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Boston has the best big-city country-music station in the country; in other news, Boston has a country-music station
By adamg on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 10:44am
WKLB reports it's been named the Country Music Association's 2012 Major Market Station of the Year.
National Recording artist Brad Paisley called WKLB to personally inform the station of the honor. WKLB is one of the leading music stations in the Greater Boston market, and consistently among the top 3 rated stations.
WKLB is at 102.5 FM, which might sound familiar to those of you who remember when it was home to classical music on WCRB, which can now be found somewhere else on the FM dial. WKLB beat out stations in Phoenix, Portland, OR, Washington, DC and Baltimore.
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Medicinal use only
I like to breathe into a paper bag when my respiratory rate gets too high, lie down and meditate when my pulse gets too high, and listen to country music when my IQ gets too high.
I know all those people in
I know all those people in rural areas that produce the food we eat should be listening to gangster rap or hip-hop instead!
Thank you. It always
Thank you. It always bothered me that people in rural areas are looked down upon by those who live in more urban areas. Maybe one of the enlighted ones can explain to me why being a farmer or cattle rancher makes for stupid people? You know the ones whose jobs are 24/7, no holidays so you can have your organically grown meal and soy milk for your lattes?
If push came to shove and my survival depended upon the city dweller or the farmer - I'd go with the famer any time.
I guess diversity is for other people.
Get off your high horse why
Get off your high horse why don't you. There are plenty of local farmers that you could buy from as opposed to having your food shipped from the rural midwestern factory farms that supply coprorate walmart mega-stores you shop from.
Oh please yourself. your
Oh please yourself. your response still doesn't explain why many of the urban dwellers seem to look down upon the farmers and ranchers. And I don't believe you all get your food locally, am I right?
But we are better than them,
But we are better than them, don't you know!
There are plenty of local
There may be plenty of farmers, but they are boutique business that at straight total capacity would produce only enough food to feed a small percentage of the metro Boston population.
I patronize farmer's markets, but would be hard pressed to do my weekly grocery shopping there, as would most folks.
>>>>Putting giant, over-sized cowboy hat on<<<<<
But this is a discussion thread about alleged country music, not the virtues of being a locavore.
Freudian slip?
"WCRB, which can not be found somewhere else on the FM dial"
Is that what you really meant, Adam?
99.5, my man
They swapped frequencies in 2009.
Oy, I think I just can now type ...
Typo fixed.
country music
Yeeeehawwww!!!!
Yeeeehawwww!!!!
102.5 ? That's not an IP address
Oh, radio. I remember radio! Classical -> country is a sad social statement, though country like Taylor Swift is mostly just pop.
The Ultimate Authority On Everything
Just this morning (Monday, 10/22) Paul Krugman of the New York Times made the mistake of relying on a paper submitted by Harvard University professors. DUMB! The ultimate authority on everything is "Cracked Magazine"s website cracked.com (do they even print "Cracked Magazine any more)? So naturally, cracked.com has weighed in on how "musical taste" is developed in most people, regardless of income, environment or class: http://www.cracked.com/article_20065_5-ways-your-t...
Cool
Do they play TVZ, Gram Parsons, Steve Earle or the Man in Black?
Ha ha ha ha!
They play schlock, just like every other station these days. The only difference is that their schlock is Jason Aldean and my schlock is David Guetta.
Do they play Emmylou Harris?
She's great, and I think a bit younger than the other 'classic' country-music folks who have been mentioned in this thread.
Today's country music is garbage.
Popular country music today is just pop music with guitars and the occasional violin. Soulless lyrics written by vapid bubble-heads specifically sought out and made into "stars" by consolidated media labels. Country music had something to say in the past whether you liked those messages or not. Today's Country music is bubblegum - couldn't be anymore establishment if it tried. All country music stars are just adult versions of Justin Bieber- they are products pushed and sold.
I watched a show about Tammy Wynette over the weekend
and as much as I mock Country and big hair and sequined dresses, Tammy Wynette had soul. She sang the blues in a country format.
Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift aren't fit to hold Tammy's purse.
Old school
Those old school country stars like Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and of course Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were all unique individualists. For whatever their ups annd downs (or laughable fashions), they had talent and they had character. The Nashville cats backing them up were phenomenal players. What passes for country music today is beyond generic. It is unlistenable. Of course, this is not a problem that just affects country music.
I can think of at least one thing wrong with your theory:
and that is the fact that Brad Paisley happens to be a GREAT guitarist.
sure bubble gum is bubble gum, and a lot of country pop is chewing-tobacco-flavored bubble gum. But there are a some great musicians scattered among today's stars.
Most American music is
Most American music is descended from two sources, slave ballads and country folk tunes. If you love any American music, you have to go back to both of these roots, one of the original American melting pot.
For this thread, country music originated as back water, hill people folk music and dates back to english and celtic folk tunes.
As a young man, I thought that the big hair, rhinestone suits of country music in the 60's and 70's was silly. However that was probably the last real generation of folks who had real regional accents and dialects.
Interestingly as I learned more about country music (dating back to the Carter family), the use of the big-hair, rhinestone era had to do with the hard scrabble economics of the South. Where money to go see a concert was still dear and performers felt a need to glamorize themselves and the performance for it's audience. In a sense making it different from the farmer overalls, back porch roots of the music.
IMO, today's commercial country music is a hollow, ersatz, pale likeness of it's roots. As with other genres of music, there is a widespread, grass roots small band movement that is much more in the spirit of real music.
With the exception of the excellent "Hillbilly at Harvard", you can't find it on the radio.
Country isn't bad
When I was a kid I jumped on the "Anything but Country" bandwagon. Then I grew up, listened to "country" music and found that it's neither a small category nor is it bad. A lot of it is pretty good. Try listening to WUMB or WMBR/WZBC early on weekend mornings and later in the day. (Though I'll turn off the Celtic stuff.)
I'd take a good "country" station over a hip-hop station any day as I'd rather listen to musicians playing real instruments instead of people people yelling/singing/talking over loops. There is some good hip-hop and rap too but generally country is a better bet.
But this is a commercial country station and therefor it sucks just as bad as every other commercial station in America. Friends don't let friends listen to commercial radio...
Key phrase in your post:
I'd rather listen to musicians playing real instruments
Yeah, this is one of the revelations I've experienced recently. I also never liked nor listened to country music as a kid, and still don't own any of it. But I recently realized that it is one of the last genres of popular music that has actual musicians playing actual instruments.
Give WKLB credit
When WKLB started out, nobody thought they'd attract the kind of audience they have achieved in a big metro like Boston. Now they are always among the top 5 stations, often beating long-time ratings champions like Jam'n, WBZ, WEEI, and WZLX. You don't have to like country music (and I don't, myself) to have respect for what they've accomplished.
country station in Boston for 25 + years
Hillbilly at harvard. On WHRB/95.3 each and every Saturday from 9A to 1 P has been turning out THE highest quality country radio for more than 25 years. Then there is cousin Kate playing similar music every Sunday from 10 A to 2 P on WZBC 90.3.
If you listen to either of these you will come to know how good country music can be and how lucky Boston is to have so many commercial free (college) stations. All you got to do is move your dial way to the right. Or stream them whereever you are.