Hang the DJ

February/March 2004

Once upon a time, I used to listen to music on the radio. In junior high, I listened to top 40 music. I was a naive kid. Actually, to be completely honest, I once owned audio cassettes of MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, and C&C Music Factory. Wow... I can't believe I just bared my soul's secret shame like that. Holy crap, is this becoming a blog???? No, no... no. Never. I shudder at the thought. (Well, not literally, but internally I do shudder.) What was I talking about? Oh yes. When I was in the eighth grade, I actually listened to rap and hip-hop. Perhaps someday I will forgive myself for doing so. It was only a brief time in my life. But to my defense, in the late 80s, rap was only beginning in popularity, and was fun to some extent. This was before rap was taken over by mysogistic criminals with Tourette's Syndrome.

But throughout my early adolescence, I knew that there was a style of music that I liked, but I just didn't know of any category to which it belonged. I couldn't put my finger on a name. During that time I mainly listened to adult contemporary music, like Phil Collins and The Eagles. But one of the more significant musical experiences of that time was when I saw the "Once In A Lifetime" video by Talking Heads. The same goes for the movie "Pretty In Pink." I knew of bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and I liked early 80s music, but I just couldn't find any radio stations that played such things on a regular basis. Occasionally I would hear music from bands like New Order, Depeche Mode and The Fixx, but I was not able to find a station devoted to such music. I was bored with mainstream radio, but I didn't know of any other alternative.

Then in my first year of high school, when R.E.M.'s album "Out Of Time" made it big, I bought it and played that tape over and over again. It was then that I decided that I'd had enough of mainstream music. At that time, I sometimes heard people mentioning an AM radio station that was local to the Phoenix area called KUKQ, 1060AM. As I tuned in and listened, I knew that this was what I had been searching for all along. This was what was known as "Alternative" music, and at that time, it truly was "alternative." Otherwise known as "College Radio," it played music from non-mainstream bands. The station featured non- phony-sounding DJs and played music from bands like Psychedelic Furs, They Might Be Giants, Material Issue, Dramarama, The Church, The Call, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smithereens, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Peter Murphy, Material Issue, and so many others that I could list. The fact that it was an AM station added to the feel of the music and appealed to the whole "Alternative" ambience. For a high school kid with no friends listening to these songs on a radio station that sounded far away with slight static, it was like I had discovered a hidden treasure with nobody to talk to about it. Like the escaped slave from Plato's Cave, I had nobody to share my discovery with; nobody to understand my revelation. But I had found music that matched my personality. It was music that shaped who I was and still am. Just as Jesus saved me from my sins, KUKQ saved me from the mainstream.

For about a year or so, Tears For Fears was my favorite band. I especially liked their first album, "The Hurting." Then when I heard the song "Ballerina Out Of Control" By The Ocean Blue, they instantly became my favorite band and have remained since then. My other favorite bands of that period were The Sundays, Trash Can Sinatras, The Charlatans UK, Lush, New Order, and The Smiths.

Things were going great until 1993. Up until then, KUKQ played music I didn't care much for, like Jane's Addiction, Violent Femmes and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but the station still had great variety and was great to listen to until 1993. That's when the Seattle grunge movement reached its crescendo and took over the airwaves. "Alternative" was no longer associated with people who like indie bands, and instead became associated with brooding kids who always wear flannel ---even during the summer. Sure, this music was there all along, and was celebrated with the stupid Lolapalooza tours (known as Lolapaloozer among my friends). (The only bands to play in Lolapalooza that I ever liked were James, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, and Shonen Knife. There may be more, but those are the ones I can think of now.) Before then, Grunge came in small doses with bands like Mother Lovebone and Sonic Youth and was just one subgenre among the Alternative palette, but with the release of the angst-ridden song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana in '91, the tide began to turn, and eventually by '93 the airwaves became buried in a mountain of plaid flannel with bands like Stone Temple of the Dog Jam Garden Pilots in Chains. So, I stopped listening to radio when radio stations refused to clean the dirty laundry, so to speak. My favorite Shoegazer, New Wave, Madchester, Britpop, Mod, "Goth" (although I hate that term), and Dreampop artists seemed to disappear. I often saw Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam on TV, who couldn't seem to be able to sing without making weird facial grimaces as though he was taking a dump on stage.

For awhile, there was a new station called KFMA 93.7FM. This was fairly similar to KUKQ, only on FM. Some of my favorite DJs like Jonathan L. migrated to this station. The only problem is that it was broadcast from Wickenburg (if I'm not mistaken) way northwest from Phoenix! Even living on the West Valley, it was difficult to receive the signal. Then along came another FM station called The Edge 106.3FM. At first I ended up listening to this station frequently because I was getting tired of the selection on KUKQ that was getting harder and grungier. At first The Edge was playing music I liked. But this station had more of an "establishment" feel to it and not so much "alternative" By that time, Alternative had eventually become mainstream, and thus an oxymoron. (Do you know what an oxymoron is? It's a contradictory phrase like "jumbo shrimp" and "rap music.") This led people to refer to the genre as "Modern Rock." Meanwhile, KUKQ lost listeners and died. It was later revived for about a year while I was starting college, but the music had a much harder, angst-ridden sound to it. It played stuff from bands like Primus and Tool. I only listened to it during the lunchtime for "The Ramones Hour." After once again losing sight of its original popularity for playing good, fun music, it died a second death. It was for the best, since the Grunge movement had taken over. Between that and the harder stuff they were playing, KUKQ had taken a totally different direction and was not the same station I once loved. By that time, I had become so tired of switching off the radio that I began listening solely to my own music collection. I'd like to note that Grunge music never became popular in England. There was one UK grunge band I've heard of, Bush, but they were more popular in America than in England. Maybe British have better tastes in music. Actually, the majority of my favorite bands come from the UK, hence my bias.

These days I never listen to the radio for music. Unless it's talk radio, or the classical station or the jazz station, I'm always listening to CDs and MDs in my car and at home. I absolutely refuse to listen to pop stations. Since KUKQ's quality went downhill and eventually turned into a sports station, I lost faith in radio.

I am saddened with the state of music these days. I guess that makes me sound like an old fogey. There is so much self-pity and hate-filled, teen angst-ridden tripe out there and I wonder how people today can fill their heads with that constantly. In a recent discussion about this on an Internet forum I frequent, one guy summed it up perfectly by saying how he can't stand listening to singers "crying about losing his girlfriend and life as a teenager(when they are 30-years-old)."

This self-pity seems so prevalent these days. A good example is the boy band Linkin Park. These guys look like the teen-angst alternative to other pretty-boy groups like N'Suc and Backdoor Boys. Here's my take on their typical lyrics:

I'm a pumpkin full of pain 
Mom won't let me borrow the keys to the car tonight 
My soul is shattered 
Like so many shards of glass on the floor 
The pretty girl in biology class already has a boyfriend 
Boo hoo hoo.


Your lies have filled my mind
I must cut my head off to get rid of them
And to free myself from your terrible control
And my memories of you
I'll never find another girl to love ever again
Boo hoo hoo.

For more fun at Linkin Park's expense, there's a really funny article at SomethingAwful.com. Also check out the random Linkin Park's lyrics generator page.

And to rant further, I think that the majority of modern Punk music has lost sight of its original purpose. In the 70s, Punk was a reaction to the hippie movement, and in my opinion it saved rock 'n roll from the hands of hippies and metalheads. There are few punk bands that I like, like The Clash, The Ramones, and Social Distortion. I can't respect this new stuff much at all. Green Day has always gotten on my nerves, especially the way that the lead singer would prance around naked with his guitar But besides that, Punk nowadays has become practically indistinguishable from the liberal, politically correct hippie crowd, going off on empty-headed political tirades and telling their fans how to vote. There are some in the Punk scene who haven't become a political recruitment machine for big government Dummycraps, so not all hope is lost.

I just hate it when bands get political at the risk of alienating fans who do not follow in their views. That's why I hate the whole MTV "Rock the Vote" nonsense. It's so slanted that it's not even funny. Diversity is not on their agenda, only indoctrination. I remember when U2 would come to town in concert, Bono would always go on anti-Bush tirades. I always wanted to tell U2, "Shut up and go back to Ireland instead of telling Americans how to run our country."

For the past ten years, I have had to discover decent bands by researching and by word-of-mouth, but it's rare when I find someone who is remotely interested in the styles of music I like. I have a friend who has introduced me to bands like The Postal Service and The Shins. The Internet, particularly Amazon.com, has been an excellent resource to expand my musical tastes. For example, I recently saw on Amazon.com that New Order has finally made a comeback in recent years! Since I do not listen to the radio (Have I mentioned that already? It's true, you know), I would not have known about that. I recently got their new CD, "Get Ready," and I'm so glad that New Order has picked up where they left off with their early 90s album "Republic."

Since it is rather difficult for me to walk into a music store and find the music I enjoy, I purchase most of my music online at Amazon.com. In fact, I recently bought Starflyer 59's Silver album, and I've been looking for that CD for a long time. Amazon has exposed me to great bands like The Innocence Mission, Interpol, Tahiti 80, and The Orange Peels. Amazon also allows browsers to listen to samples from the songs, and since I'm not into downloading MP3s and such, this is a real big help for buying decisions. Initially, I never thought much of this purchasing tool until I started using it more and discovered how accurate it is to matching my musical tastes. With this helpful research utility, I get a better exposure to the music than I could at a typical electronics/music store. I used to be in favor of non-corporate, privately-owned music shops, but as the music I like grows more obscure, I've given up on such stores and the greasy kids who work there. Currently on my to-buy list are CDs from Stone Roses, Slowdive, Ride, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, and The Primitives.

I've been making nostalgia collections on MiniDisc of music I grew to love while listening to KUKQ. I love MiniDiscs because they have CD quality sound with the recording convenience of audio cassettes. MD Walkmans can also record MP3s from the computer, but are far more convenient and versatile than MP3 players. MD Walkmans are far more battery efficient than CD Walkmans, and are more portable. Anyhow, here's the track listings of the KUKQ compilation MDs I'm listening to over and over again:

(Continually updated)

MiniDisc 1:
 1 Quick As Rainbows - Kitchens of Distinction
 2 Between Something and Nothing - The Ocean Blue
 3 There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
 4 There She Goes - The La's
 5 There's No Other Way - Blur
 6 The Only One I Know - The Charlatans UK
 7 Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds
 8 Long Day In The Universe - Darling Buds
 9 Pure - The Lightning Seeds
10 Space Age Love Song - A Flock of Seagulls
11 Ballerina Out Of Control - The Ocean Blue
12 Goodbye - The Sundays
13 We Are Each Other - Beautiful South
14 The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
15 Metropolis - The Church
16 Heaven - The Psychedelic Furs
17 Sweetness And Light - Lush 
18 Just Like Heaven - The Cure

MiniDisc 2:
 1 Move Any Mountan - The Shamen
 2 Regret - New Order
 3 Grey Cell Green - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
 4 Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones
 5 Behind the Wall of Sleep - The Smithereens
 6 Saved By Zero - The Fixx
 7 I Melt With You - Modern English
 8 Under The Milky Way - The Church
 9 Here's Where the Story Ends - The Sundays
10 Hayfever - The Trash Can Sinatras
11 Renee Remains The Same - Material Issue
12 Caught In My Shadow - The Wonder Stuff
13 She Says (Come Around) - The Rave Ups
14 Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs
15 The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead - XTC
16 All I Want - Toad the Wet Sprocket
17 Sublime - The Ocean Blue
18 Waterfall - Riverside
19 Crank - Catherine Wheel
20 For Love - Lush

MiniDisc 3:
 1 Reach the Rock - Havana 3am
 2 Sheena Is A Punk Rocker - The Ramones
 3 Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
 4 Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
 5 Bang - Blur
 6 Walking Through Syrup - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
 7 She Comes In the Fall - Inspiral Carpets
 8 Weirdo - The Charlatans UK
 9 Elephant Stone - The Stone Roses
10 Far Gone and Out - The Jesus and Mary Chain
11 Policy Of Truth - Depeche Mode
12 Texarcana - R.E.M.
13 Annie Get Your Gun - Squeeze
14 The Size Of A Cow - The Wonder Stuff
15 Close To Me - The Cure
16 With Or Without You - U2
17 Very First Lie - Material Issue
18 Promised You A Miracle - Simple Minds
19 Pale Shelter - Tears For Fears
20 Smiling - Kitchens of Distinction

MiniDisc 4:
 1 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
 2 I Still Believe - The Call
 3 Movin' On Up - Primal Scream
 4 Rush - Big Audio Dynamite II
 5 Kiss Them For Me - Siouxsie & The Banshees
 6 Valerie Loves Me - Material Issue
 7 Shining Star - INXS
 8 Monsters and Angels - Voice Of The Beehive
 9 What's Good - Lou Reed
10 Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet
11 The Sweetest Drop - Peter Murphy
12 It's A Shame About Ray - Lemonheads
13 Star Sign - Teenage Fanclub
14 Cars - Gary Numan
15 Tainted Love - Soft Cell
16 These Are Days - 10,000 Maniacs
17 We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful - Morrissey
18 Major Tom - Peter Schilling

MiniDisc 5:
 1 Drifting, Falling - The Ocean Blue
 2 Lips Like Sugar - Echo & The Bunnymen
 3 Alice Everyday - Book of Love
 4 Jealous - Gene Loves Jezebel
 5 Peek-A-Boo! - DEVO
 6 Wild Wild Life - Talking Heads
 7 Ask - The Smiths
 8 Born Of Frustration - James
 9 Cuts You Up - Peter Murphy
10 Three Strange Days - School of Fish
11 Ring Of Fire - Social Distortion
12 Groovy Train - The Farm
13 Step On - Happy Mondays
14 Birdhouse In Your Soul - They Might Be Giants
15 The One I Love - R.E.M.
16 Seen The Doctor - Michael Penn
17 Getting Away With It - Electronic
18 Red Skies - The Fixx

MiniDisc 6:
 1 High - The Cure
 2 Locked Out - Crowded House
 3 Stone Cold Yesterday - The Connells
 4 It's My Life - Talk Talk
 5 Oblivious - Aztec Camera
 6 Don't Change - INXS
 7 Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies
 8 Cities In Dust - Siouxsie & The Banshees
 9 Until She Comes - The Psychedelic Furs
10 Blue Hotel - Chris Isaak
11 Love - The Sundays
12 Crazy - Seal 
13 This Is How It Feels - Inspiral Carpets
14 Rio - Duran Duran
15 Love Plus One - Haircut 100
16 Blood Makes Noise - Suzanne Vega
17 Black Metallic - Catherine Wheel
18 Caribbean Blue - Enya


MiniDisc 7:
 1 Burning Down The House - Talking Heads  
 2 Beat On The Brat - The Ramones
 3 So Alive - Love & Rockets
 4 How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
 5 The Ghost In You - The Psychedelic Furs
 6 Two Worlds Collide - Inspiral Carpets
 7 Pearl - Chapterhouse
 8 Reap The Wild Wind - Ultravox
 9 Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol
10 She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
11 Reptile - The Church
12 Lovesong - The Cure 
13 Top of the Pops - The Smithereens
14 Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil
15 Mexican Radio - Wall of Voodoo
16 Come Anytime - Hoodoo Gurus
17 Cool For Cats - Squeeze
18 Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente!


MiniDisc 8:
 1 Way Down Now - World Party
 2 Suedehead - Morrissey
 3 Don't You Want Me - Human League
 4 Someday - Concrete Blonde
 5 Blue Sky Mine - Midnight Oil
 6 Unkind - The Mighty Lemon Drops
 7 Native Son - The Judybats
 8 Sold Me Down The River - The Alarm
 9 Sweet Divine Thing - The Soup Dragons
10 So You Think You're In Love - Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
11 Anything - Dramarama
12 Dogs Of Lust - The The
13 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads
14 Jacky - Marc Almond 
15 Chorus - Erasure
16 Electricity - OMD
17 Mrs. Rita - The Gin Blossoms
18 Candy - Iggy Pop
19 Dear God - Midge Ure
20 More Than This - Roxy Music


MiniDisc 9:
 1 Ms. Freelove '69 - Hoodoo Gurus
 2 Buddy Holly - Weezer
 3 Teen Angst - Cracker
 4 A Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls
 5 Mesmerise - Chapterhouse
 6 Vapour Trail - Ride
 7 Dreamtime - The Heart Throbs
 8 Dreams - Cranberries
 9 See the Lights - Simple Minds
10 Woman With the Strength of 10,000 Men - Peter Himmelman
11 Instant Karma Coffee House - Loud Sugar
12 Train In Vain - The Clash
13 Take a Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
14 Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys
15 Veronica - Elvis Costello
16 A Town Called Malice - The Jam
17 Twiggy vs. James Bond - Pizzicato Five
18 Get the Message - Electronic
19 Mirror In The Bathroom - English Beat

 
MiniDisc 10:
 1 Take The Skinheads Bowling - Camper Van Beethoven
 2 Not Too Soon - Throwing Muses
 3 I Fought The Law - The Clash
 4 Metal Mickey - Suede
 5 Cannonball - The Breeders
 6 Welcome To The Cheap Seats - The Wonder Stuff
 7 Diane - Material Issue
 8 Camouflage - Stan Ridgway
 9 I Wear Your Ring - Cocteau Twins
10 Inside Out - The Mighty Lemon Drops
11 Honeydrip - Ian McCulloch
12 Get A Room - The Psychedelic Furs
13 Original Sin - INXS
14 Coast Is Clear - Curve
15 Sooner Or Later - The Feelies 
16 Sway - Ocean Colour Scene
17 Mrs. Robinson - The Lemonheads
18 The Stand - The Alarm
19 Power And The Passion - Midnight Oil
20 Punk Rock Girl - Dead Milkmen


Minidisc 11:
 1 Little Fluffy Clouds - The Orb
 2 Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
 3 Going Underground - The Jam
 4 Jumping Someone Else's Train - The Cure
 5 Drive That Fast - Kitchens Of Distinction
 6 Nothing Natural - Lush
 7 Salome - U2
 8 Oceanside - Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
 9 Anytime, anyplace, anywhere - Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine
10 Revenge - Ministry
11 Let Me Go - Heaven 17
12 The Last To Know - Del Amitri
13 Genius Of Love - Tom Tom Club
14 Don't Let It Start - They Might Be Giants
15 Head On - The Jesus and Mary Chain
16 Twisterella - Ride
17 Not Sleeping Around - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
18 People Are Still Having Sex - La Tour (this song always cracks me up)

Minidisc 12:

 1 Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.
 2 Holiday In Cambodia - Dead Kennedies
 3 Johnny Hit And Run Pauline - X
 4 Don't Want To Know If You're Lonely - Husker Du
 5 The Cutter - Echo & The Bunnymen
 6 Senses Working Overtime - XTC
 7 Message of Love - The Pretenders
 8 I Will Dare - The Replacements
 9 Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
10 Birthday - The Sugarcubes
11 Madonna Of The Wasps - Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians
12 Ana NG - They Might Be Giants
13 She Bangs the Drums - The Stone Roses
14 Swamp Thing - The Chameleons UK
15 24 Hour Party People - Happy Mondays
16 Monkey Gone to Heaven - The Pixies
17 Kundalini Express - Love & Rockets
18 Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
19 World Shut Your Mouth - Julian Cope
20 Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush

Minidisc 13:
 1 What You Do To Me - Teenage Fanclub
 2 Move - Inspiral Carpets
 3 Don't Look Back - Fine Young Cannibals
 4 Please Yourself - The Darling Buds
 5 Pain Lies On The Riverside - Live
 6 Tomato Head - Shonen Knife
 7 You Don't Understand - The House Of Love
 8 I Go Crazy - Flesh For Lulu
 9 Solar Sister - The Posies
10 International Bright Young Thing - Jesus Jones
11 In The Name Of Love - U2
12 Creep - Radiohead
13 Roam - B52's
14 In Your Room - The Bangles
15 Fields Of Gold - Sting
16 Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
17 The Passenger - Iggy Pop
18 If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar
19 Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
20 Other Side Of Summer - Elvis Costello
21 Bitchin' Camero - Dead Milkmen

Minidisc 14:
 1 Kill Your Television - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
 2 Does This Hurt? - Boo Radleys
 3 Last Night I Fell Again - Moose
 4 Can't Help Myself - Icehouse
 5 In A Big Country - Big Country 
 6 Hippychick - Soho
 7 Sanctify Yourself - Simple Minds
 8 If Looks Could Kill - Transvsion Vamp
 9 Feed The Tree - Belly
10 The Life of Riley - The Lightning Seeds
11 Nothing - Frazier Chorus
12 Everyday Is Like Sunday - Morrissey
13 Destroy The Heart - The House Of Love
14 Fire Woman - The Cult
15 Our House - Madness
16 No More Words - Berlin
17 Up All Night - Boomtown Rats
18 The Promise - When In Rome
19 Love Missile F1-11 - Sigue Sigue Sputnik
20 Soon - My Bloody Valentine

Minidisc 15: 
 1 If You Leave - OMD
 2 Pretty In Pink - The Psychedelic Furs
 3 Bring On The Dancing Horses - Echo & The Bunnymen
 4 Throwing Back The Apple - Pale Saints
 5 Gobbledygook - The Wendys
 6 In Between Days - The Cure
 7 Shine - For Against
 8 I'm Free - The Soup Dragons
 9 She's In A Trance - The Heart Throbs
10 Stay Beautiful - Manic Street Preachers
11 Tour De World - Northside
12 Vote Elvis - Popinjays
13 Planet Love - The Dylans
14 Sunshine and Ecstasy - Tom Tom Club
15 Sometimes - The Millions
16 Unbelievable - EMF
17 Dream All Day - The Posies
18 Postcards From Paradise - Flesh For Lulu
19 Sunshine Smile - Adorable

I've come across a page on the Net that attempts to revive KUKQ: KUKQ.com It's a Net radio station, and it's playlist is fairly impressive, although it is a bit limited. Still, it's nice to find some Websites dedicated to the memory of KUKQ's glory days.

Links:
KUKQ Memorial Page Plenty of nostalgia images and even recordings of the station during its heyday.
KUKQ.com Net radio revival.
Listen.To/KUKQ Another nostalgic attempt that doesn't seem to be working...
JL Radio Jonathan L has his own website! This includes his personal history with KUKQ and other radio stations, and how he made Arizona a major hub for Alternative music, back when Alternative used to be truly alternative.

Amazon.com Comprehensive music recommendations.
MiniDisc.org If you don't have an MD, you should consider it!

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"If I could be for only an hour, If I could be for an hour everyday... If I could be for just one little hour... CUTE, in a stupid-ass way!"
---Marc Almond, "Jacky"