If you’re like me (and I know I am), you get tired of the same old holiday songs being played on the radio by the second week of December – if not sooner. Fortunately, there is a radio station that doesn’t play by the rules. WFMU (91.1 FM) broadcasts from northern New Jersey, and is what is known as a “freeform” station. The DJs play whatever they want, subject only to FCC regulations. All but the tiniest fraction of their income is from listener donations, so they are beholden to no one. Think of it as a college radio station – but without the basketball games.
Around ten years ago, they started archiving their shows on their website – so you can listen in regardless of the constraints of time or space.
Most of their DJs have holiday specials of some sort – tune in over the next week to hear what they’ve come up with. Here are last year’s (mostly) holiday shows from my favorite programs for your “streaming” pleasure. You are definitely going to hear things you’ve never heard before. The descriptions are the DJ’s own….
I was in such a rush to get out my annual Christmas Mix that I didn’t realize that I duplicated a tune from my very first collection in 2014. I also neglected to adjust the file names to a standard format – one where if you sorted them by file name in your media player, they would play in the order listed.
My apologies.
To make it up to you, allow me to share a couple of other mixes that I have in my collection.
These are from WFMU’s Rock and Soul Ichiban blog, and you can get them here:
The blog post has links to three mixes; each over an hour long. And it has track lists, too. Since they are professionally made, the tracks are all properly balanced for volume and blend into each other with no gaps.
WFMU is the coolest radio station on the planet. Based in northern New Jersey, they are a completely independent freeform station. They get no advertising money; except for a few grants, all their money comes from listener donations. This means the DJs are free to play whatever they want (within the guidelines of the FCC and basic decency, of course).
Back in 2009, they launched a couple of 24/7/365 “Web Only” streams. Rock and Soul Ichiban was one of them. It features obscure and lesser hits from the 50s and 60s, mixed in with movie trailers and vintage commercials.
In addition to the blog, there’s also a Facebook group where you can follow all the goings-on with the stream.
So if you like what you hear in those holiday mixes, give the stream a listen!
In just about a week or so, radio station WFMU will begin its annual fundraising marathon. Lots of public radio stations are taking time out this time of year to hit up their listeners for money. Why is WFMU different? Why do I support this one and no other station?
Put it simply, WFMU gets zero corporate or government dollars. One hundred percent of their funds comes from listener donations. Well, OK, there are a few modest grants, their annual Record Fair, and some companies that have donation-matching programs, but that’s it. You’ll never hear “Support for this program comes from….” or “This broadcast is made possible by a grant from….”
What this means is that no one (other than the FCC) can tell the station what it can broadcast. It’s “freeform” – their volunteer DJs play whatever they want. Since they all clearly love their particular genre of music, the whole effect is that of having a bunch of good friends who want to share this love of music with you. There’s a gospel show, a 50s R&B show, international music, reggae…. And several talk and listener call-in hours to add to the variety.
They are also very supportive of the local music scene in NYC and northern NJ, with DJs hosting local events. And they’ve been innovative, too. In 1997, they started live online streaming of their broadcast, which soon led to them archiving their shows. There’s at least 100,000 hours of radio available! And that doesn’t include podcasts and their new “Web Only” streams! They’ve even begun curating a “Free Music Archive” where you can find all manner of free and “pre-cleared” music for your creative needs.
I’ve been supporting them for several years now, and the Marathons are very likely the most fun thing you’ll hear on the station. Most other public stations sound tired as they beg for your money; WFMU goes crazy with excitement, live performances, and goofy stunts as they essentially invite you to join in on the madness.
In addition to the load of swag (no mere “Thank You” gifts here!) that you can get for your donation, you can even buy naming rights to a part of the station or Adopt a DJ! Let’s see you do that, PBS!
Here’s a bit from NJTV News about a recent documentary, “Sex and Broadcasting”, about WFMU:
So check them out, give them a listen, and maybe join the Super Secret Club of Worldwide WFMU Fans by sending a few bucks their way!
Pure Blather 