I have been a supporter of public radio for a long time, through my mother, who taught me what real music was. I refuse to listen to radio stations that have annoying commercials or loop their sets during the afternoon or night, and I certainly avoid overly energetic DJ’s who think they know about music when all they really know is what’s popular at the moment. WXPN – 88.5 if you’re a Philly local, is an awesome station that runs out of the University of Pennsylvania, and streams online. They play a huge array of genres (between XPN and XPN2) from alternative to jazz to folk and indie to anything you can think of really, and they mix it together with well thought out commentary on the music and artists and news that actually matters, instead of celebrity gossip. With programs like World Café (which happens to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year) and XPN Local (where I discovered bands like Good Old War and the like) they’ve drawn support from people like me: a verging on poor, twenty-three year old. I donate every year, because public radio stations need our support to continue existing – they don’t play commercials, they don’t get paid for advertisement the way corporate radio stations do. I even donated my old car to their vehicle donation program when I bought my new one. The point is, that public radio isn’t just bullshit talk radio that no one over the age of 45 listens to – there are wonderful things going on at WXPN, the XPoNential music festival to say the least, and they need your support. They’re on the tail end of their fall fund drive right now, but you can pledge any amount, any time of the year. I’m really not asking you to give them money, I’m asking you to give them a chance, a listen, because if you do, then maybe you’ll become a supporter like I have.
- RIOT! (aka Morgan)
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