Instrumental Invasion, 11/17/21: 40th Birthday Special! November 18, 2021

The November 17 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on September 29 and 30. I would have started recording on the 28th, but deferred to the next day due to insomnia the night before. Pickups were recorded on October 21 while remixing segments to 18:30 in length. (The first segment is still 18:40.)

The playlist was created and annotated, and the script was drafted all on September 27.

The format for this week would have been used in my Homecoming Weekend prerecord if I was also granted a live show. Instead, it fit right in on my 40th birthday. I had a great birthday, by the way, and will have a separate recap post at a later date.

I didn’t realize how many males named Kim were in the show until recording began. It was a fun running gag. I was also surprised to learn that Dave Grusin wasn’t the one playing George Gershwin‘s “That Certain Feeling” at the start of his The Gershwin Collection album. It was a player piano playing a roll punched by George himself! Also, the Bryant Reeves “Big Country” reference tied in nicely with a Wayman Tisdale song to follow. As noted, they played basketball at rival colleges.

I made sure to play “Remember When” by Dan Siegel since Ed Alton played bass on it. That way, I could refer to Head of the Class, a show Ed composed for, which I rediscovered on HBO Max two weeks before recording. The reboot premiered earlier this month. (5/13/22 UPDATE: It was canceled in December.)

My use of the phrase “knock on wood if you’re with me” was an homage to (at the time of recording) Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. About a week after recording, unflattering e-mails from Gruden’s past were leaked to the public, which led him to resign.

In case you missed it, this was the first show without a David Benoit song. Don’t worry. He’ll be back next week.

Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below: