Ongoing History Daily: A new movie based on a Smiths legend

This is a fact: Back in 1987, an 18-year-old pulled up outside a Y108, a now-defunct top 40 station in Denver with the intention of taking everyone hostage at gunpoint and forcing the station to play his seven cassettes filled with Smiths music. Lore says that the station complied and played those tapes for four hours before a SWAT team showed up.

Great story, but it’s not true.

A guy did show up with a .22 but chickened out in the parking lot before he could do anything. However, let’s not that get in the way of a good movie. A new movie has just appeared called Shoplifters of the World and is a, er, dramatic re-telling of the tale.

Based on a true story? Well…

Yesterday’s post was about an important yet unsung guitar hero.

And don’t forget to check out my podcast The Ongoing History of New Music where you listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, Stitcher, or wherever you get your on-demand audio.