Radio Dalliance

The radio in my car worked two weeks ago. For one week.

When I got my Caddy from Laura's grandfather, the antenna was down and didn't go up. Which was fine, because I use an iTrip (a radio transmitter) with my iPod.

Basically, poor radio reception = a better iTrip.

Well, when the body shop fixed my trunk from my fender (non)bender, they somehow got the antenna to go up. Which you'd think would be a good thing. Except then I get radio stations, and my iTrip suddenly became useless.

No matter which frequency I tried my iTrip on, I would get enough static that it would stress me out after 10 minutes or so.

This led me to start scanning through the radio offerings of Orlando. Through which I stumbled upon 91.5 WPRK, the college radio station out of Rollins College ("The best in basement radio"). The music was great, and the DJs were fairly unprofessional. It immediately transported me back to my college radio station days at KBBK.

Here are some highlights.

• The first morning I listened, the playlist included everything from Damian Jurado and Patty Griffin to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. And a clip from Anchorman.
• Their "Top 91.5 Songs" list ranges from Led Zepplin to Morrissey to Death Cab For Cutie to Tupac to Meat Loaf.
• The next day at lunch (coming out of Etta James's "At Last"), the DJ announced that she was "playing through your chakras", picking music to enhance the "energy" in your "force centers". She talked about this for TEN MINUTES.
• The morning after that, it was a hip hop show on the drive in.
• When I got in my car after lunch that day, they were playing Elvis Costello. When I got out ten minutes later, they were spinning "Express Yourself" by N.W.A.
• Last Friday night, after three songs, I remarked, "Oh, it must be the jazz-r&b-rock show."
• Yesterday, they played "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" in the middle of a regular set.

Needless to say, I have been highly entertained.

I got my antenna to go down, and my iTrip started working again. Then, like a turgid Old Faithful, the antenna shot back up again. But the iTrip seems to be playing nice, for now. So I can listen to my Kevin & Bean podcasts and my new favorite radio station.

And yes, you can listen online.

Comments

[Clint Moore]

There's quite an awesome feel to college radio, is it not? Play it while on a roadtrip and more often than not, it'll take you back to your college days, all with your hip friends and spring breaks. Or, if you're still in college, you'd fairly remember or think of your parents during their college years. Even if you've got a new car, college radio adds a touch of classic to it.