In June 1965, a new show hit the ABC airwaves: Dick Clark’s Where The Action Is, a weekday showcase of pop music performances, interviews, and dance numbers. Featuring everyone from Aretha Franklin to Buffalo Springfield to Otis Redding to The Who, WTAI held America’s teens in its thrall for two glorious years.
In October 2017, a new show hit the KRLX airwaves: Where The Action Was, a weekly rock history showcase for the on-campus and online listeners of Carleton College’s student-run radio station. Each week, DJ Owen Pasley takes listeners back to a particular place (scene, genre, etc.) in musical time, from ’60s California folk rock to ’70s glam rock to French yé-yé to Philly soul and beyond. With an historian’s knack for research and a bin diver’s eye for obscure musical gems, Pasley delivers superbly curated playlists that capture a musical moment and invite listeners to join him where the action was.
Header image by Jennifer Waits, “Touring College Radio Station KRLX at Carleton College”