Radio Survivor

WXPN

I’m always interested to see how various radio stations handle the daunting task of fundraising, especially since I’m now in the thick of things begging for cash at my own station KFJC (hint, hint…if you’re a fan of the station we need your dough!).

Well, public radio station WXPN at University of Pennsylvania has a novel approach. They are a few days into their annual 885 Countdown/fundraiser. This year they asked listeners to vote for their favorite desert island songs and those choices are being played for the next 10 days or so.

More than 5000 people voted on their top 10 desert island picks and you can actually peruse some of those submitted lists on the WXPN website in the “random list” section.

It’s pretty interesting to see how radio programming changes when the audience is given control and when it’s just done by the number count. If you take a look at the countdown so far on the website, you’ll see some pretty random artists back-to-back. It’s oddly refreshing in its randomness; although none of the selections are all that obscure.

I’ve highlighted some of the most interesting pairings in bold and look forward to hearing who made the top 10. I also wonder if those top artists will be representative of what’s typically played on WXPN. I’m guessing yes.

Being a fan of the underdog and the underground, I’m always drawn to what’s on the bottom of lists like these and was happy to find one of my desert island picks on here at #696.

Here’s a sampling of the countdown so far, starting at prophetic number 666:

666 Joan Armatrading – Willow
667 Grateful Dead, The – Fire On The Mountain
668 Glen Miller – In The Mood
669 Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch
670 Beatles, The – Twist & Shout
694 Arcade Fire, The Neighborhood #1 (tunnels)
695 Norah Jones Turn Me On
696 Neutral Milk Hotel In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
697 Jane Siberry & Kd Lang Calling All Angels
698 Helen Reddy I Am Woman
699 Gladys Knight & The Pips Midnight Train To Georgia
700 Dan Wilson Breathless (more…)

WLS Radio Tower Photo Copyright 2004, Garrett Wollman from The Archives@ BostonRadio.org.

Fandom is an amazing thing and thanks to the Internet it’s easier and easier to find like-minded obsessives who share one’s passion for the most obscure objects, idols, and idiosyncrasies. Radio is no exception. Loads of websites document radio history, with nostalgic archivists collecting ephemera, airchecks, and reminiscences from San Francisco to Boston. Various forums also exist, like those on Radio-Info.com, allowing listeners and industry types to talk shop and share current radio gossip.

And then there’s Garrett Wollman. I recently ran across some of his photographs of radio towers and was fascinated. As part of his work with The Archives @ BostonRadio.org, he’s been traveling around the country meticulously photographing every radio tower that he can find. Sometimes he even ventures into radio and television stations; but for the most part it’s the outside architecture and landscapes that he finds so compelling.

In order to learn more about this project, I contacted Garrett to get the scoop about his love for radio towers and his work to help document the history of radio and television. I was surprised to find out a couple of things: 1) Garrett’s a young guy—a rarity in radio history circles and 2) He’s not a big fan of current radio offerings. After chatting with Garrett, I also was made aware of pursuits like DXing and county counting, making me realize that there’s so much more to the radio scene than I ever realized. On to the interview: (more…)