Radio Unnameable

Bob Fass, and some of the other people on WBAI were VERY influential in my (earlier) radio career. In fact, I did a program called "Son of Radio Unnameable" on my college radio station, WFDU (closed circuit), and later used the same influences in a variety of long form montage/collage documentaries on a range of topics when I worked in Public Radio (principally WBUR Boston - where I started Car Talk). To return to those memories, and visit with Bob today was more than just a nice flashback. It was a return to an earlier time when vinyl records, reel-to-reel tape, splicing tape and analogue meant radio and creativity came from pushing the limits of what the technology could do in those times. But more than technology were the human elements, the warm, sincere voice, the active listening to the listener, and perhaps most importantly, the social engagement in the turbulent times of the 60s and 70s. Bob Fass influence a lot of people - including me as we moved forward to make a difference through the radio. This was a great movie to honor that influence. Read more

As far as my memory can be relied on, I started listening to Bob on my little teenage bedroom radio around '69. Back then it was a nightly "thang", but all that would change for me around 1976 when I no longer lived within the environs of NYC. Flash-forward to recently...Bob & Radio Unnameable are still around (even if it's only once per week - & from his home), but the reality of LIVE RADIO never changes! Obviously I enjoyed this vid, and you will too if you are interested in "what it was like during the '60s". Read more

This documentary is testimony to what one man can bring about in the media. Bob Fass began bringing the world he experienced as an actor in Greenwich Village to people still up at what is still called by some "ungodly hours." He gave exposure to musical and spoken word artists such as Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie and Jerry Jeff Walker. Fass was the first to treat callers to the program as part of a community and not just as a way of making the host sound good. "Radio Unnameable" was a conduit towards activism that found housing for fire victims and cleaning up parts of Manhattan after a calamitous winter garbage collectors' strike. I was touched by the Verizon overnight worker who said she felt connected and a companion to Fass in one ear while she was at work. No matter what your opinion is of the politics espoused among the people who gathered and/or were drawn together by Bob Fass "Radio Unnameable" illustrates quite clearly how one personality's approach made and still makes an impact on the listener's world. Read more

A good documentary about a New York radio show host who had many great people from the 60s and 70s on his program--also includes rare footage of the 1967 "raising of the Pentagon" Yippie protest. Read more

Paul did a outstanding job with this film! Really made me feel like i was there. wish i would have been. Read more

Fro anyone who wants to find out what the spirit of radio really means. Read more

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This documentary certainly has a limited audience that has beed programmed to enjoy it. If you listened to Bob Fass going back in to 60's and found yourself staying up all night then you are part of the Cabal and will want to see this film. Frankly, one watch was enough and I hope I find someone I can pass it on to who will enjoy watching it. Read more