I was disappointed to hear that University of Washington, Bothell’s college radio station UWave (see my 2014 tour here) is facing opposition to its planned move to a low power FM (LPFM) channel. Although the station has a construction permit from the FCC for the new LPFM station, University of Washington officials told students that […]
Archive | Community Radio
Radio Station Visit #119 – KUOZ-LP at University of the Ozarks
After waking before dawn and grabbing breakfast at a nearby Waffle House (we don’t have them in California!), I began a beautiful drive from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Clarksville, in order to see college radio station KUOZ-LP at University of the Ozarks. Lyrics to the Monkees song “the Last Train to Clarksville” kept swirling in my […]
Radio Station Visit #118 – New LPFM KPSQ-LP in Fayetteville
It was such a treat getting to visit so many new low power FM (LPFM) radio stations last fall, including KPSQ-LP in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After my evening tour of college radio station KXUA on October 6, I journeyed to Fayetteville’s historic downtown to see community radio station KPSQ (97.3 FM on the dial), aka “Public […]
When the CIA blew off Pacifica radio (August, 1988)
The Central Intelligence Agency has digitally released 930,000 documents previously available only at the National Archives in Maryland. Of course I went straight to the search engine and started rummaging around for community radio stuff. So far, the CIA’s Pacifica radio files aren’t especially earth shattering, but there are some cute items, like this one: (more…)
Radio Station Visit #117 – KCHUNG Radio in Los Angeles
One of the more unusual radio stations that I’ve visited is KCHUNG in Los Angeles. Around since 2011, the station has caught the ears of not only the artist community in its home town, but also the attention of the national press. Visiting journalists typically paint a portrait of KCHUNG’s diverse programming and quirky lair, […]
Bursting Bubbles: Podcasts as Filter, Community Radio as Revival
Election day meant a lot of things to a lot of people. For community radio, this moment, so troubled for many, could be our time to shine as never before. We may even have podcasting and the ascent of president-elect Donald Trump to thank for it. The win in November by Trump took most of […]
WBAI’s Bob Fass, reporting from Chicago on August 27, 1968
The last days of August, 1968 were probably the most tumultuous of the 1960s. Tens of thousands of protesters had arrived in Chicago, Illinois to protest the Vietnam War at the Democratic National Convention. By August 27, the city’s police department had, over the previous two nights, relentlessly attacked demonstrators, reporters, and newspaper photographers. The nation’s most […]
New Zealand Has Legal Unlicensed Low-Power FM
I was in New Zealand over the recent holidays, and while waiting in line at a beachside food stand near Christchurch I noticed a t-shirt the teenager behind the counter was wearing, advertising “Rotten Radio 107.7 fm, Lyttelton.” I asked him about the station, and he only said that it’s “cool” and I should listen […]
Wild About You! 3CR’s Australian underground rock collection, circa 1963-68
In case you are looking for some excellent half-century old Australian underground rock, all digitized and ready to download, here it is: You can thank Aussie community radio station 3CR for this 2004 anthology, titled Wild About You: Tales from the Australian Rock Underground. That was the name of a book, blurbed as such: “Bloodied […]
flashback: The Meat Puppets, live at The Mason Jar in 1984 via KXCI-FM
In case you want to relive some of the glory days of The Meat Puppets, here’s one way. Check out this 1984 appearance by that hallowed punk band at The Mason Jar in Phoenix, Arizona, rebroadcast by Tucson community station KXCI-FM. The show is accessible via one of my favorite things in the whole universe, […]