Lost Hits of the New Wave #31

Remember Karin Begin? I do. I was unaware of her local, and then much later real, demise however. This blog entry started off as one about Beat Planet, a local WXPN radio show that was influential to me back in the day. I may get to it at some point in the future, but in researching it, I came upon the sordid tale of Karin Begin.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s I loved WXPN, the radio station of the University of Pennsylvania. They were the successful adult version of what passes for most college radio. They were not just different and sophisticated, but they were cool too. Hell, they were the coolest. They had wonderful specialized music programs like Amazon Country, Joe Frank, Gay Dreams, Star's End, Sleepy Hollow, Yesterday's Now Music Today, and the aforementioned Beat Planet. And they also had regular deejays as well.

Afternoon drive was where I discovered Karin Begin on XPN. She was quirky, edgy, fun, and played great music. And she was a redhead, and I've always had a thing for redheads. I always enjoyed listening to her. But music was changing, and around then new wave was becoming alternative, and alternative was becoming mainstream. A shiny new station called WDRE caught my attention for a couple years, and I missed what happened to poor Karin Begin.

Karin Begin became so hot, a Philadelphia magazine did a story on her, one that went from feature to expose when her background turned out to be falsified. When it further came out her entire resume was made up, XPN fired her. Upon reading about it, I did remember some of the details. She intimated she and Kiefer Sutherland had been an item, and was in his movie The Bay Boy. I remember renting it to see her, but couldn't find her.

While I cheated on XPN with DRE, Karin moved to one of my favorite radio stations, Z Rock in Baltimore, as Shannon Rock. There she was interviewed for "48 Hours" for an episode about lying, which resulted in her dismissal there. Does anyone check resumes any more?



Karin next resurfaced in San Francisco as Darian O'Toole doing mornings and competing with the syndicated Howard Stern with her own brand of talk, rock, and raunch. She did well for a while with her 'ovaries with attitude' identity there, and her propensity for untruth continued to be part of her repertoire as well. Eventually she list that job too.

In 2008, at the age of 40, Karen Begin died of respiratory failure, complications from, believe it or not, a broken leg. A real shame. She might have been a compulsive liar, but from what I remember, and what I read, a very cool and resourceful lady. Perhaps, in her own way, she was another lost hit of the new wave.

24: The Real Redemption

In its first season, even its second and third, “24” was my favorite television series. Its concept of real time action as well as its edgy and ever-intense plots and subplots made it something special in the beginning. Then it got old, and then it got copied, and then it just got boring – a parody almost of itself.

I really wasn’t sure I was going to watch the current seventh season at all, and based on the mini-movie “24: The Redemption” that aired recently and repeated last week, I was pretty sure I was done with Jack Bauer and company. It was unwatchable, even with Robert Carlyle guest-starring and he’s one of my faves. For me, “24” was over.


On a whim, just in case, I dvr-ed the first two new episodes of “24” earlier this week. Then I started to hear good things, surprising things about it, and from folks whose opinions I usually trust. I figured I’d better check it out. Wow. Guess what, baby, “24” is back!

Armitage III

A Video Review of "Armitage III: The Polymatrix"

Copyright 2003 Glenn Walker

This is typical anime; cyberpunk, robots, chicks with big eyes and blood and guts. What sets Armitage III apart from the rest is the Americanization of the flick. It’s not just dubbed, it’s dubbed by star voices. Rather than the regular crew of folks who always dub these things this one has employed the celebrity vocal skills of Elizabeth Berkley (Showgirls and "Saved by the Bell") and Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys and "24").

The problem with celebrity dubbing is that sometimes a voice is too familiar. Sutherland’s character is black-haired so I had a problem associating the voice with the character with his voice. I had similar difficulties with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Alec Baldwin.

The only thing that takes you out of the flick is the disproportion of the leads. Sutherland is portrayed very realistically while Berkley is your typical petite scantily clad anime babe with big eyes. It may be the style but it becomes most irritating after awhile.



The story involves a serial killer offing robot women on Mars with Sutherland and Berkley as the officers investigating. Even with the cyberpunk and ultraviolent anime trappings this has the distinct feel of an American buddy cop movie. Good story, great characters and involving story, all around a well done piece.