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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.
