EYES WIDE TERRIFIED

I remember listening to Something Cool on 94.7 when I was in *middle school*. 94.7 was my station (I was a sophisticated 13 year old alternative rock listener, KUFO was for knuckle draggers, obviously), and I would turn on this show while waiting for Loveline on Sunday nights. Jaime Cooley was the host, and Something Cool was a showcase for alternative/indie rock that wasn’t getting a lot of play in the nu-metal era. She eventually became the music director of the station, and it was interesting how the music matured as I did. By the time I was out of high school, they’d been at the center of a national controversy about an on air bit, and were in the process of switching gears to the station they are today. I got a job there eventually, which was a total dream come true, and Jaime was the one who hired me. We really connected over our favorite bands, and *totally geeked out* over the band Bloc Party (Silent Alarm was and is still a mandatory weekly spin).

She lost her job there after something like 16 years, which anyone in this industry will tell you is an insane amount of time to work at one station. And for your first gig to last that long? Like, unheard of. We were on the phone until 3 in the morning that night talking about it. I didn’t do a good job of staying in touch with her after that, and I really regret that. The last time I saw her was at her birthday party a few weeks later. I couldn’t stay long because I was still working at the station and had to go to work that evening, but we had some drinks and I gave her a big hug and thanked her for inviting me, because I thought everyone else there was a lot cooler than me and it meant something that she wanted me there.

I don’t think she ever really recovered from losing her job at 94.7 - it was her entire world, and all she’d ever known as an adult. Starting at a job at 17 being there through your twenties and into your thirties hasn’t been a ‘thing’ for decades, she was one of the few. She really loved that place.

She passed away last year. It was an accident, and it’s not fair and a lot of people miss her a lot. Her name still shows up in my Gmail chat window, which is bittersweet.

ANYWAY, today’s her birthday! This was her favorite song - happy birthday, Jaime! I didn’t know you as well as I’d have liked to, and got to know you more than I ever thought I would.

POP OFF!