National Radio Day is approaching this Sunday, August 20 and in advance of that, public radio station KEXP in Seattle is doing a week’s worth of special programming “dedicated to celebrating and remembering radio stations that went off the air or changed formats,” according to a press release.
It’s rare that radio stations pay homage to other radio stations, so I was certainly intrigued by this project (see more back story in HuffPo). When I tuned in today, the mid-day show waxed nostalgic about former Long Island commercial radio station WLIR while playing mainly 1980s classics from the likes of R.E.M., David Bowie, Squeeze, Siouxsie and the Banshees and more. It took me back to the days of my own favorite commercial radio station from the past: KQAK “the Quake” in San Francisco. Hearing this type of music in the early 1980s paved the way for me to explore college radio.
Other stations being highlighted this week include WOXY, WFMU, WFNX, KJET and more. On top of that, influential DJs and hosts like DJ Rodney Bingenheimer will be featured throughout the week’s programming.
Additionally, KEXP and Brown Paper Tickets are hosting a community radio volunteer fair in Seattle on August 20. Representatives from Rainier Valley Radio KVRU 105.7 FM,
RainierAvenueRadio.World (online), KBCS 91.3 FM Bellevue/Seattle (full power), KBFG 107.3 FM NW Seattle, Hollow Earth Radio KHUH 100.3 FM, SPACE 101.1 FM KMGP Magnuson Park, OneAmerica Radio 106.5 FM SeaTac, Earth On-the-Air Independent Media KODX 96.9 FM, and Valley KAPY 103.1 FM Duvall/Carnation/Redmond Ridge will be there to talk about their stations and recruit potential volunteers.
It’s nice to see that KEXP is sharing radio love for not only stations from the past, but also for local Seattle-area community radio stations operating today.
