WRCU FM 90.1, Colgate University’s radio station, has dozens of shows on its roster for this semester, but senior Nate Cohen’s gig is certainly in the running for most unique. Given its alliterative title — “Remington Roach’s Rambling Recollection Roadshow: Rethrak’s Reckoning – Rampaging Resurrections Require Righteous Redemptions” — Cohen’s show combines a wide variety of genres with a complex tale of the main character Remington Roach’s life, told through miscellaneous snippets of text acquired online. 

Cohen, who has been working with WRCU since his first year, originally produed a different radio show but introduced the concept of “Remington Roach” his junior year. After beginning the 1,500-page novel “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace, Cohen was inspired to switch up the theme of his show. 

“One of the many subplots in [Infinite Jest] is that there’s a radio host called Madame Psychosis and she reads ten clips of random stuff from the Boston area over atmospheric tracks, and they create a very cult following,” Cohen explained. “I was like, ‘That seems cool to do.’ I decided that the more energy I tried to put into my show, the more fun I have while doing it. The reason I switched to this format was because I got tired with my more general ‘This is music I like to play’ format. I thought, ‘let’s do something a bit more involved.’”

Cohen’s show provides listeners with a compelling and complex plot detailing the adventures of Remington Roach. The saga, originally titled just “Remington Roach’s Rambling Recollection Roadshow” initially began with nobleman Remington Roach being recruited by a secret society to recite passages to help maintain harmony in the world. However, Remington Roach begins to face mounting difficulties, eventually landing him in hell. There, Remington Roach is challenged by a new shadowy underworld-esque nemesis, Rethrak, hence the addition of “Rethrak’s Reckoning” to the show’s title.

This semester’s plot began with Remington Roach being resurrected by a nameless being following his death, presumably at the hands of Rethrak. Cohen added “Rampaging Resurrections Require Righteous Redemptions” to accompany the changing plot.

“I always want to try to make my show more unique and expand, doing things that I wouldn’t do on a normal radio show,” Cohen said. “I [want] to try to break out of the mold a little bit with an 11-word title or by playing some weird mashup music that I found on the internet.”

As the DJ of a two-hour-long show (usually shows run for one hour), Cohen finds this longer structure suitable for “Remington Roach.” The typical show consists of a collection of ten- to twenty-minute instrumental tracks, or sometimes other genres of music such as jazz or metal. Every once in a while, Cohen finds the most bizarre music he can.

“Last night, I ended off the second hour of my show with a wonderful little cover of “You Keep Me Hanging On” by [Alvin and the Chipmunks] on 16 speed, which is basically where they take Alvin and the Chipmunks’ cover of “You Keep Me Hanging On” as they put that on a turntable, and they slowed it down from 33 speed to 16 and so it’s really slow and atmospheric.”

Aside from unique music, Cohen incorporates a wide variety of other elements to tell Remington Roach’s story. Over the top of the long music tracks, Cohen reads passages taken from ProjectGutenburg.org, a website that offers free eBooks of which the copyright has expired. Cohen also includes sound effects in his shows to achieve whichever vibe he is aiming for on that episode. 

“I was reading off of a digital piracy and corporate crime [text] that I found, and I really leaned into the paranoia bit of it, ripping the paper while I’m reading,” Cohen said. “That can be much more anxiety-inducing. I’ve also been thinking about maybe bringing a couple of pots and pans into the studio.”

For those interested, “Remington Roach’s Rambling Recollection Roadshow: Rethrak’s Reckoning – Rampaging Resurrections Require Righteous Redemptions” broadcasts every Thursday on WRCU 90.1 FM from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.