Heres the Mountain Goatss Peter Hughes for WAYO on the importance of radio. If you want WAYO to be your cool older sibling, donate today at: https://indiegogo/projects/wayo-104-3-fm-way-out-right-here/x/685839 Its hard to believe, I know, but once upon a time there was no such thing as Pitchfork, or Spotify, or YouTube, or The Pirate Bay. When I was growing up—and here I betray my age—the way you found out about cool music was by having cool older siblings, or, if you werent so fortunate, by listening to the radio. And if buying an album meant wiping out two entire weeks allowance, you filled the gaps by hoarding blank tapes and keeping one paused in your boombox with the play and record buttons pushed for when you heard something come on that sounded intriguing. Luckily for me, the cultural wasteland of suburban southern California in which I came of age did have one thing going for it, and that was KSPC, the Pomona College radio station which was and remains one of the best and most fiercely independent in the country. And so I would sit there by the radio listening, pausing and unpausing, filling up cassette after cassette which I would then listen to endlessly while carefully weighing my next investment. Thirty years later, these tapes represent a time capsule, a window into an alternate narrative of 80s music, one that overlaps slightly with the version thats been codified, repackaged and resold by a thousand and one eighties nights dance parties but is mostly made up of stuff thats been largely forgotten for one reason or another—the songs that didnt have massive publishing companies behind them trying to wring a few more bucks out of their back catalog by pushing em onto nostalgia comps. These CDs compile a cross-section of minor classics ranging from synthpop to punk rock, and I present them as evidence of what a truly killer radio station can mean to a community and especially the people growing up in it. Today there is no shortage of other paths to discovery out there, but radio is unique in that its so much closer to the cool-big-brother/sister model than almost anything else: its made up not of playlists and algorithms but actual human beings with their own ideas, their own tastes and opinions, sharing them with an audience of engaged listeners. KSPC opened my eyes and ears to things I would never have otherwise encountered, and there is an absolutely direct connection between the music I discovered through it and my career in music today. Heres hoping that someday someone can say the same of WAYO.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 16:13:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015