I've come to the conclusion that radio can both heighten and destroy my love of music. A big reason for this is the choice of radio stations here in Louisville, but I'll get into that later. The inspiration for this post actually came on a positive note this morning in my car, when I heard "Civil War" by Guns N' Roses.
Most bands that you hear have several songs that I call "radio songs." These are the 3-4 songs from any given popular band that are played on classic rock stations nationwide, and they rarely vary from one station to the other. The problem I have is that certain stations seem to have a jones for certain bands. While I can no longer intelligently speak about radio stations in St. Louis, I know that back at the turn of the millennium KSHE 95 played roughly 2 Led Zeppelin songs per hour. Here in Louisville, the worst culprit is 95.7 QMF, playing AC/DC at a rate that would probably make the band tire of hearing their own music. To their credit, however, I will admit that QMF has a vast collection of AC/DC on in their library. However, I can also attest to the fact that this phenomena of AC/DC overkill has actually caused me to change the station any time I hear them played. It's not that I dislike the band, it's just that I'm tired of having them thrown in my face on the radio.
Another group this has happened with is Guns N' Roses. This is very disturbing to me because, even though I'm not a fan of all their music, I do enjoy most of it. The problem is, the only 3 GN'R songs I've heard on the radio with any regularity are: "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and (far too often) "Sweet Child of Mine." I used to be a huge fan of all these songs, but I cannot stand to hear any one of them on the radio. "Sweet Child of Mine" is especially bad because it is the most prevalent of the three. What makes it even worse is that they often even edit the song to take out most of the guitar solo, which is a high point of the song. So I can't tell you my relief when I heard "Civil War" this morning...of course it was on the station I consider to be the best in the city.
That station is 93.1 The Fox. Not only does it play a solid mix of classic and new rock, but it has a pretty vast playlist. I have to admit that I favor this station because every day at 6:00 is Mandatory Metallica, which is my favorite 25 minutes of the rush hour. What's impressive about Mandatory Metallica is how deep the go into the band's library. How often are you going to hear Battery, Creeping Death, or Hit the Lights on the radio? The answer is never. I mean, even as I write, Metallica is on the station's website's homepage...which is advertised on the radio as "The perfect break from your favorite porn sites." I could go on and on about this radio station, but I think anyone just needs to go to the website and check out "Thong of the Day", "Who Would You Do", and listen to the station live online. You will not be disappointed.
The other alternatives in Louisville are the aforementioned 95.7 QMF, 107.7 SFR...both of these are very similar stations that specialize in classic rock, but their choice of music is questionable at best. Of course, I'm also not a fan of Lynrd Skynrd and Cher. But if you like stuff like that, then enjoy. You can also listen to 105.1 WLRS, which is the #2 station in my mind, because it is a solid mix of 93.1 and the last two stations. However, it focuses much more on new rock and a lot of the stuff you would hear on The Fox, so it is my easy second choice. The final option is a little known station: 88.1, WNAS New Albany...the station of New Albany High School. I believe this station is run by high school students, and thus the music selection comes from their cd's and Itunes. This station is completely hit or miss, but if you hit then you hit big. They play some completely random music, and if you get a DJ on there who likes metal you'll hear something you won't hear on any other station. I remember hearing Winger, Queensryche, and Iron Maiden on this station.
I'll finish this post with a shout out to my favorite station of all time...the short-lived 97.1 The Rock, a station that was big in St. Louis in the late 90's. This station played nothing but hard classic rock and had a huge playlist. It did four 20-song music marathons per day, meaning no commercials for over an hour. Eventually, it got bought out by KSHE, which went on to proclaim itself "The Rock of St. Louis." But I will forever remember that station as the best mix of music I can ever remember.
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