Count your lucky radio stars
First, let’s just be straight up – I don’t believe in luck, it’s just a saying.
Anyway, in the vein of remembering great things about Detroit and drawing on differences between it and my home-of-choice for the last five-ish years, I am reminded daily while driving around in my car about the fantastic radio market that is Detroit. I know, you might hem and haw if you’re from here and really only listen to Detroit radio, but let me tell you…
… even take the mediocre days of 96.3, or The River, or even FM talk like 97.1 or the likes of a TRUE classic rock station like 94.7 You would just cringe if you heard DC (or, I might add, the majority of other radio markets) radio. It sucks. It’s bad. It’s repetitive and boring, and I can’t find a station on the dial there that doesn’t just constantly play Top 40. I’m a-okay with Top 40 if that’s what you like – but at least get us some options, ya know?
So the next time your scanning and come across even our friendly neighbor’s stations (sorry, but anyone else totally pleased that they can get 94.3 in the northern suburbs?), be thankful that at least there is some choice. Because honestly – and this happens every year – I’ll hear at home in DC in six months what I hear here regularly. There is plenty to love about DC, but I’ve been pretty public before about the radio options not being one of them.
Do you like Detroit radio? Have you given extended chances to other city’s markets? Which are better?
Remember the glory days of 89X before they became a top 40 station? I remember, they used to play some damn good music in the mid to late 1990s. 97.1 has recently jumped the shark lately – boring topics and lame since they fired Gregg Hension (gregghenson.com). These days, my favorite station is 93.9 The River – they sound more like a college station then a major market radio station.
I have to say though, if you want classic rock, you have to go up north here in Michigan. 94.7 is lame compared to some of the classic rock stations north of Saginaw. They really know how to rock out in their cabins up north.
That stinks that some of the great stations have kind of fallen away, but they are still heads above other markets. Just for example, the “classic rock” station I have to listen to plays (I swear, sometimes on a loop) 1990’s Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, and U2. I’m just as much of a Jovi and U2 fan as the next person (Rod can keep out of that category), but CLASSIC rock? From the 90’s? Not really.
I great up in the 90’s in metro Detroit and remember the days of the almost cult-like following of 89X. Sigh.
i look back to the early days of 89X when they were playing music not heard on any other “main stream” station, now it seems too predictable…and since when is Metallica considered “alternative”? and speaking of alternative, the 89X slogan “Detroit’s new rock alternative” if broken up would imply that they are a station to listen to if you want to hear something besides (an alternative choice) new rock which would imply they are a classic rock station. perhaps i’m nit-picking a bit too much.
Living in Chicago now what I miss most on the radio is good NPR with talk shows on all day. The Chicago public radio station, like ones in other cities I’ve lived in, plays way too much music when I’d rather switch to a good music station for that. Michigan Radio is the perfect NPR station, and if that’s not enough there’s the option of WDET Detroit, the Toledo NPR station, and also the Ypsilanti NPR station if you’re closer to the west side. That’s really some incredible amount of NPR.
I travel to Detroit almost monthly, and have really enjoyed listening to “The River” 93.9 radio station. Does anyone know if this radio station has an on-line site? It would be really great to be able to listen to “The River” on-line, whenever I am not in the Detroit area.
Thanks,
Dale