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Does anybody remember when Alternative went off the air right across North America?

pauldrewry said:
There's alternative, then there is corporate alternative. It's no longer a love of a music genre, it's music as a money maker.
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There is a considerable difference in how people perceive the indie/alternative culture.

The indie/alternative bands I think of are ones that never had big record company contracts, like The Minutemen, Husker Du and Big Black. They were never going to get air play for the most part outside of the college radio stations.
 
painttoad said:
it's kind of hard to test out a tuner after alignment using pandora tho :idea:
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There's always the ONE FM country music station in the area that seems to get a pass on whatever broadcast power limitations there are. I use that to test since I get it in my basement without the need for an external antenna.
 
Not alternative. just normally classic rock, in my area.. 104.7 The Bear

Too many ads, but I love the music..

Keith Vaughn, afternoon/evening dj..
Car guy that moved on and then came back home..
Vaughn's vault(deep tracks)
The 420 track at 4:20, the 5:00 whistle..
Vaughn's parting shot(doesn't reflect the opinions of the station, it's owners/managers/advertisers) :biggrin:
 
Kodaline said:
Problem is, stations like JRR played Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink 182, Black Crows, and other bands so much that I even dislike typing the names, they were that overplayed. A song that wasn't that good to begin with had to opportunity to be liked because you heard it five times a day. This was back when CD players were just starting to show up in cars, so you either fought cassettes, or put up with Clear Channel Communications.

There were some highlights, the DJ would "forget" to play the censored version of songs, so you'd get NiN's Closer and pull up next to someone you wanted to annoy or cat call, and crank it for the refrain and sing along.
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I feel you on RHCP. I "liked" them, but probably only because I heard "Give It Away" a million times on the radio or MTV. Honestly, it is a fun song, but I really haven't connected with any RHCP song since Mother's Milk or Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik.
 
Swokie63 said:
Awesome..

I googled it.. is this still(sadly) true..?

en.wikipedia.org

Radio Garden - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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I just checked what's available in the US. That blockage seems to be only for UK listeners. I just switched to São José FM 104.9, Brazil. It's loud and clear.

I checked with Brazil because they have some serious tariffs for certain products. They're trying to encourage Brazilian manufacturing.
 
painttoad said:
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i bailed on classic rock stations long ago as well but now, with the crap music that is being made today, i have found myself going back now and then.

the upside is that there are a couple classic rock stations around here that will throw out an easter egg. you might hear metallica or alice in chains.

ota radio sucks. it has for a long time. i love my pandora.

it's kind of hard to test out a tuner after alignment using pandora tho :idea:
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At home I rarely use a tuner anymore. I use Pandora instead.
 
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electronjohn said:
"Beaker Street" w/Clyde Clifford on "The Mighty 1090...KAAY Little Rock. An alternative music service of the LIN Broadcasting Company." Clyde did a great job of introducing those of us growing up in the hinterlands to mighty fine music on reefer-fueled late night cruises.
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If you're curious: Beaker Street is back OTA in parts of Arkansas, with Clyde Clifford. Friday nights 8pm - midnight. It's also streamed on
Arkansas Rocks.com.
 
BilboBaggins said:
I remember this so well, and I'm surprised it didn't stir up any reaction. Over night, Alternative disappeared almost completely across the North American airwaves. I remember this so well, because I was flying out to San Francisco for a training course in San Jose. The morning I left, I driove to the airport parking lot. My favourite radio station wasn't there. There was country playing instead. When I arrived in San Francisco, I couldn't find any of the great alternative stations I was used to listening to when I was out there.

Personally, I think the industry decided they werte no longer going to support the altnative industry, and decided to see if they could change that. What really surprised me wa how few people were talking about it.

Do you remember that time? Interestingly, that alternative radio station I used to listen to that disappeared is back, but these are never the same, especially after so much time.
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San Francisco’s KITS 105.3, Live 105. Alex Bennett had a show there.

That was a great radio station to grow up with although pre to early teen years were spent mostly with classic rock 97.3 KRQR The Rocker.

I believe the newest owners of 105.3 have recently gone back to the alternative format however I haven’t tuned up past the public jazz station 91.1.

One of the best remaining Bay Area stations is Cal Berkeley’s KALX 90.7.
 
I agree with what some others have already touched on. "Alternative" never went away. There is more diverse music genres available today, and the ability to tailor the music you listen to toward your preferences than ever before.

Alternative began as an "Alternative" to the mainstream (hence the name). "Alternative" lost part of it's "identity" when it became mainstream. But the music itself didn't go away.

Newer music is also more likely to include elements from multiple genres, making it more difficult to pidgin-hole music into a single category. You could make the argument that the concept of genres has become obsolete, or at the very least much more broad.

And there is also the relentless march of time. Just because you liked "Alternative" when you were 17 doesn't mean you will like what is considered "Alternative" 20-40 years later.
 
I work at a Mom and Pop auto part store. I absolutely LOVE it, people b.s. all day. It's like a pub minus beer and bar fights.

One of the things I do hate, however, is the bro country station they insist upon.

I literally heard the same song 3 times yesterday, and it was followed by the same song after that.

Ridiculous.
 
painttoad said:
with the crap music that is being made today, i have found myself going back now and then.
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There is a wealth of new music being put out today in all genres. You just need to know how to find it. Check out this thread if you haven't already.

New music doesn't all suck, does it?

Rhetorical Q, for me at least. Recent threads touch on this topic and I'm not debating. For those who like new music - within the last 10 years, give me a YouTube link to one song (if you could only pick one) that you'd play for a friend to expose them to new music. One song only unless by...
audiokarma.org
 
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Bill S said:
There is a wealth of new music being put out today in all genres. You just need to know how to find it. Check out this thread if you haven't already.

New music doesn't all suck, does it?

Rhetorical Q, for me at least. Recent threads touch on this topic and I'm not debating. For those who like new music - within the last 10 years, give me a YouTube link to one song (if you could only pick one) that you'd play for a friend to expose them to new music. One song only unless by...
audiokarma.org
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i know how to find new music.

jeeez. i must radiate "i'm an idiot"

wtf?
 
painttoad said:
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i know how to find new music.

jeeez. i must radiate "i'm an idiot"

wtf?
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Well you're the one who generalized. Crap music being made today is a purely subjective statement. Many people find new music they like. My parents probably said the same thing in the late 50s. My mother did eventually gravitate to and appreciate new music in her later years. When I visited her daily in the nursing home, music from the 40s and 50s was continuously piped in. I thought, kill me now if I've got to look forward to 70s and 80s crap when I'm in my golden years.
 
CFNY 102.1 in Toronto Canada I still consider and Alt rock station.

Although for some reason its harder to catch here in Buffalo NY that say about 10 years ago. It also sucked when you are no longer able to stream it in the USA for some reason. That pissed me off.

Athanasios
 
Bill Ashton said:
WRKO-AM (680 maybe?) was a big Top-40 station in the Boston market from 1967 until 1981, when it went to the (horrible) all talk radio it remains today...obviously the call sign must have been sold off!
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Hi Neighbor :)

I don't know if your close enough to receive WARA 1320 AM in Attleboro (It's a low power station @ just 5KW) but if you can, it plays a good selection of music from the 50s through the 90s in the daytime, and plays a lot of the old radio shows from the era before TV at night (The Lone Ranger, Father Knows Best, etc). They do a bit of local programming as well (High School sports, local events like parades & such, and other local interest stories) and do have a bit of talk (thankfully only a few hours per day).

Check em out if ya can :thumbsup:

https://www.wararadio.com/
 
OBMG74 said:
If you are looking for reasons:

Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Clear Channel Radio which became iHeartMedia.

The real day the music died.
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yyyyyyyyup! I quit radio about 4 or 5 years before that. I am sorry to say that radio served it's purpose and had it's day a LONG time ago.
 
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