In this outtake from the film, college radio historian Jennifer Waits talks about what a typical college radio station looks like. We had a small lighting issue in the first few minutes of her interview but I wanted to share this clip anyway because it is so accurate. Jennifer has definitely seen a lot of…
CMJ: The “Bible” of College Radio
On March 1, 1979, the first issue of the College Music Journal rolled off the presses, featuring a photo of Elvis Costello on the cover. While the first issue didn’t make a huge splash (Wikipedia quotes staff as calling the first issues “a bunch of photocopies stapled together”), the publication would soon become the most…
College Radio Alumni: Chrystal Bartlett – WKNC
Name: Chrystal Bartlett College: North Carolina State University Station: WKNC-FM 88.1 Active: 1981 – 1985 Positions: Disc Jockey, Librarian, Public Affairs Director, Promotions Director, Station Manager Favorite bands back then: Black Sabbath, Elvis Costello, Jimi Hendrix, Motorhead Advice: Learn all positions in case you get canned and need to get in the door elsewhere Bathroom…
College Radio Alumni: Bruce Greenberg – KCR
Name: Bruce Greenberg College: San Diego State University Station: KCR Active: 1975-1978 Positions: Production Manager, Assistant GM Favorite bands back then: Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush Advice: Soak it all in and enjoy it. The real world isn’t nearly as much fun. Bathroom Break Song: I usually did the Import show….
What’s the Film About? (Video)
Even though the subtitle is “The Story of College Radio”, we still occasionally have people asking us what the subject of “35000 Watts” is. For our very first video sneak peek, we thought we’d let a few of our interviewees explain, in their own words, what the film is all about.
Ten Original Christmas Songs From College Radio Legends
There are hundreds and hundreds of Christmas songs out there from beloved alternative and indie artists, but a lot of the time, they are covers of classics we’ve already heard a thousand times. While there are some amazing songs in that group, this list is restricted to artists who took that extra step to add…
My First Shift: KTXT-FM, Spring 1993
“Five Songs” is a new series where we ask former and current college radio DJs to give us a list of five songs that they feel best represents the chosen topic. For this first post, Michael Millard, director of 35000 Watts: The Story of College Radio, chooses five songs that remind him of his first…
Ten Game-Changing Albums on College Radio
The Police – Outlandos d’Amour The debut album by The Police would hint at the mash-up of styles that would eventually become their trademark (reggae and pop, for example), but as a product of 1978, it was most heavily influenced by the burgeoning punk scene. Early singles “Roxanne” and “Can’t Stand Losing You” failed to…
How do you program a radio station?
Radio programming is one of those things that falls somewhere between art and science. While many college radio stations are “freeform” stations, meaning the DJs choose to play whatever music they want, many others (and almost all commercial stations) are “programmed”. What does that mean and how do you do it? Programming a radio station…
Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile
Our final interview of the LA shoot was with Allison Wolfe, an original riot grrrl and member of a laundry list of bands, including Bratmobile and Cold Cold Hearts. Her experience starting an all-girl punk band in the Pacific Northwest was an entirely new perspective to explore, and our interview touched on a host of…