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August 09, 2005
Underground Radio
Every once in a while, when we're driving down from the Adirondacks on a Sunday night, we catch the Underground Garage radio show on Q104.3. The DJ, "Little Steven," educates the masses about garage rock and plays a wide variety of stuff -- clips from films, songs from lesser-known bands, and obscure hits from major bands like The Who, The Stones, The Beatles, etc. Yesterday's show had a movie theme and included trivia about A Hard Day's Night (one of my favorites) and Bonnie and Clyde, with some other random tracks thrown in. It's always an eclectic mix, and after the repetitive playlists on [pick any music radio station], it's a welcome change to have a DJ that doesn't sound like a sales rep. (FYI: The website is a bit like the show -- it's all over the place but it has great old audio/video clips buried in there somewhere.)
The format for the show is a kind of rambling, non-standard, play-whatever-the-hell-I-feel-like mix you sometimes hear on low-budget or college stations at 3AM. This only works if the DJ is interesting, so it works for Little Steven. (We once heard a similar kind of show on a classical station -- we listened to the same classical piece played in digital format, then in analog, then in digital format again. Between each one, there was a droning commentary about the subtle differences between them. Ugh.) I'm guessing plenty of podcasters out there are reintroducing this particular format with less success.
By the way, can I take this moment to mourn the loss of the old 101.1 CBS FM? I know it switched off a while ago but I was forced to listen to CBS radio station jingles at 7AM for many years. My elementary school bus driver didn't really like kids and had that station on every morning, without fail, at a volume you couldn't really ignore no matter where you sat. I can still hear the jingle in my head: "101, CBS FM/ 101, CMS FM/ We play your favorite oldies/ CBS effffeeemmm Newwwww Yoooooooork. [cue "My Boyfriend's Back"]" That tune is permanently branded on my brain. Jingles aside, it was a nice mix of old stuff, with some Beatles thrown in, and I miss it.
Posted by csageday at August 9, 2005 12:09 AM
Comments
Came across your blog quite by accident, and keep returning for your latest musings and great links.
I formerly lived on 12th St. between 8th and P.P.W,
currently live in a co-op in Windsor Terrace.
Check out a few of the old Jean Shepard shows,
you just might enjoy. website:
Max Schmid on Mass Backwards.
Hope that you and D settle in nicely to your new home.
Posted by: brenda at August 18, 2005 05:38 PM