RADIO FREE BLASPHEMY

Jan 1, 2006 12:00 PM

It's not often that the legendary media pranksters and sound collagists of Negativland take their work to the stage, but they did stop by San Francisco's Great American Music Hall in October for a couple of unique performances. On Oct. 26, three members of Negativland's revolving cast turned the venue into their own mock radio studio, complete with various mixing boards, microphones and a lighted “On Air” sign — GAMH even handed out blindfolds to wear during the show to approximate a true radio experience. Given that Negativland has broadcast Over the Edge on KPFA in Berkeley, Calif., since 1981, the setup was no surprise. But this was not a simulation of Over the Edge, but of a new fictional station, “It's All in Your Head FM — Putting the less back in godless.”

Through various radio plays, monologues, song mash-ups and sound bites — including a recurring “There is no god!” sample and a jingle espousing that “Christianity is stupid” — Negativland crafted a poignant commentary on Judeo-Christian monotheism that was both funny and thought-provoking. And the three men onstage did it all (multiple character voices, sample triggering and musical interludes) in a fluid, streaming fashion, just like real radio-station programming. But this was indeed a station that would even test the limits of San Francisco's tolerance, which was, of course, Negativland's intent. The audience would have expected nothing less.

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