A True Champion
by Teep Mar 19, 2008 in genres, news, radio
It is with real sadness that I report that Tim Haslett passed away unexpectedly. He was a true champion of so many great sounds and styles and in a very distinct way, from the music he turned me onto, I owe many of the connections and contacts I have, including the gentlemen here at moodmat.
As host of the early 90’s WZBC show “hardwired” he educated listeners to the burgeoning sounds coming from the hotspots of electronic music exploration. Along side Brian Coleman he brought “funk to the folks” and took us “back to the old school” each week with two hours of must hear prime time urban style music.
Amongst the Beyond The QE2 Crew we fondly referred to him “The Professor” because of his endless and encyclopedic knowledge of music. Transcending a mere academic approach though, Tim guided us not so much by what he had to say about the music, but through sharing with us what he heard *in* the music. He could illuminate his points with a quick needle drop that would shine a light on the souls behind the music machines. I can clearly see him now, shaking his fingers, squinting behind his spectacles, and bobbing his head along with the beats.
He was as well an eloquent and passionate writer and wrote not only music reviews but delved deep into discourse on black studies. He was a legitimate modern day cultural anthropologist.
As a DJ he was a positive example of how what makes for a good DJ isn’t necessarily that they can beat match and blend two records perfectly and for as long as I can remember, he never much concerned himself with that, he just put his faith in the music, cued up his cuts and let them roll out… start to finish. His knack for staying at the breaking crests of the waves of electronic dance music made for a thrilling ride for us all who knew him.
Personally, what made his company a sincere delight was a boundless sense of humor that would keep us in stitches in the several… correction EVERY local music store he worked in. A typical exchange between us might involve riffing dance music “insider jokes” through the pairing of two disparate camps under one release. I might ask, “Tim, do you have the new Sven Vath on Transmat” and he’d quickly retort, “No, but the Richie Hawtin on Mokum is out and it’s an absolute scorcher!”
Other opportunities for sarcastic humor arose with the advent of trashy throwaway dance music, upon recognizing a particularly gut wrenching trance or progressive house record in the bins, I’d hold it up to him and ask coyly “can you tell me what this is like?” and a smirk would wring out his face as he detailed in exuberance a gumbo of genres that would have you laughing from one ingredient to the next.
In the end though, we always wound up our conversations talking truly about what was moving us and what in the future we were looking forward to… ending with a “see you next week”.
Tim was a special person who touched many people and as such there are a few local events percolating to honor his life, if you’re interested to know details, drop a comment here and I’ll get in touch.
Tags: djs, fm, obituaries, tim haslett, top geezers35 Responses to “A True Champion”
- 1 Pingback on Mar 19th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
- 2 Pingback on Mar 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
- 3 Pingback on Mar 20th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Spot on Teep.
I totally forgot about the game of ‘hey, how does this *crap record in hand* sound like? bit. brilliant in store humor each week.
Chatting with friends the past 24 hours of memories we had with Tim simply bring smiles and laughs firstly, but knowing slices of our record collections are endowed through his insightfulness and making us aware of fantastic noises and rhythms.
bb®
scorcher! i forgot he used to say that, wow!
memories, tim was the best. i’ll miss him
petrina
Well done. The more I remember Tim the more joy it brings me.
Hey it’s the
castawaystowaway (hi Benny) exactly my thoughts last night, my interest in specific records, entire labels, to cities, and sounds… Tim was the spark. What’s worth mentioning is that unlike some of us, his knowledge was not “concentrated” on just one genre, but truly was universal.Hi Petrina - he even had an ear for shoegazing. Pretty sure he put windy and carl records in my hands back when he worked at Other Music.
Shalako - looking over his friendster page will put a smile on your face too. “gregarious, talkative (perhaps a little too much), very dry sense of humor, political zealot and proselytizer for…”
beautiful piece Teep! thanks for this.
I remember calling Tim on Hardwired the first time and asking “what is this and where can I get some of it!” From that point I talked to Tim all I could to listen and learn. He was teacher and conduit for all things new and exiting to me during that time. He was truly ego-less, always kind and understated and his passion for the music drew people to him. I haven’t spoken with Tim for probably close to 10 years now, but hearing this news really affected me and I haven’t stopped thinking of him and how important he was to me while I knew him.
I listened to his Hardwired show religiously during that time and it was on while I was at work, so I’d bring in my old 80s boombox every week and negotiated some desk space in an office at the far corner of the building that eeked out a ZBC signal as best I could. Each week I recorded his shows. I’ve got about 20-22 90-100min cassette tapes of Hardwired (some with Fred too) from mid ‘92 to mid ‘93 and I’m looking for others.
I’m going to digitize these as soon as I can and put them up somewhere. If anyone wants to help with hosting these, let me know.
You will be missed and remembered, Tim.
Well said. I knew Tim a bit from Other Music and was always stunned at how friendly and how knowledgeable he was. Every time I went into OM for a CD or two I’d run into Tim and leave with 7. He knew and liked just about everything I picked up. This is just tragic. First Arthur C Clarke and now Tim Haslett. Both highly influential in my life, personally, but Tim I met and thought he would go on to get more knowledgeable about many more things. Gone too soon. Not to be forgotten. Thanks and goodbye, Tim..
so very well said, thanks for this teep
Never met the Dj however sounds like all the things good all wrapped in one.
Touching piece. I am just learning. I hope ppl will someday say such great things about me.
Rupture - thank you & thanks to Tim.
DJM - hi. conduit is a good way to say it. you are right also to say he was ego-less and so the connection with people was always genuine. I think this also endeared him to those of us who chose to take a bit of a demure approach to DJing. As for those tapes - listen to them and start with your favorites. Get in touch and I’d be honored to host at least one on the aquabahn
CRT - Thank you. Indeed having him at OM kept me going back there. I think some of our long winded conversations got him in some trouble at times.
It is true that from talking to him, you could sense from him an expansive depth of knowledge about much more then just ‘other’ music.
redboy - hi there and thank you.
Sounds like… - yeah, an effort to be ego-less will serve one (and others) well… and I think perhaps his passing is a reminder that a single person’s impact can extend out *well* into the beyond… more then they at the time can know.
I hadn’t talked to Tim since leaving New York almost ten years ago. But hearing this news, seeing his pictures, his Friendster page and hearing everyone else’s remembrances made it all come rushing back. We all have similar stories - his wicked sense of humor, his contagious love of great music, his profound intelligence and the way he left us all better for having known him.
When I was a 19 year-old who thought I knew a lot about music because I had a couple import Cure cassettes, Tim showed me the light. And instead of making me feel stupid for not knowing, he opened my mind and let me share in his great love of music. Being a DJ at WZBC brought some pretty unforgettable people into my life, and I will never, ever be able to forget my friend Tim Haslett.
*maura
When I realize how many people had the same educational discussions with Tim, I wonder how he had time to school everyone and still manage to get anything else done! Losing him makes me filled with regret, and I really wish I had been present for “what genre is this crap record”. As if he didn’t already have enough good qualities. And noone else on the planet could have stocked Other Music the way that he did. Sometimes I wondered if he was an alien.
My recordings of his ZBC show were from the radio, played too many times on cassette, and are somewhere in my mother’s basement. I would love to hear the digitized versions, DJ McMahon, or anything recorded in the studio, if that exists. I specifically remember there was one show in May of ‘92 that I had in heavy rotation. Hi Mo- I’m not sure if you remember me…it’s been about 17 yrs since Tim drove us from BC to Axis Fridays every week! Man, was that really the best time of our lives or what. Aran, I really enjoyed reading your accounts a lot. Thank you. And yes, Tim, the matriarchy WILL rise again. Good bye(for now).
I am absolutely floored that Tim is no longer here on this earth with us. I first met him back in 1989 while DJ’ing at Wellesley College. A little known fact- while Tim had his radio show at WZBC, he also had a weekly radio show on WZLY at Wellesley College. I think I was one of perhaps less than ten people who listened to its broadcast (very tiny listening range). He was the reason why I became interested in techno. My radio partner and I used to record his show, then use some of the tracks on our show, because we had no way to get ahold of the records ourselves! Tim just thought that was hilarious.
He was a brilliant man. His mind was a sponge. No matter the subject, he always had something insightful and meaningful to say. He had the most bizarre sense of humour at times. Left me rolling my eyes and shaking my head on numerous occasions.
We will miss you, Tim.
Teep..
I wasn’t the castaway… (although i guess i am now, since i moved to nyc), but rather… the Stowaway!!!
DJM
i have some server space. i can host some sessions you digitize.
benny@blancodisco.com or blancodisco on aim.
ZBCers who still have shows: how about a 24 hours or something of what made Tim Tick program as a tribute/rememberance/eulogy/Ode to Tim.
He could certainly be crowned or thought of as Boston’s John Peel… but…. it’s Tim Haslett.
It’s tough describing too my wife how he was… it’s more of a you had to be there kind of thing with Tim…. and for all the peeps that new him… get it.
phooey.
okay, time to bust out all the DJAX records… and JACK!
bb®
Tim excelled at sharing his passion for music with everyone. I owe him my introduction to so many artists and musical styles. I wish I could have video-taped him talking/dancing to one of a thousand chicago trax at Boston Beat or Biscuithead or wherever he spread the musical gospel. When the 808 kick would hit, his body would shudder. Scorcher!
Tim was the musical prophet of Boston.
RIP.
- sasha kipervarg
I don’t believe I ever got the chance to meet Tim, but that seems really surprising now seeing how far back I remember seeing his name.
The earliest instance came up in the context of Rockpool and the Brand-X newsletter (man, that seems like a century ago now!). More recently I enjoyed his contributions to XLR8R. He just became one of those names you scanned through the reviews sections to see what he was listening to.
It warms the heart to read so many accounts of his impact on people’s lives — whether it be in person, or his voice shining through the black and white constraints of editorial word counts.
Mo - well said, thanks for your comments. import Cure cassettes, mmm, nice.
Lenore - thanks to you too, for your comments and for holding down elements year after year, I’ll try to make it out to it some day soon. very nice anecdote about the rides to Axis Friday’s and your mention of a matriarchy made me smile and it sounds ripped from Tim’s own pages, he’d smile too I think.
Tina - amazing to hear of his WZLY show, a fact unknown to me! thanks for sharing that. indeed, replaying recorded shows to play “that track” is how we radio folk passed along the yarns in the stories we told before the advent of mp3 blogs. as for his sense of humor and penchant for metaphor, there’s another funny account of it here
benny - indeed *STOWAWAY* not castaway, sorry about that brain fart. ironic but unintentional! as for tribute shows, from my side his passing has solidified an idea I have been kicking around to host some “influences” mixes off the aquabahn more specifically I’ll re-broadcast them on FM airwaves first, then host the rebroadcast online. so yeah DJM, you’ll be hearing from me, get your digitizing setup sorted, the sooner the better. and for sure DJAX is one of those labels he connected us to. “work that muthaf#cker!!”
sasha - indeed, acid burning scorchers… thankfully due to the tapers of his radio show, we should be able to enjoy hearing his on air anecdotes… as well as the music. I am looking forward to that and will relish putting his old WZBC show on the WMBR airwaves! haha! when it’s going to happen, I’ll make a mention of it on the radar/sonar.
seek - I’d expect you and he would have gotten along swimmingly.
I worked with Tim at iCast.com in early 2000. He was one of the most knowledgeable and interesting people I have ever met in my life. One thing that struck me about him was how seemed eager to learn more. He was never condescending about music or anything else. Truly a nice guy. RIP Tim.
touching words Teep. Love that photo of him playing at the Middlesex. Real vinyl, no computers in sight.
I feel a strong connection to Tim’s contributions to the local radio and DJ scene even though they came before my time here. He clearly paved the way for people who paved the way for people like me to be doing what I’m doing now. For that I owe him.
And great stories about nerding out on vinyl. Had I been fortunate enough to meet Tim I think we would have gotten along. I’ll look carefully for things that he might have been played at the station this week. Happy to do what I can to pay tribute.
chief - thanks for sharing your comments, never condescending indeed.
Ghostdad - thank you too. from what I’ve heard on your show you are correct to say there’s a connection, especially being at the Z and the breadth of what you play… I’m bet he’d love the show name too, moforadio!
standing on the shoulders of giants
I am happy to say Amy Grill, the director of Speaking in Code, and a long-time fan and friend of Tim, has offered to dedicate the film to his memory. All these thoughts are on point.
http://wzbc.blogspot.com/2008/03/tim-haslett-1966-2008-tim-haslett.html
sign our blog for tim…..
(teep we stole your pic, hope that’s ok!!)
David - wow, beautiful!
Petrina - nice you have collected up the links. as for “my pic” I stole it from David Day so our thanks go to him.
okay, the first set from Tim Haslett has emerged from DJM and is up on blancodisco.
From WZBC, Hardwired.
http://blancodisco.com/blancoBlog/archives/000080.html
I had to write to thank you all for your postings. While I know Tim’s sister and brother, I had never met Tim. I feel like I know him now. Thank you for that.
Thank you, Tina, for mentioning Tim’s ZLY show. He was on after my slot, I think, all those years ago, and so too I met him for the first time in the basement of Schneider. Then again at Other Music, where he recommended the first vinyl I ever bought for my brother, who is now DJ Mike Swells. Swells will be spinning at the site of the old Other Music (OM) in Harvard Square tonight, and I’ve asked him to dedicate some of his set to Tim.
I can’t believe he’s gone.
Hard to really start putting down on “paper” all the things that Tim meant to me, personally. Most of all, I think that he should be remembered as an eternal and unflappable cheerleader for the underdog. Musically, he was always drawn to bedroom/living room/dank basement productions - artists who made music against all odds, with shitty equipment and with iron resolves. Artists who made music because if they didn’t they felt like they would have exploded. I most definitely learned that same appreciation from him. Many times we were drawn to tunes *just* because they were recorded so poorly (see: “Jazzy Beater” and MC Watchout & DJ O.Z. “Drop The Bass”).
I think that summed up a lot about Tim - his insistence that beauty didn’t have to come from places or sources that most people thought were beautiful.
I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say in the coming weeks, but right now it’s pretty tough to get it all out. Through his passion, humor and energy he changed my life, just like he did with hundreds and thousands of others. There will never be anyone like him.
If you’re in the Boston area on Monday night (3/24) please come down to the Enormous Room in Cambridge. I’ll be throwing down as many of the songs Tim loved as I can, and I hope a lot of other people will bring wax and CDs with them so they can play those too. Wherever he is now, I hope that Tim will be squinting with that irrepressible smile and those amusing (and mysterious…) hand motions that always came together in one hilarious package when he heard something that really made everything come together for him.
Tim used the phrase “weeping in the aisles” a lot, as a humorous addition to any summation of a record’s worth (”that track had them weeping in the aisles”). I think that it’s safe to say that we can use those same words in regard to what people are - or at least should be - doing in record stores and libraries around the world right now.
Brian Coleman
beatbop@comcast.net
Amen
Did anyone here attend Tim’s memorial service on Friday? How was it? Wish I could have gone. Same for Monday night’s music tribute. If anyone has a copy of Genocide II’s “Narramines” PLEASE play it. It was one of Tim’s favourites from back in the day.
Still shocked by all of this. I had always expected that our paths would cross again sometime in the future. We were friends in Massachusetts, then unexpectedly met up again in NY at Other Music. I was so happy to introduce my husband (Taylor Deupree) to Tim as they were two of my early techno influences, and since Tim was one of those “you had to be there” kinds of characters, my descriptions of him just couldn’t capture the nuances and quirks of his humor, intelligence, and obsessive passion for music.
Thanks, Benny, for uploading the ZBC show. Brings back so many memories of listening to Tim on the radio. Wonderful to hear his voice again.
And another little known fact about Tim- he was once a baker for Bread and Circus. Often talked of the therapeutic value of the baking process. Just one more piece to the puzzle….
i got to work with Tim at other music for 2 years or so, he was one of the best parts about going to work. We have lost SO much as that encyclopediaman no longer walks this earth. I’m really sad, feel kind of dizzy.
A 2nd set has been added to the same page as listed above in this thread. Again, thanks to DJM for encoding & providing.
The set is the following week’s Hardwired show.
bb®.
I just looked up Tim’s name because I used to date him, and have always thought somehow I would find him again and reproduce with him. Crazy, but true. He always said he didn’t believe in the institution of marraige, but would reproduce. can anyone send a link to me so i can find out more circumstances? i feel like he’s the first person i’ve lost. he was the best, and one the few books i have that remind me of him, “women of color” by diaz, now they always will. i have told so many people stories about him these last five years. this changes my life. really sad.