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llcoolvadI have another thing! For which I am thankful, I mean. And it's a (for me anyway) surprising thing. It's radio, specifically WFNX, and specifically this weekend. Often they use holiday weekends as a time to run oldies. By oldies, of course I mean stuff from my youth. Late 70s through early 90s alternative stuff: punk, new wave, new romantics, ska, indie, college, early grunge, etc. This weekend is no exception, except that they've also brought back a bunch of the old DJs, too, spinning tracks from the time period they worked at FNX.
I've always been a listener of FNX, since the first day it started broadcasting — it was April of 1983 and I was working at an answering service where we were allowed to have the radio on while we worked. I was obsessed with music as only an 18 year old can be, so I was paying close attention. FNX popped up, seemingly fully-formed, part of the Phoenix weekly alternative newspaper, funky and fun, and always always battling the behemoth WBCN. I didn't hate BCN, far from it, I loved any and all radio. But I always thought of FNX as quirky underdogs and they had my underdog heart.
Except that over the years they've gone through a ton of changes, most of them horrible. Last year BCN finally died, and the former quirky underdogs became the only corporate bullshit in town for alternative music. I listen to The River, too, which is ok but a little, I dunno, quiet. I have a bunch of other presets, too, but FNX becoming stupid and as corporate droney as all the other stations really hit me hard. So I was pretty disillusioned with radio. Listen in the car sometimes, but hey, whatever.
But this weekend! The jocks they've brought back all are old-school deejays. I mean, they talk about music! They have fun little anecdotes. They reminisce about Johnny Rotten thinking DJ Joanne Doody's last name was funny. They play clips. They're actually engaged! It's kind of unbelievable. It's what radio used to be. And I've been glued to it since early yesterday. I can't stop listening to do anything that might take me away from the radio. Not all the DJs they brought back are awesome, but they're all unique and interesting, and I can't remember thinking that at all lately.
It's a little bit of magic spinning out over the airwaves, probably never to be repeated, and I am entranced.
I've always been a listener of FNX, since the first day it started broadcasting — it was April of 1983 and I was working at an answering service where we were allowed to have the radio on while we worked. I was obsessed with music as only an 18 year old can be, so I was paying close attention. FNX popped up, seemingly fully-formed, part of the Phoenix weekly alternative newspaper, funky and fun, and always always battling the behemoth WBCN. I didn't hate BCN, far from it, I loved any and all radio. But I always thought of FNX as quirky underdogs and they had my underdog heart.
Except that over the years they've gone through a ton of changes, most of them horrible. Last year BCN finally died, and the former quirky underdogs became the only corporate bullshit in town for alternative music. I listen to The River, too, which is ok but a little, I dunno, quiet. I have a bunch of other presets, too, but FNX becoming stupid and as corporate droney as all the other stations really hit me hard. So I was pretty disillusioned with radio. Listen in the car sometimes, but hey, whatever.
But this weekend! The jocks they've brought back all are old-school deejays. I mean, they talk about music! They have fun little anecdotes. They reminisce about Johnny Rotten thinking DJ Joanne Doody's last name was funny. They play clips. They're actually engaged! It's kind of unbelievable. It's what radio used to be. And I've been glued to it since early yesterday. I can't stop listening to do anything that might take me away from the radio. Not all the DJs they brought back are awesome, but they're all unique and interesting, and I can't remember thinking that at all lately.
It's a little bit of magic spinning out over the airwaves, probably never to be repeated, and I am entranced.
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Date: 2011-11-26 04:38 am (UTC)shark
Date: 2011-11-26 05:43 pm (UTC)Also, wasn't it still actually WLYN, for a bit during the good years?
Re: shark
Date: 2011-11-26 09:10 pm (UTC)Re: shark. I think the 90s killed music, frankly. Post-grunge, really. Right around the time Limp Bizkit and those other gawd-awful nightmare bands were cranking out crap, FNX decided to modify their format to include what I call cock-rawk. So from the mid to late 90s until a few years ago, they sucked bigtime. Still played some good stuff, but then they'd toss in crap to make it sucktastic. Then, briefly, there was a moment of sunshine. They got in a decent set of DJs and seemed to care about what they played. Then, alas, January of 2010 they fired everyone and went back to mediocrity. Then BCN died, and now they're the only mediocre in town.
Back to college radio for me! Except this weekend.
Re: shark
Date: 2011-11-26 09:15 pm (UTC)"In 1981, WLYN-FM began broadcasting a nighttime block of "new wave" rock music which eventually became a 24/7 modern rock format in 1982 when the midday ethnic programs were moved to the AM side. In February 1983, WLYN-FM was sold to Stephen Mindich, owner of the Boston Phoenix, and in early April it was on the air under new call letters—WFNX; the new station retained for the most part the modern-rock format that had been launched by the previous owners, and subsequently expanded upon it."