They Might be Giants just brought back its Dial-a-Song series (which debuted in the 1980s) in which the band is releasing a new song every week for a year. As part of the promotion, it will be debuting each week’s song over a Monday night podcast (“The Gist”) on Slate as well as sharing the […]
Archive | Music
Top 100 composer lists: and the point is . . . ?
Classical public radio station WQXR in New York City has released its annual New Year’s top 100 composition list—the results of a listener poll of favorite pieces. The results bear an uncanny resemblance to, well, last year’s WQXR top 100 list. Here are the top dozen of this year and 2013: 2013 2014 1 Beethoven Symphony […]
Reviewing the 2014 Yule Logs: It’s Like Radio with Pictures
I love televised yule logs. I’m drawn to them not only out of nostalgia (the original aired on WPIX in New York beginning in 1966), but also for the minimalist delight. As I stare at the image of a burning log for hours on end, the smallest details and changes in the scene are emphasized. […]
In Chicago Smooth Jazz Radio Moves Again
Some of our perennially most popular posts are about smooth jazz radio in Chicago (and there’s a lot of different kinds of jazz on Chicago radio). After being bumped around the dial for the last five years, the format has emerged on a new station once again, this time broadcasting from a new translator station […]
Radio’s Top 40 Democracy: A Q&A with Author Eric Weisbard
There are a number of radio and music scholars who write for both academic and non-academic audiences. Eric Weisbard is one example of that. In the 1990s, he made his living as a rock critic for publications such as Spin and the Village Voice and today he is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at […]
XRAY.fm Sheds Light on the Business of Music
Last fall I wrote “an immodest proposal” that independent and community stations should work more closely with independent musicians. With that in mind I was pleased to listen to the first episode of a new series from XRAY.fm in Portland, called “The Future of What?” focusing on the business of music. The show is hosted […]
Will we ever see a classical radio top 100 performer’s list?
New Years is approaching, which means that it is time for classical radio stations to run top 100 composer polls for their listeners, then play the results in an on-air marathon. Last year New York classical station WQXR-FM queried the faithful and got a fairly predictable list of warhorses. The number one pick was Beethoven’s Ninth […]
Thanksgiving 2014 Brings Another Chance to Hear Alice’s Restaurant on the Radio
Catch Alice’s Restaurant on the 2023 radio dial. See our latest listening guide. Once again it’s time for my annual run-down of some of the radio stations playing the Arlo Guthrie epic “Alice’s Restaurant” as part of an annual Thanksgiving Day tradition. There’s no exhaustive list of stations that plan to air the song, so […]
Streaming Uncompressed Music Is Here: A Review of Deezer Elite
Interested in CD-quality uncompressed streaming? Also check out our review of TIDAL. In September European music streaming platform Deezer entered the US with its Deezer Elite service which delivers true CD-quality uncompressed sound. Currently Deezer Elite is only available to owners of Sonos wireless audio systems. The Sonos system has been around more than a […]
LPFM Watch: 10 More LPFMs + Get Ready for KZIT, WSAX and WXOX
As of today, 1468 new low power FM (LPFM) construction permits have been issued as a result of the fall 2013 application window. As 2014 draws to a close, we’re hearing more and more about the plans for many of these new stations. In case you missed our other LPFM coverage this week, be sure […]