I had to make the car trip from Northern VA to NYC yet again last week to deliver my daughter and all her stuff to her college dorm in Manhattan. Not the way to visit the Big Apple...horrendous traffic and a fortune for parking, but the one consolation is listening to all the different radio stations in and around the city. I always have a soft spot for college radio, so I enjoyed WNYU. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear Heartbreaker at Q104.3, the big classic rock station there. I can't remember the last time I've heard that Stones song on the radio. It was cool too to come across at least four jazz stations just rolling through the dial.

I've often ranted about how awful radio is these days, but my recent experience got me thinking maybe I was wrong to write off all radio stations as repetitive and boring.

Suggestions anyone? Or maybe just your opinion on the current state of radio.

Not really sure, but I could swear that the program director at my local classic rock station has been replaced by a five CD changer.

There may be some exceptions but radio pretty much blows these days. Satellite is the way to go for good music programming.

90.7 WWOZ FM in New Orleans. you can stream it

there is a pretty good classic rock one here in ohio 96.3qfm

prolly knot

RNE3

I live in LA where one drives, drives, drives and I'd be lost without the "oldies" station KEarth 101. 80 percent of what they play is really good rock and roll, Motown etc. Heavy on Stones, thank God!

Well I recently got some hearing aids which helped me re-discover over the air radio. There is a pretty good oldies station here in South Texas-KONO. As noted above there are some really good stations on satellite... Bluesville,Soultown, etc. before I got the aids I would drive with earbuds connected to my phone playing my rather consequential iTunes library ie Stones Beatles Who Zep Bowie et.all. KONO is good but I could do without the Hall and Oats. They are very good just not my cup of tea. Plus dont think there is anything out there today remotely similar to the great FM days of the 70's. lol have a great day everybody.

Only radio show I listen to these days is Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius. On which the Stones do periodically appear!

While Clear Channel doesn't control every station in the U.S., they control the bulk of them, and they're pretty much streamlined. I found this out in my travels when trying to find some cool new stations only to realize they're the EXACT same thing all over. The trick, for the sake of variety, is to find non-Clear Channel stations. Not trying to bash Clear Channel, I guess they serve a purpose, but if you've heard one of their Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Country or whatever stations, you've heard them all.

There is a pretty good station around here called "Jack FM", or officially KJKK 100.3 Dallas, that is owned by CBS radio. The music is pretty good, really strange selection of rock and rock/pop stuff from the 70's-90's. And when I say strange selection, they play a lot of groups you know (U2, Stones, Pearl Jam, Clapton, whatever) but also some really obscure stuff. The gimmick of the station is they play what they want, they don't take requests, they don't have DJ's, it's just music and occasional commercial breaks.

That's the main reason I like it, no DJs. They annoy me so much. Why do I want to listen to some complete stranger drone on and on about crap I wouldn't even care about if it were somebody I actually knew? On the way to work yesterday I listened to some DJ bitch about having moles in his yard for 15 minutes. I wanted to call in and tell him to shut up, call the Mole Patrol or whatever, and play some damn music. And so many commercials these days, plus now they sneak in more commercials via these DJ testimonials.

For the most part regular radio is a wasteland of commercials, DJs flapping their gums, and predictable playlists. But there are some good stations out there if you look hard enough.

Here in Louisville, KY we have WFPK. Great station. Kevin Yazell has the Rolling Stones radio hour 9pm-10pm every Saturday. He posts here occasionally, very nice guy too.

Great station. I hardly ever turn on FM radio but when I do, I listen to WFPK. They stream online... www.wfpk.org

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flacnvinyl
Here in Louisville, KY we have WFPK. Great station. Kevin Yazell has the Rolling Stones radio hour 9pm-10pm every Saturday. He posts here occasionally, very nice guy too.

Great station. I hardly ever turn on FM radio but when I do, I listen to WFPK. They stream online... www.wfpk.org

Thanks Drake, I'll tune in at 9 for the Stones show. Listening to Little Steven's Underground right now.

My current oldies station of choice is CKWW 580 AM, a Canadian station located in Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit. Their playlist includes quite a few records that were hits only in Canada, so I'll occasionally have the very pleasant experience of hearing a great oldie that I've never heard before, which is a real treat when you think you've heard everything.

[www.am580radio.com]#



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2013-08-25 04:34 by tatters.

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stonesrule
I live in LA where one drives, drives, drives and I'd be lost without the "oldies" station KEarth 101. 80 percent of what they play is really good rock and roll, Motown etc. Heavy on Stones, thank God!

ditto on KEarth. just back from NYC, they have plenty of good stations & also pull in good ones from Conn. while there.

Back in the early to mid '70's, for a while I lived in a cabin in the woods in Oregon. Late at night I would listen to the radio next to my bed. On a clear night I would get stations all the way from Chicago west on AM. It was almost magical, listening to great stations, that were really unique, from across the US. Rock and roll, religious stations, Country and Western (as it was called back then), talk shows, and more. It was exciting to listen to the radio back then, and there were many stations that were not "cookie-cutter" stations, good radio with very good programming.

Today, I think that satellite radio is the best option. There are still some good stations. As stonesrule said, KRTH 101 in L.A. is a good one, as are many college stations. I also sometimes listen to iTunes radio stations, like the Hammond B3 station in the blues section. There are enough to keep me entertained, but nothing like those days in the woods of Oregon, being transported all over the US via AM radio!

KRTH in LA has added a lot of '80s tunes to their playlist (that was bound to happen).
KCSN is a good station in the San Fernando Valley. It used to be fantastic, but they've changed it and now it seems they're trying to be too eclectic (can I use that word?).
I listen to Reel Radio a lot (air checks from the '60s and 70s, commercials and news reports included).

Belgium, Classic 21...lots of Stones

Yes. Dig deeper with an open mind.

It may not be the radio we grew up with, but it is out there.

KEXP in Seattle is pretty wonderful. They have strong online thing too. You're not going to hear much classic rock there but essential for good new artists.

As a teenager I was happy when I got my tiny little radio in the sixties to listen day and night to Pirate Radio Ships and Radio Luxembourg, blasting out all them great Rock & Roll. Later I was into some great musical research programs who were into Jimi Hendrix, The Captain and Soundscapes made by artists.
Nowadays I can't stand most radio's and their godlike dj's...
I'm still interested in new music and good research info but I can find them on the net. John Peel was great to listen to back then.

Do good radio stations still exist?.....Heck Yeah



ROCKMAN

Hello latebloomer,

Your post, and most of the replies to it, make reference to stations in America. I can tell you, from a British perspective, that good radio does definitely still exist, although it can take some perseverance to find, and it isn't always done so through a traditional analogue radio - rather, online or Digital Radio being where some of the best stations will be found (which doesn't necessarily help if you're driving).

Over here, BBC 6 Music and London's XFM are my two favourites - you may be able to find them online over there. Both tend to play more new music than old, but you certainly will hear Stones, Beatles, Hendrix, Who and the like played.

Declan

Hey DaveG, I remember picking up those cross country AM stations when I was a kid. It was a thrill to be able to hear a station from so far away with such great music.

DD, we can get BBC 6 here online. I think most of the big stations around the world can be streamed online. Great for when you're home, but I mostly listen to radio in the car, except for WTOP, the all news station here.

DJ's can be a pain, but there are still some out there who really know music and can surprise you with some great choices. Most of the time, I'd rather have that than a five CD changer, as Tatters put it.

I guess I should upgrade to satellite radio for my car...I'll get to right after I get a GPS. It drives my kids crazy that I still use map print outs. That's a subject for another thread...does anyone know how to read a map anymore?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-08-25 15:41 by latebloomer.

if you're into a little reefer and some hippie mountain rock music...Krystal 93 in Colorado is pretty good

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two4fun111
if you're into a little reefer and some hippie mountain rock music...Krystal 93 in Colorado is pretty good

I know what reefer is two4fun111, but enlighten me on what constitutes hippie mountain rock music. I'm not familiar with that genre.

The only good ones on the FM dial are oldies, many now include classic rock in their playlists. I don't have XM so I can't comment on that.

I haven't heard one since Radio Caroline in the '70s. Radio 1 in the UK spent the summer of '78 slagging off the Stones.....(tiresome).............haven't listened to it since.
Radio 2 used to play some mellow stuff for truckers through the night which was OK. (Don't stay up that late any more)

Commercial stations are too full of ads..............too many to be offset by any good music they might play..................

Most of the classic rock stations are gone. Even in the Boston area, which was a MECCA for great rock radio, only a few survive.

IMHO the best option is get Sirius/XM satellite radio as it has great music options, every NFL, and MLB games broadcasts and lots of talk radio stations if you are into that.

For a small fee you can also stream it to your computer and smart phone.

I know you have to pay for it but it is about $15/ month so about $0.50 a day.

@latebloomer:

I know exactly what you mean. I am from the DC area but now live in Northern NJ. All I listen to on the radio is NPR -- WAMU in DC & WNYC here in NJ. Talk radio I guess you would call it.

Have you listed to 98 Rock? -- 97.9 FM out of Baltimore. It plays classic rock with a harder edge.