Five reasons why the radio is still cool
As we speak, both WFMU and WOXY are having membership drives, so I thought it'd be a good time to share my speech on noncommercial radio. So here it is:

So, we're sure being bombarded with advertisements for Satellite Radio. XM and Sirius, as far as I can tell, are completely indistinguishable from each other. (If there is a difference between the two of them, they should sure mention it in their advertisements.) All of the posters and commercials make one thing clear: Satellite radio is an alternative to radio. With radio, you get censorship, record labels' agendas, and advertisements. With Satellite Radio, you get music. Nonstop music all the time, five bzillion channels to choose from, so you can get whatever music you want.

But the thing is, I can already listen to whatever music I want. I already own it, and I can just stick it in the good old tape deck and be good to go. Why should I listen to your randomized playlists when I can listen to all of the songs I want in order?

I hate corporate radio as much as the next guy, but maybe not for the same reasons. Sure, the big bad government shouldn't get in the way of our right to hear naughty words, and sure labels shouldn't shove their picks-of-the-week down our throats, but deep inside, that's not what sucks. What sucks is that there's no creative force behind the song selection. It's all run by computers. Even if there is someone talking during the music breaks, it's clear that there's no mission. Aside from following basic MassComm 101 rules about what follows what, there are no aesthetic decisions going on.

Why give up one computerized playlist for another? The true radio DJ is a storyteller, an artist serving his/her community through dialogue and musical journey.

So here they are, my top 5 radio stations:

5. KPFA in Berkeley (Listen)
Founded in 1949 by the poet Lewis Hill, KPFA was a voice of the west coast underground through the 50s and 60s. Staffed largely by volunteers, funded entirely by donations, this is public radio in the best possible sense.

When I first moved to San Francisco, KPFA was my alarm clock station, but political talkshows and townhall meetings don't always wake me up, so now I use some Clear Channel pop station.

4. Pirate Cat in San Francisco (Listen)
It comes in at my place about half of the time. Extremely low power, staffed by volunteer 20-year-old stoned kids. This is true pirate radio, legal because of a loophole and because no one has called the FCC on them. When there's no DJ working, they play old radio drama. What's not to love?

3. WDVX in East Tennessee (Listen)
Country music is so good right now, so why is country radio still so bad? Even in San Francisco, I turn on a country station and I'll hear the same Garths and Shanias I hated in high school.

But not WDVX. These people are the real thing, accents and all. Commercial-free, listener-supported (only one paid employee), and the studio is in a trailer! They also regularly have musical guests in the studio.

2. WOXY in Oxford, OH (Listen)
About a year ago, WOXY was forced into going internet-only, and now there's a chance that they'll lose the station entirely. As we speak, they are running a frantic membership drive to try and garner some funds in the absence of advertising dollars.

I really want WOXY to make it, because these guys are just with it when it comes to good rock music. It's the only radio station I can actually listen to all day without ever wanting to turn it off.

1. WFMU in East Orange, NJ (Listen)
As important this very moment as KPFA was in the 60s, I think WFMU will be the model for the new noncommercial radio station. All volunteer DJs, all experts in their musical foci, many of them well-known musicians themselves, including Laura Cantrell.

The DJs also keep a really good collective blog., and if you have internet access on your cellphone, you can listen to WFMU live and archived for free wherever you are. As far as I know, they're the only independent station really getting into that technology.

Many of the WFMU DJs are very oriented toward experimental music/sound art/outsider music, but they present it in a way in which normal people can enjoy it too.