Madman and his music: For nearly 25 years, he's filled airwaves with zany tunes
 |
|
||||||||||
"Let's start off with 'Cows With Guns' and then follow up with a little Northwest ditty called 'Godzilla Ate Tukwila,'" said Madman Moskowitz. Carrying the beat-up cardboard box of LPs, 45s, tapes and CDs, the Madman jokes about his "oh-so-classy" carrying case. He sets the carton down, opens the flaps and starts to rummage through a mixed bag of music, some dating to the 1930s.
|
He doesn't play your typical top-40 hits, nor is he your typical radio guy, for that matter. Madman Moskowitz, also known as schoolteacher Robert Baron, has been spinning his unusual tunes and turning the Seattle radio scene on its ear for nearly 25 years. Who else would play Tex Ritter and Monty Python on the same show?
Each Sunday evening, he begins "Music with Moskowitz" with its trademark disclaimer taking no responsibility for the content of his show. From songs that say eating vegetables is murder, to tunes about cows revolting and toting guns, Moskowitz believes in freedom of play.
His madcap style and musical tastes have cultivated a fiercely loyal following. Many have listened for years, following the show as it wandered across the radio spectrum and found homes at different stations.
Karen Todd, a Seattle native, has been listening for nearly nine years.
"The goofy stuff. Songs you won't hear elsewhere, that's what keeps me listening," she said. Todd is so hooked on Moskowitz's show that she tapes it each week.
When Moskowitz, 56, is not on the air creating music mayhem, his alter ego, Robert Baron, is in the schoolyard teaching journalism and math to eighth-grade students at Alderwood Middle School in West Lynnwood. He has been teaching for more than 33 years.
As a man leading a double life, do his worlds collide? Not at all.
"Being here keeps me balanced," Moskowitz said. "I think I am a little more serious at school. Here, I have a better sense of humor."
Moskowitz plays music exclusively from his 50,000-album collection. Each weekend, he pulls together a play list compiled from the caller requests and new finds from his thrift-store expeditions. Some of his favorite songs come from rare in-studio recordings of traveling musicians.
Many of these works were never recorded outside of the stations, but Moskowitz has managed to find a lot of them.
One of his most recent prized finds is a much-coveted Annette Funicello "Pineapple Princess" CD.
"Now, how many people can say they have this?" he said, proudly holding up his treasure. For Moskowitz, every item in his collection is a collector's item.
At the time Moskowitz started his career in radio, he was looking for a name that would fit his madman personality. He was always known as a "Madman," but now he needed a last name. That's when he came across Stuart Moskowitz, an artist famous for his offbeat work portraying rabbits on roller skates and other wacky visions. To Baron, it seemed like an appropriate tribute.
Is there anything he won't play? "Not much."
About the only thing he won't play are songs such as "Kinko, the clown," a song about pedophiles. "Even I have my limits," he said.
When asked how long he planned on doing the show, without hesitation he smiled and said: until he simply can't do it anymore.
"It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it."