I woke up sick on this rare, rainy morning in southern California and read something that made me think I was going to suffer even more long-term indigestion if not additional immediate nausea.  From the Twitter feed of the RadoInsight came this little gem of a news item.

14 College Stations join IHeartRadio streaming roster

For those that do not fully understand what this means, IHeartRadio is the mobile device app put out by Clear Channel, the company that many like me believe is ruining radio in North America.

Now, let me step back here and look at the potential good that could come out of this especially since @radioinsight linked to a story at MarketWatch with quotes from Clear Channel stating the 14 stations added now are only the beginning of bringing college radio to IHeartRadio.  As is well documented in some of my previous posts plus even more so in other places on the Web, college radio is in big trouble.  Some very well-known institutions have sold off their licenses, more are considering doing the same, and some colleges have seen such a drop in interest that they have simply just handed their license back to the FCC.  Getting such outlets on IHeartRadio could possibly usher in a renaissance of college radio as they would get much more attention and donations especially since mobile apps appeal to a younger but generally more affluent demographic.

However, knowing reality and what has already happened to college radio in my home area of Los Angeles where their close proximity to the major record companies has corrupted many of the the stations’ true independence, I worry.  First of all, dealing with Clear Channel is dealing with the very entity that is killing off locally-focused, wide-playlist radio all over the United States along with thousands of jobs which brings up some interesting morality questions to say the least.

Second and perhaps most importantly, it now gives Clear Channel “live or die” power over these stations.  It is certainly solely up to Clear Channel as to whether or not a college station remains available on IHeartRadio.  Let’s say that the quality of a college station dips for a semester (as will happen as its disk jockeys come and go).  Perhaps even more threatening, what if a host takes issue on the air against something Clear Channel supports or even the company itself?  The pressure Clear Channel could bring to change a format or individual host in the face of a threat to remove the station from IHeartRadio would be immense in this era of shrinking college budgets which shows no end in sight as conservative political pressure will continue well after the economy finally but inevitably improves.  Being dropped from IHeartRadio could be the excuse any money-hungry college dean needs to sell off his school’s license to be another NPR drone or, worse yet, another frequency churning out the religious K-LOVE feed.

At this early stage, I am not sure what to think about this personally or how I will let it affect what is linked on my Radio page.  In the first batch of 14 college stations being added to IHeartRadio, only KGRG-FM, the groundbreaking “alternative” station that serves the Seattle area, would be in my cross-hairs for removal.

Then again, would it be correct of me to blame KGRG-FM for joining forces with Clear Channel?  After all, who made the decision?  The students?  The program director who might also be a student?  The professors that oversee the program?  The administration?  The Board of Directors?  In any of those cases, is that any different than the few other mega-corporate-owned stations I leave on my list as I do believe they are still worthy?

At this point, I will stand pat with my list but keep a close eye on the situation.  After all, it would probably take some time before Clear Channel would start throwing its weight around and there’s a lot of great programming on these college stations that will be added to IHeartRadio.  Still, I cannot help but listen to my inner Peter Parker and feel my spider-sense tingling that this means big trouble down the road.

It’s finally time again to add another couple of stations to this site’s Radio page.  As it so happens, both of these are a bit on the twangy side of the music spectrum.  However, as one might expect from most of my previous selections, neither are a typical country music outlet and the second would probably bristle at that classification.

There are many radio stations in North America that call themselves “legend” or “legendary” in their tag lines.  In most cases, this is somewhat true but almost always only on a local basis.  An even higher percentage of these “legends” are a shell of their former selves and living merely on the reputation of their once esteemed call letters.  While I could easily list several stations that have had a huge influence, there is one that stands alone in how it changed the face of America — WSM.

Back in the day when listening to radio stations from far away was something everybody did and not just the niche hobby of DXing it is today, WSM blanketed two-thrids of the United States and half of the populated area of Canada anytime after sunset.  From its studios in Nashville, Tennessee, it exposed millions of people to a rich music and culture that had, up until then, been mostly confined to the hollows and farms of the poorest areas of the southeast.  Whether one likes what has become of country music or WSM’s signature program, the Grand Ole Opry which has been running continuously since 1925, just remember that many things came from this that probably would not have otherwise happened including bluegrass, rock & roll, and the general seeking out of other then-niche musical styles.

These days, WSM-AM is a “classic country” station but does so without simply resting on its laurels.  Unlike other stations claiming that format, WSM’s playlist is wide in years, deep in selection, and they don’t discriminate against bluegrass, rebels, or borderline rock.  The disk jockeys are well-informed and certainly carry on the friendly-sounding tradition that many such stations had in the past.  Over the air, WSM-AM is the last “clear channel” (small “c”, not the evil company of the same name) that still broadcasts music; all of the others now have a “news/talk” format (a.k.a. conservative blowhard programming).

WSM-AM was originally owned by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company.  Their slogan, “We shield millions,” is how WSM got its call letters.  The station is now owned and programmed by Gaylord Entertainment Company, the same group that now owns the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium which was the Opry’s previous, traditional home, and many other entities.

If the mood strikes to hear some good, genuine, all-American music, one can’t go wrong by spending a few hours with WSM.

Click on the logo to visit the WSM-AM website.

The second station I’m recommending today is a true rarity to add to my list for two reasons.  First, it will be only the third fitting station I have found worthy of linking that runs the wonderful Americana music format.  Second, it is an online-only station.  While I try to focus solely on over-the-air stations to encourage people to not give up on such an “old fashioned” medium and support the remaining stations that stand out from the crowd, sometimes, something is too good to not present to my readers.

Having just discovered it a couple of weeks ago, I do not know much about Radio Vagabond.  I did discover upon doing a little research tonight before making this post that it is located in Denver, Colorado.  This is a very key element in this case as whoever is running Radio Vagabond must have been heavily influenced by the two spectacular Americana stations that used to broadcast in that city earlier in the 2000s.

Because I don’t know much more about Radio Vagabond, please allow me to quote from the station’s homepage as I think this says it very well and far better than I can.

Musicians don’t like labels. That’s why “Americana” music is as good a label as any to catagorize this station. Americana music incorporates the best in country, alt-country, folk, blues, bluegrass, rockabilly and alt-rock. One doesn’t even have to be from America to be considered “Americana”. This is great music, most of it under-exposed. I hope you enjoy listening to Radio Vagabond as much as I enjoy programming it!

Vagabond Danny

Click on the logo to visit the Radio Vagabond website.