All around the United States and in many other countries, radio has been dying a sad death for a very long time. The radio programmer's holy scriptures are the demographic surveys and reports that tell them to play Freebird over and over and over. But what happened to creativity? What happened to other forms of music? Where can you get something other than canned spam? Well, guess what! There ARE some great radio stations out there, most of them attached to a college or community support. And a whole bunch of 'em stream their audio signal through the Internet, making it possible for the rest of us to enjoy their creative programming no matter where we live. That's a good thing for those of us living in cities where we only have a choice between five "classic rock" stations, three "young country" stations and a slew of "call-in talk" stations. We've gathered a small collection of links to stations we consider to be creative, interesting, well-programmed or all of the above. We've also thrown in a few links to audio sites that aren't necessarily traditional, but are worth plugging into. You need a RealAudio player to listen. The player is free and can be downloaded at the Real Audio website. If you know of other stations that you think people should hear, please send us the URL in an e-mail to radiostations@cosmik.com.





What's great about GoGaGa? Everything pertaining to the music they play and the shows they do. What's NOT so great? Well, at the moment the website is not so great, because every option except "listen" is a dead end. That means the station's programming schedule, which is supposed to be at http://www.gogaga.com/gogaga_schedule.html, may or may not be working. Still worth the trouble to check out. Like a bit of humor in your day? Check out The Daily Feed! Every weekday they have a new bit, usually clocking in under two minutes but always packed with laughs. Great political and social insights put The Daily Feed on the cutting edge, so listen up as they cut through the crap and tell it like it is. And be sure to read our interview this month with John Dryden, the creator of The Daily Feed. There's really nothing else quite this good. Have a listen!
Cal Davis' student-run radio that gives you a different style of music every few hours, and some of the programs mix it all up. Some of the deejays are quite entertaining, and they sure seem to know their music. For a schedule of their programs, surf to http://kdvs.org/programming/sched_4.shtml. KDHX is a St. Louis community radio. They have a huge variety of musical genres crashing around there, and although a lot of the conversation is St. Louis oriented, they do talk a lot about the music as well. For a programming schedule, head over to http://kdhx.org/program.html.
This is a Net-only station that plays "underground" music, like Poster Children, Guided By Voices, Flying Saucer Attack, Bob Mould, and The Loud Family. The sound quality is very good, and you can actually read the artist and title info for each song right there on your Real Player. For details surf to http://www.3wk.com/. This Fairfax, Virginia station's motto is "keeping the first ammendment alive," and that's not a bad motto to have. You can hear talk and all kinds of music from jazz to garage. For a schedule surf to http://www.fcac.org/webr/webrschedule.html.
Boston U's oh so eclectic station offers underground rock, indie hip-hop, Brit-rock, electronic, jazz, house and just about anything else your heart desires. It's been said this was the first station to fire Howard Stern. Good for them! For a schedule surf to http://www.bu.edu/com/WTBU/program.html. They are just what the name implies. Net-Only, great sound, diverse, gutsy programming. Check out the 2Kool Mix show with DJ Johnny Excess. And they archive their shows! How cool is that? For a schedule surf to http://www.2kool4radio.com/.
KMNR, 89.7 FM, Rolla, Missouri. Like many of the other stations on this page, KMNR offers so much diversity that you could get lost for weeks soaking it all up. A lot of fun to listen to. For a schedule surf to http://www.umr.edu/~kmnr/schedule/. Washington University in St. Louis. Another champion of eclecticism. We at Cosmik Debris salute Jamie, the host of The Juke Joint, who says "I think radio formatting -- playing one sole, segregated genre -- is boring; my show isn't." And she's right. For a schedule surf to http://kwur.wustl.edu/programming.asp.
It's in Rochester, NY, and it seems to cover all ground from punk to reggae and back. It MAY be affiliated with Rochester Institute of Technology, but they don't seem to want you to know that. Or maybe not. For a schedule surf to http://www.modernmusicandmore.com/broadcast.html. Student radio for the University Of Texas in Austin. Very eclectic, which is exactly what you should expect from Austin, where the live music scene is just that. Decent sound, too. For a schedule surf to http://www.kvrx.org/weekly.html.
This station has lousy sound, but great music. It comes from Arizona U, and it features all kinds of music, sports and talk. It seems the DJs change every semester, which means the programming does, too. Interesting stuff, tho. For a schedule surf to http://kamp.arizona.edu/. Reggae, punk, blues, jazz, classical and more from the campus station at Georgia Tech. You'll find something for everyone. Hey, they even have separate programs for Himalayan music! And Jewish music! Everything! For a schedule surf to http://cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/wrek/stream/schedule.shtml.
There! That should keep you happily exploring until we come back next month with a few new stations for your approval. And don't forget to listen to our own hour long programs, Cosmik Radio & The Fog Machine. Until next month, happy listening!
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