Nic Harcourt Screwed Me

I am not a morning person.  In fact, I think it is inhumane of the world at large to expect productivity from me before even the sun has really gotten into its groove.  Not to say I am a complete vegetable before lunch time.  I have been known to successfully commune with my cat, after some claw-enhanced encouragement from her. Or take a hike in the hills, if the barometric pressure is just right and I have clean laundry.  Or enjoy a well-brewed cup of coffee, made by someone else.  Or engage in some morning sex, assuming neither my partner nor I have eaten Mexican or Indian the night before. But aside from these activities, I’m pretty hopelessly incoherent prior to 10 a.m. at least.  So my reliance on Nic Harcourt can be easily understood.

For those not in the know, Nic Harcourt is a musical taste-maker.  Until today, he has also been the weekday morning DJ at KCRW – by far the best radio station in the city – Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.  He’s responsible for introducing me, as well as most of Los Angeles and the majority of those Clear Channel minions who control American airwaves, to everyone from Coldplay and Damien Rice to Kinky and Goldfrapp to Radiohead and Portishead.  He has been part of my morning routine for years.  And then, suddenly, with barely a whimper of warning, he has deserted me – no phone call, no letter of regret, barely even a nod.  I feel like a discarded tramp who thought she was getting a ring.  I have spent my entire day in bleary mourning.

Now, I know that Harcourt hasn’t completely left the building – he’s still doing a show on Sunday nights from 6 to 9 p.m.  I also know that his replacement, Jason Bentley, has some skills.  At the moment, however, that is all about as much consolation as “friends with benefits.”  How do I survive without Nic Harcourt’s British accent counteracting the jarring sound of my alarm?  Where is my self-esteem if I cannot compare my bad-hair-day to his?  How will I single-handedly support Amoeba Music if he is not my shopping guide?

Perhaps I will just sleep until Sunday…

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