TMFTML: The AAIO of New York
Reason editor Jesse Walker’s feelings about his A2 roots are not quite as strong as Jay Nordlinger’s, but he does urge (okay, did urge - this is a pretty old item) his readers to listen to ‘CBN instead of Air America. Said readers debate whether Ann Arbor is the Oberlin of MIchigan, Ann Arbor is the Berkeley of the Midwest or Berkeley is the Ann Arbor of the West. Why does Ann Arbor always have to be the something of somewhere, or something has to be the Ann Arbor of somewhere? You’d almost think that it couldn’t stand on its own.
Once saw an obvious (and fat) tourist in NYC wearing a shirt that said:
“Harvard, the Michigan of the East”
Though I think the grammar was off, I didn’t have time to check while running in the opposite direction.
WCBN is kind of a joke to outsiders with experience, but don’t let the townies know.
‘…”Musically, of course, it’s the best station in town.”
Well, given the state of radio in Metro Detroit, I’d hope so. I’m not much of a CBN fan, as they always seem to be playing arythmic glitches interspersed with yak wailing instead of good old fashioned pretentious indie rock.’
posted by Leighton on September 17th, 2004 at 3:00 pmIf you think the radio is bad down here, you should try radio when you head north of Flint. Talk about sad. Although you can still pick up WKAR so it’s not too bad.
I would have to say that my biggest music complaint is that there isn’t a really decent classical station in Metro Detroit. You can pick up WKAR, but it is spotty. The Canadian station doesn’t always play Classical and I’m not sure of any others. There used to be a really good one here but some folks in their infinite wisdom decided that making no money was better than making no money so they switched to the same format that everyone else was doing at the time.
posted by Kozzie on September 18th, 2004 at 9:06 amI can barely pull in Lansing’s classical station. Leave it to State to culture up the poor Ann Arbourites.
At least AA has football…wait.
posted by Leighton on September 18th, 2004 at 2:31 pmDoes the NPR station out of U of M have classical or is it just all talk?
posted by Kozzie on September 19th, 2004 at 11:33 amI don’t know, but none of the NPR stations I can pick up carry Performance Today, which is a shame.
posted by g on September 20th, 2004 at 8:00 amI don’t know, I just think it is pretty sad that an area the size of Metro Detroit doesn’t have a Classical Music station to call it’s own. I mean how many Country and “alternative” stations can an area support? It used to have a decent one but I guess progress relegates classical to the past (or something).
posted by Kozzie on September 20th, 2004 at 10:23 amActually, I could pick up better stations in Midland (i.e., north of Flint) than I can now that I’m back in the Metro Detroit area. But commercial radio is a lost cause. Once I get some money saved, I’m thinking it’s time to get a satellite radio service in my vehicle.
posted by Dave on September 20th, 2004 at 7:06 pmI visit my mom in Bay City and when I get north of Flint, I find the radio to be pretty sparse. although the NPR station and WKAR is pretty decent.
posted by Kozzie on September 21st, 2004 at 2:15 pmSince I have moved to Chicago, I can now say with assurance that Ann Arbor is the Hyde Park of Michigan. Of course, the people in hyde Park realize that there is nothing to do in Hyde Park after 9 pm. That’s why they all go to the North wide of Chicago when they want to do something fun.
posted by Lucky Jackson on September 21st, 2004 at 4:08 pmWhere do the people in Ann Arbor go to when they want to do something fun? Oh, yeah, the North Side of Chicago.
WUOM used to be all classical, but they switched to all NPR news/talk a few years ago. As noted, CBC-Windsor (89.9) broadcasts mostly classical music, WKAR East Lansig (90.5) broadcasts classical music, but it is sometimes hard to get, WGTE Toledo (91.3) also broadcasts mostly classical music, but it is also hard to get. WDET Detroit (101.9) broadcasts recordings made by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and DSO concerts on Saturdays 5am - 7am and Sundays 5pm - 7pm.
posted by tom on September 22nd, 2004 at 9:31 amThe loss of WQRS, Detroit’s commercial classical station, was really tough to take. It had been profitably broadcasting classical music for over 25 years, but the idiots who bought it switched formats several times and have been losing listeners ever since.
I used to listen to WQRS most of the time. It played heavy classical and not the crap that some classical stations play. I was saddened when that Tom Bender (WRIF) guy decided to switch it to alternative since there were already two stations that fit that bill. As a result, my radio dial will not hit 105.1 in this area.
It’s pretty sad when “uncouth” East Lansing has a better classical station than “cultured” Ann Arbor.
posted by Kozzie on September 23rd, 2004 at 4:51 pm