Groundhog Day Special! (Retrocast)
(Featuring a Groundhog Day themed show from 2009!)
Here’s a radio special from six years ago, addressing the rarely-discussed subject of Groundhog’s Day, or in some cases, music about Hogs, the ground, and shadows. In this show, we ask the question: where have all the Groundhog songs gone? This one won’t pop up in the podcast feed, but as always, you can either stream or download this one to your heart’s content.
I was absolutely shocked at how little Groundhog music there was to play for this show. Any musicians out there looking for something to write about, now’s your chance! This holiday is largely unclaimed, and you could be the one to release the very first Groundhog Day Rock Record.
About halfway through the program I offer a rambling and disjointed history of Groundhog Day. Most of the information was culled from several passes over the Inter-Web-A-Tron, so it’s as reliable as anyone else is these days.
I have always had a fascination with holidays like this, and when I was growing up I really felt the need to celebrate as best as I could in whatever way relevant. I was the kid who was planting a tree on Arbor Day, coloring images or our President’s on President’s Day, and reading about the various ceremonies surrounding Flag Day. But with control over the weather, Groundhog Day seemed absolutely magical as a kid.
The irony of Groundhog Day is that it is intentionally set six weeks before the official start of Spring, a sort of joke played on kids who really think the groundhog is special. But there is something nice about being forward thinking in that respect anyway. After a long winter, we sometimes need a little prognostication regarding what is ahead of us, if for no other reason than to feel that we at least know when we’ll see the sun again. Given our atypical weather this year in Oregon, and the drought last year followed by a mind winter, I can only imagine that the next six weeks will actually be cold anyway, to finally deliver the winter we deserve.
But I’ll be happy just to know the little guy popped out of his hole for a moment or two.
[Insert weather report.] If you want to know how things turned out in your area, here’s a very handy website.
Anyway, enjoy this program from the past, and hopefully you are excited about your particular weather report this year.
Enjoy!
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Post-Groundhog Day Special!
Austin Rich 