airwaves. Until then it’s a “Hot Dog! It’s Saturday Night!” in The County.
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
