Another Community Radio Station for You
Back at the beginning of the year I informed you, my loyal readers, about Frogtown Radio of St. Paul, Minnesota. But perhaps you don’t have the appropriate passion for contemporary homegrown Minnesotan jams. That’s on you, but luckily I have other material prepared. May I offer you Radio Asheville, a very nicely produced community radio station out of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains?
If you’ve ever been to Asheville in real life, you can predict the exact vibe of Radio Asheville. It’s playing the hits for people 65 and older who enjoy absinthe and rare monographs. Most of the shows focus on mid-century cuts, though said cuts range from jazz to folk to rare Saharan bangers. Every single weekday I’ve tuned in I have been subjected to a 15-minute infobit on some obscure tale of Appalachian music history. I don’t remember any of that information consciously, but I no longer fear the twang of banjos, so that’s growth on my part.
The DJs of Radio Asheville are indelible figures. Since listening to the station for the first time, I have been unerringly compelled to tune in every single week to Saturday’s The First Rock & Roll Record Show with Jamie Dell’Apa. Dell’Apa has the most hepcat delivery. He is simultaneously locked in and spaced out in the most ensorcelling manner. Rarely do I understand what he’s trying to tell me, but boy do I enjoy it. He has a beautiful spot which plays regularly on Radio Asheville in which he beatishly laments the loss of fun in public life and points to post-war jams as a form of anti-fascist praxis. Do I buy his argument? No, not really, the post-war period was a time of horrific repression for every type of person in America except dads and teens, which is why only people who were teens then are still into it. And rockabilly enjoyers, but I digress. Do I love when Jamie Dell’Apa tells this questionable argument to me, though? So much. The mellifluous blats of this old man comfort me in my time of struggle.
Just a little earlier on Saturdays you can also sample First Wave, the punk, garage, and surf show, which offers a pleasant Uncle Hangout vibe, if your experience of uncle-having is--like my own--laidback and inoffensive. On Fridays I also enjoy Spin Class, which is a genuinely good contemporary indie music show with an incredibly soothing and mild host, who is also the only DJ on this station I believe to be younger than 60.
Is this music for old people, presented by old people, recorded by people who would be old now if they weren’t already dead? Absolutely. But old people are not that bad. Yes, when Le Show Harry Shearer comes on, I do switch to any other station IMMEDIATELY, but by god I’m dialing right back in every time The First Rock & Roll Record Show bursts onto the scene.
Radio Asheville is a Boomer Radio Station, but it checks out.
