Daily Dialogue — December 11, 2016

ERIC: What you were just listening to was some kind of creative… uh… almost x-rated, uh, radio, here, from Eric Swan on QSKY FM. What I did was, uh… I, uh, mixed together some — a new sound effects record… The Sound of Love, and intertwined it with some folk music from, uh, France. And now back to something a little more traditional. Hope you enjoyed it. Hi. What’s the matter? 
CATHY: Don’t “what’s the matter” me! I heard what’s going on in here.
ERIC: What are you all doing in here? Hey, come on, come on. Artist at work.
CATHY: Eric…
ERIC: I’m trying to create. Out, out, out, out, out, out. Cathy, before you go, would you file this for me? Please, or do you want to take it home with us? Hmm? Come on, fans I love, but not while I’m working. Okay? Out, out, out, out, out. Okay? Lamar…Mr. Lamar, sorry, can you shut that after? You’re a great guy. Okay, thank you very much. Love your jacket, incidentally, it’s beautiful.

— FM (1978), written by Ezra Sacks

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Excuse. Today’s suggestion by Will King.

Trivia: Much of the plot of the movie is about the management of the station resisting the push to change to stations format to include more commercials than music. Tom Petty, who has a cameo in the film, fought his own battle against his recorded label over the album “Hard Promises”. The album had been given the superstar price of $9.89, versus $8.98. Petty balked at the change, threatening to hold up the album’s release. Much like the characters in FM, this stand won Petty a loyal fan base standing behind him in support.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “Caught in potentially damaging circumstances, characters sometimes have to be able to fast talk their way out of troubles of their own creation. Here, Eric Swan tries to bluff his way out of his faux pas and make it appear that everyone else is making improper assumptions. Nobody’s buying it, but they can’t see any evidence to contradict him.”

Ah, the 70s!