RADIO REAGAN. I recently heard a talk about how music can evoke memories of a particular time. This morning I took that kind of musical memory trip while listening to Ken Freedman's June 9, 2004 WFMU show, "The Commemorative Ronald Reagan Hyper-Patriotic Blowout."

You too can hear the three-hour show by clicking on the appropriate link under the photograph on the show's archive page.

As I listened, I remembered the voodoo economics...the Challenger disaster...the threat to choice...the visit to Bitburg...the invasion of Grenada...the celebration of excess...the long silence about AIDS...the surge in homelessness...the contempt for the Constitution...the opposition to gun control...the fired air traffic controllers...the reckless military spending...the shameful Iran-Contra dealings...the callous abandonment of social programs...the marriage of politics and religious zealotry...the demonization of liberals and welfare recipients.

I wish I had happier memories of Reagan's presidency. At least the music on Ken's show was pretty good.

Incidentally, I heard the talk about music at a program hosted by the New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, a donation-worthy group.