NO FOOLING: Just when you thought no...

NO FOOLING: Just when you thought no one in the record industry had a sense of humor, along comes industry tip-sheet Radio & Records (R&R;), which put out a special April Fool’s edition. The four-page supplement offered a host of “gag” news stories, ranging from the announcement of an “Old Age” radio format (its core artists would include Rosemary Clooney, Lawrence Welk and the Grateful Dead) to a new FCC indecency guide, which targeted such “unacceptable” on-air expressions as “commercial-free,” “Rocktober” and “another half-hour of nonstop rock ‘n’ roll.”

However, our favorite mock news story revealed that the industry was in an uproar over the latest Japanese technological innovation--RAT (Recorded in Actual Time), a microminiaturized device that transmits studio recordings as they take place. According to a promotional folder R&R; claimed to have uncovered, the RAT manufacturers touted the product by saying: “Tired of waiting three years for Bruce Springsteen’s latest album? Now you can hear his new music as it’s being recorded! Tune in every day to hear how Michael Jackson’s new record is coming along. RAT gives you the freshest mix--before it’s even released! Plus all the in-studio banter, arguments, on-the-spot contract negotiations. . . .”