radio is a sound salvation

Let's get a radio discussion going. Complain about ClearChannel and the sorry
state of commercial radio, geek out about NPR programs, or let us know about the
good radio that still exists (and yes, it *is* out there, if you know where to look.

Some of my fave radio stations are (and some of these are the obvious choices, of
course):
WRNR (103.1 FM) in Annapolis -- "progressive," tho not as progressive as it likes
to think it is, and certainly not the beauty it was a few years ago, but still your best
bet for good music in this area

WXPN (88.5) in Philly, and its affiliate WHKS (90.5)on the Eastern Shore -- well,
DUH

WFUV (90.7) in NYC -- again, DUH. Thanks to Gordondon, I've even volunteered
there

WXRT in Chicago -- they bring out the classic REM, U2, and Elvis Costello, so
they're alright with me

WETA (90.9) in D.C. -- one of D.C.'s public radio stations, which I listen to mainly
for "A Prairie Home Companion" (cos I'm a dork like that) and the best folk show
in the area, "Traditions."

WTMD (89.7) -- based at Towson University here in MD, it plays a lot of
unspeakable lite jazz/world nonsense during the week, but on Sunday nights, it
features excellent blues and folk shows

So yeah.

unless you live in a big cultured city (and even if you do), the radio options for a fruhead probably suck. i gave up. i bought a CD MP3 player and a big stack of blank cds. i ripped every one of my cds and put them on to mp3 cds, then i downloaded every ounce of decent music i could from napster and the like. i now have a stack of cds with about 1,000 hours of music on them, and i am no longer slave to the clearchannel monster. and there was much rejoycing. yay.

I recall the time they were playing DC 101 between bands at a free TMBG show in DC. During the break before TMBG went on, the entire audience would groan after hearing the same three songs several times that day. Someone within TMBG was listening, because after the audience groaned, the radio station was shut off, and old-school 50's R&B was piped through the sound system. The crowd was immediately pumped with the relief of no more Creed or Linkin Park, and TMBG played one of the most rockin' shows I've ever seen them do.

It's however difficult now to determine with stations are good anymore, even the public radio ones, since they've started accepting payola from record labels (re: Robbie Schaefer's treatise: "Do you want to know WHY you won't hear EFO on WXPN?") It's all about the bottom line.

I, like Josh, have given up on the radio except for traffic reports. That's about it. Yea NJ 101.5 for traffic.

I recall the time they were playing DC 101 between bands at a free TMBG show in DC. During the break before TMBG went on, the entire audience would groan after hearing the same three songs several times that day. Someone within TMBG was listening, because after the audience groaned, the radio station was shut off, and old-school 50's R&B was piped through the sound system. The crowd was immediately pumped with the relief of no more Creed or Linkin Park, and TMBG played one of the most rockin' shows I've ever seen them do.

It's however difficult now to determine with stations are good anymore, even the public radio ones, since they've started accepting payola from record labels (re: Robbie Schaefer's treatise: "Do you want to know WHY you won't hear EFO on WXPN?") It's all about the bottom line.

I, like Josh, have given up on the radio except for traffic reports. That's about it. Yea NJ 101.5 for traffic.

I recall the time they were playing DC 101 between bands at a free TMBG show in DC. During the break before TMBG went on, the entire audience would groan after hearing the same three songs several times that day. Someone within TMBG was listening, because after the audience groaned, the radio station was shut off, and old-school 50's R&B was piped through the sound system. The crowd was immediately pumped with the relief of no more Creed or Linkin Park, and TMBG played one of the most rockin' shows I've ever seen them do.

It's however difficult now to determine with stations are good anymore, even the public radio ones, since they've started accepting payola from record labels (re: Robbie Schaefer's treatise: "Do you want to know WHY you won't hear EFO on WXPN?") It's all about the bottom line.

I, like Josh, have given up on the radio except for traffic reports. That's about it. Yea NJ 101.5 for traffic.

I recall the time they were playing DC 101 between bands at a free TMBG show in DC. During the break before TMBG went on, the entire audience would groan after hearing the same three songs several times that day. Someone within TMBG was listening, because after the audience groaned, the radio station was shut off, and old-school 50's R&B was piped through the sound system. The crowd was immediately pumped with the relief of no more Creed or Linkin Park, and TMBG played one of the most rockin' shows I've ever seen them do.

It's however difficult now to determine with stations are good anymore, even the public radio ones, since they've started accepting payola from record labels (re: Robbie Schaefer's treatise: "Do you want to know WHY you won't hear EFO on WXPN?") It's all about the bottom line.

I, like Josh, have given up on the radio except for traffic reports. That's about it. Yea NJ 101.5 for traffic.

Another option is listening to radio stations online. If I didn't have FUV I'd do that all the time. I used to listen to FUV at work through the computer since I couldn't get it on the radio. I had heard that Bose made a version of their wave radio that could play internet stations I can't find it on their site now. If it is available and you have the money it's a great solution.

Carey has mentioned my favorite stations so I'll digress a bit. Rod Picott is a singer songwriter who travels across the country so he certainly has a useful perspective on radio. He said that there are about five really good stations in the country, the three he could name off the top of his head were XPN in Fhilly, FUV in New York, and KPIG in San Francisco.

I owe most of my CD collection to FUV and/or Vin Scelsa on the radio. Other bands I learned about from friends, Including GBS, DVN, and TMBG. Many artists I just stumbled across. They either played at festivals I've gone to or at clubs that I went to to see somebody else or just to check out whoever was playing. I've bought quite a few CDs by opening acts who I later went to see as headliners. Rod Picott belongs in this group. The Bottom Line has an amazing series they produce in conjunction with WFUV, it's called required listening. Four artists none of which are big enough to headline the venue share the bill. A few of the artists that have done these shows are Eddie From Ohio, the Kennedys, Slaid Cleaves, and this weird Canadian group, I think they were called Moxy Fruvous.

even formerly "good" stations like WXPN - remember, anyone can donate to public radio. and apparently record companies make "donations" to public radio stations with certain strings attached. payola still exists. anyone who says differently is... well, selling something. or buying something, too.

radio is a complete waste of time - I don't get exposed to anything new that way, certainly. all the music I listen to has come from folk fests, opening acts, and recommendations from friends or other people on mailing lists and websites. not to mention radio has this obsession with singles - as do record companies. so record companies are pushing mediocre bands with one good song to produce tons and tons of crap so they can sell whole albums with one halfway decent song and 11 things from the Generic Song Creation Machine. radio plays the singles; people are stupid sheep and go buy the albums. record companies are happy. marketing isn't about convincing people they need something - it's about tricking people into believing they need something they don't.

like everything that used to be fun and entertaining, radio has almost completely sold out. stations are in business only to make money, not to entertain. and all the money goes to ClearChannelAOLDisneyMicrosoftStarbucksWal-MartRNCExxonMobilMLBViacom anyway.

I listen to the aforementioned American radio stations via the internet upon occasion - but mostly it's CBC radio to listen to up here. They play the right combination of the actual *good* artists on the major labels and the complete unknowns.

"radio is a complete waste of time - I don't get exposed to anything new that way,
certainly. "

Hmm. Artists I've discovered in the last 7 years or so, thanks to radio:
Dar Williams
Ani DiFranco
Patty Griffin
Jonatha Brooke
Arrogant Worms
Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer
Kasey Chambers
Slaid Cleaves
Nick drake
Eddie from Ohio
Ben Folds Five
Julia Fordham
David Gray
Sarah Harmer
Norah Jones
Jump, Little Children
Kennedys
Christine Lavin
Richard Thompson
Trout Fishing In America
XTC
John Gorka
Greg Brown
Cheryl Wheeler
David Roth
The Burns Sisters

...and that's just the beginning.

First off there is no payola involved in public radio, if there was the news departments would never be so critical of the companies donating. I don't know how other stations work but I do know about WFUV. The music director Rita Houston and her assistant Russ go through the huge pile of CDs they are sent every week and try to find they like and they think their listeners will like. Having two people really helps, Russ is responsible for WFUV playing GBS and Rod Picott. The other DJ's have input and suggest artists too. FUV and Vin Scelsca, who is now on FUV has been my biggest sourse of new listening material. I used to complain to them that they cost me so much money even though radio is free. Here is a list of artists that I first heard on the radio Moxy Fruvous The Kennedys EFO Christine Lavin Slaid Cleaves Dar Williams Dan Bern The Nields The Indigo Girls Richard Thompson Vance Gilbert and so many more. They started playing Rod Picott, TMBG, and GBS after I knew of them from other sources.

First, thanks for the Elvis quotes.
I'm not in a large city, but we do think of ourselves as "cultured" (which translates into petty and obnoxious, in our unique Midwestern way). We are blessed with a volunteer radio station, but it's goes too far much of the time. Since the powerful stations play pop, "progressive" (which apparently means Dave Matthews and Pink Floyd), country, and classic rock... WFHB (www.wfhb.org) plays everything else. It translates into a lot of jazz, bluegrass, world music, and outright noise.
I don't listen to the station often, but I look forward to my volunteer time at the station, and I know that other people enjoy my programming. I'm looking forward to a move to a city with better radio options, mostly because they'll also have a station in need of my unique musical tastes.
I'm troubled by the "I hate radio because it's all corporate" mentality. Radio got this way for two reasons: Companies pay for it [yes, much (but not all) radio is pre-paid... and payola is alive and well], and the general public swallows it. Sadly, we can't change it. At the same time, you don't kill the messenger just because you don't like the message.
I'll admit mass radio sucks, but it's important to remember that radio still serves a purpose. Even through the corporate sponsorship (and even corruption), it's still a good way to promote new artists, new releases, upcoming events, news, traffic, school closings... all for less than a newspaper subscription. I can't imagine a radio-free life.
I'm happy for those of you who've found radio-free joy. I'm even happier for those who can afford to go to shows to discover new music. I'm not blessed with that kind of financial status, so the radio is still my companion. Usually, it's background noise for more important activities... but I also listen for the sheer joy of it. Station of choice: WBWB (bubblegum pop radio, with a satellite playlist and so much censorship that you can't hear the song. Generally, all the things people hate about radio.).

WFUV just played Elvis' Love Me Tender in Latin. It is a strange and beautiful world.

This is in my opinion, the best radio show on the air. If you get CBC radio, I suggest tuning in. A wonderful mix of fabulous music and comedy. Where else can you hear a ragtime, brass version of Personality, Jeff Healey playing along with Mose Scarlett, a soprano singing a version of the Lords Prayer from an album celebrating 1700 years of Christianity in Armenia and a track from the new Van Morrison album all in the same show? Along with a story about Dave (who runs the store that the show gets its name from) setting 10 dozen frogs loose in his son's schoolyard causing the equivalent of a prison riot. :)

Well, I'm not overly found of the radio choices in Bowling Green (and the rest of the Toledo area). We have all the standard clone stations, and the NPR here is just classical and news/weekend stuff (which I love, and am glad I get here, but their weekday programing is lacking). Instead, I'll just talk about good old Columbus.

The main station I listen to there is WCBE, which is your standard (good) public radio station. Their playlist changes with their djs (they seem to cycle people in and out every few years), but it's generaly a good folk/world/ecclectic mix. The Lads have played live on there, as have a lot of other Fr�head-bands (for lack of a better term).

The other station that I used to listen to a lot of is CD101 which, so far as I know, is one of the only independent FM stations left in the state. For the most part, they are a standard "alternative" station, but they also have a big music library from the 80s, and play stuff at least as obscure as TMBG and XTC (including some exclusive, live, TMBG stuff). Ever since they actually out-preformed the clear-channel station in town, and didn't need to have a niche, they've become a bit more mainstreme. Still, last I checked, they still have good theme weekends.

There are three stations I like in Iowa City. First, I like public radio because (like Carey) I'm a geek like that. I especially enjoy the weekly renaissance music program; "From the Top," a radio program featuring mostly amazing high school musicians; and a local show called "Know the Score" that features people from around here performing (live) everything from Appalachian folk to spoken word.

I also like the campus station, KRUI. It's uneven, yes. There are some shows I like more than others. But mostly, DJs are very honest about the fact that they play what they themselves like. There may be themes (a former student of mine had a geek rock show for a while, and I persuaded him to play some Fruvous), but adherence to those themes is pretty loose.

Most of all, I like Iowa City Free Radio, 88.7 FM. It's run out of somebody's basement and is unofficial (under the radar of the FCC, so I hope I don't get anybody in trouble by mentioning them here). It's extremely low-power-- to get it at my house, I have to lie on the floor and put one foot on my radio-- but the programming is diverse and non-commercial. DJs don't get paid; in fact, they pay monthly dues to use the equipment. But they can play anything. There's a two-hour roots rock/blues/old-school country show that I love. There's also a show that's half sad-sack rock music and half news about world trade, politics, and activism.

Maybe there's something nice about all of America being able to listen to the same song at once. But just as I think fruit is usually tastiest when it's grown just outside your door, maybe there's something extra-sweet about home-grown radio.

ckua
www.ckua.com
mmmmm

I discovered Fruvous through my local public radio station, KQED. 'nuff said.