Jason K.
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From "Entertainment Weekly" -- October 23, 1992

Northern Exposure On Record: Pop Music’s New Ice Age

by Cary Darling

Martin Bruestle programs the coolest radio station on the planet, even
if it is fictional. Tucked away in the small town of Cicely, Alaska,
KBHR (K-Bear) – where Billie Holiday and Lynyrd Skynyrd rest
cheek-by-frozen-jowl on the playlist – is the audio pulpit of Chris
Stevens, the philosopher king-DJ on CBS-TV’s eccentric hit series
Northern Exposure. And it’s up to Bruestle, the show’s 27-year-old
producer, to make sure the music on the station – as well as
on the jukebox at Holling’s bar – is as quirky as the rest of the
series’ characters.

According to Bruestle, the Exposure offices are flooded with calls each
Tuesday morning from fans with questions about the music. Some of those
callers should be thrilled by MCA’s just-released Northern Exposure
soundtrack. It addition to the now-familiar harmonica-drenched theme,
the album includes cuts from South African vocalist Miriam Makeba, opera
singer Frederica Von Stade, ‘60s R&B outfit Booker T. & the MG’s,
crooner Nat "King" Cole, and the forgotten Eurodisco ensemble Magazine
60.

The wide-ranging versatility of the show’s soundtrack is, Bruestle adds,
in keeping with the series itself. The residents of Cicely are "a
collection of individuals who’ve made their own choices," says Bruestle,
who coordinates music selection with postproduction supervisor Steve
Turner and Northern Exposure’s cocreator, Joshua Brand. "So the whole
idea of the show means there is no one sound." The only musical rule on
the show (and on the album) is that the songs not be too well known.
"’My Girl’ will draw attention to itself," says Bruestle, "so it doesn’t
work."

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