I must be getting old because every week I look forward to listening to The Swing Years and Beyond on KUOW, our local NPR station. It runs from 7-12 every Saturday and is always fun to listen to. I'm not an expert in the era or anything but Amanda Wilde (and Cynthia Doyon before her) always seem to hit the right note. When I got my Honda Element it came with a free trial for XM radio. They have a 1930s big band/swing station but it just isn't the same.
If you don't live in Seattle you can listen to their streaming feed. No podcast/mp3 available though.
My grandmother died recently and listening to this music always reminds me of her. One of the songs they played a couple of weeks ago was "Chattanooga Choo Choo." I can't hear it without thinking of her favorite joke (copied from here):
Roy Rogers had just purchased a new set of boots. Going out one day to check on Trigger, Roy stepped in a pile of ... well suffice it to say that Dale told him to leave his boots outside on the porch until he could clean them up. Roy did so and went inside for dinner. In the meantime a cougar wandering around on the property spied the boots, grabbed them up in his mouth and headed for the wilderness. Roy, seeing his new boots heading for the hills, pulled on a pair of old boots, ran out and saddled up Trigger and headed for the hills to cut off the escape path of the cougar. Several hours later Roy returned, new boots in hand and the cougar stretched over the back of Trigger. Dale looking at the scene in front of her said "Pardon me Roy is that the cat that chewed your new shoes?"
There are just so many ways my daughter won't get this joke.