I have to say no, hardly any FM anymore -- basically because there is generally nothing much to listen to. I was also spoiled by some excellent stations in places I used to live... I mostly listened to WPRB in Princeton -- the University's student run and managed radio station. Great station, diverse and alwys interesting musics, and fantastic hosts. Also the commercial station, WMMR in Philly had some late night and weekend shows that were well off their normal commercial paths and hosts like Michael Talbots and Ed Schiakey (spelling on both these guys) and especially a show called Crosscurrents. That's where I first heard Brian Eno (though wprb also played a lot of similar things), progressive jazz like Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarret and many more.
Then in the later 80s when I moved to Upper Montclair, New Jersey, I was right over the hill from East Orange and WFM -- the most way out station I ever encountered. Plus some more good college stations like WFUV at Fordham Uniiversity, WFDU from Farleigh Dickinson and of course WNYC in Manhattan. Again, all kinds of things to listen to from alternative, folk, celtic, jazz and more. Then it was off to D.C. where I mostly listened to WAMU at Amercian University and mostly bluegrass and folk/celtic musics there. I don't recall what classical station I listened to there but it obviously didn't make much of an impression on me. Then in the mid 90s when I got to Denver, Kuvo was and is the jazz station but tends to get stuck in ruts and I can only take so much of it. Then there was the old, original KVOD classical -- simply the best classical station I ever came across, but it went under new management after a couple of years and it was never the same. KCFR was the denver npr station and played mostly classical, but truly unimaginative programming -- basically classical top 40, and now about the only station I can listen to for any length of time is the NPR station out of Greeley and originally the station for the University of Northern Colorado -- KUNC. They got bought out by colorado public radio in a somewhat bitter and hard fought batttle, or at least they tried. I don't recall the final outcome of that as local radio politics is way behind me now (I used to be on the board of KGNU -- an independent community station) but they seem to have held on to some of their better programming.
We also had a local, mobile pirate station in the area but not sure it still exists, which had a lot of, as you might imagine, amateurish programming, but occasionally some pretty good stuff.
Unfortunately, where I live now is mostly a dead zone and there is a 100kw am transmitter nearby that kind of plays havoc with things.
All that said, I do like variety and good, human programming and diversity and to that end I recently signed up for MOG and so far really like it and it always broadcasts in 320 kbps mp3, so the sound quality is quite good for a "radio". Their collection is pretty extensive and growing all the time and I've found a lot of music, especially world music, that I never thought I'd find from a streaming service.
Do any of you guys in the philly area who are of a certain age remember the station ID that Tom Waites did for WMMR?..." "A Leviticusly Dueteronomous station. Wmmr. Philadelphia P A."
-- Jim
