Saturday, January 3, 2009

Music to my ears

Many years ago, a radio station called "The X" opened its doors and began broadcasting "alternative" music to Birmingham and the surrounding areas. Back then, it was located at 105.9 and was considered by many of my peers to be the superior radio station in town. They sponsored a music festival in the summer that became the hot ticket event. However, corporate America reared its ugly head and The X was bought by someone else and moved to another frequency, 107.7 I believe. Mostly, its content stayed the same, but a long and steady downward spiral had begun. After a couple years at 107.7, they moved again to 100.5. I may be fuzzy on my sequence of frequencies, but you get the idea. It's like a restaurant that moves around a few times but tries to convince you that they offer the same top quality fair. There's something inside of you that says, "If you're such a good restaurant, why can't you stay in one place?" Before long, the airwaves of Birmingham's Alternative station were dominated by such musical filth as Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Seether, and the like. It was miserable. It seemed as though they made a playlist of twenty crappy songs and just played it over and over again. Radio in Birmingham had become a bleak landscape. Enter Live 100.5, Birmingham's Modern Music. Radio had been saved. Perhaps enough people made their opinions known, perhaps the radio powers that be woke up, but radio is good again. 100.5 plays a healthy mixture of up and coming artists, actually good music that's out now, and nostalgic hits from middle and high school. If you'd like to listen online, be my guest. I know I'm a little slow on the uptake here. The station has been in existence for several months now, but I don't live in Birmingham. Since I've been home, the radio in my car is constantly tuned to 100.5. As they say on the station, "Radio is good again."

4 comments:

John and Brooke said...

I used to love 107.7 The X. I have several "Live in the X Lounge" Cds and went to the X Fest every year it seems. Since living in Birmingham I absolutely love 100.5! So glad you have seen the light so you can tune in while in town :)

The Brucemeister said...

PLUS they have Reg's Coffeehouse on Sundays from 10 to 2. It doesn't get much better.

Camille Platt said...

if you ever run into Luka from Lukaworld, remind her that she owes me money

Stephen said...

Wasn't there a short time in 2002 or 2003 (after the X started really sucking and while it was still at 107.7) that a station started broadcasting on 100.5 out of Tuscaloosa with a bunch of the X's old DJs and all the good music the X used to play? I think the corporate goons that had ruined the X then bought out 100.5 and then moved the X to 100.5. From their website, it looks like the same company still owns 100.5, but I don't care so long as they play good music.

Thanks for the update. It's nice to know there is actually good radio in Birmingham again.