WWSP-90FM now concludes its broadcast day.

The college radio station I worked at throughout my undergraduate years always signed off for the day at 2:00 a.m. We occasionally kicked around the idea of changing to a 24-hour schedule, but that was discouraged by our faculty advisor. Sometimes it’s a good idea, he’d explain, to shut down the station rather than worry about what DJs might be doing or saying when they’re fairly certain that the powers-that-be are asleep. I later worked a fair number of overnights in commercial radio, and I can attest to the wisdom of his statement.

WWSP operates at an assigned frequency of 89.9 megahertz with an effective radiated power of 3610 watts as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.

Before pushing the buttons that powered down the transmitter, we read our sign-off statement. My regular shift was Monday nights from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. during my first couple of years at the station. Besides that, I regularly filled in on other late night shows, especially once I advanced to specific leadership roles at the station. I read that statement so many times that eventually I didn’t even need to pull the script out. I had it committed to memory.

Our studio to transmitter link is via microwave WLD 576 at 951.5 megahertz.

I advocated variety above all other qualities in creating radio programming, but I loved my rituals as well. Usually the sign-off statement was read without any sort of soundbed accompaniment, but eventually I decided I preferred having a little bit of music playing softly underneath the words. Given the length of the statement, it was better to use an instrumental. We were always on the hunt for good instrumentals anyway since they were needed for different production work throughout the year. So it was a little gift from the radio gods when Pell Mell’s Flow was released. Here was an album filled with cool, distinctive, but mostly downbeat instrumentals. Any of the songs could be used without worrying they would overwhelm whatever they were accompanying.

Portions of today’s programming were mechanically reproduced.

I remember one weary night at the end of a shift, the little hand edging towards the number two. I slipped the Pell Mell release into the CD player and started tracking through it, hoping to find something I could play as I read the words that closed out the broadcast day. I landed on a song I thought would be perfect. It was slow and moody. It sounded like the station drifting off to sleep. I checked the name of the track. “Mopping Up.” Perfect. From then on, anytime I was the last one on the air at the station, that was the song I used to end the day. I’m sure no one ever noticed. There wasn’t a listener out there who recognized the song and noted the symmetry of the song title with the act of closing down, but it was a detail that always gave me a private satisfaction.

We hope you’ll join us later this morning at 6:00 a.m. for more alternative programming on 90FM.

Pell Mell, “Mopping Up”

(Disclaimer: My cursory detective work leads me to believe that Pell Mell’s Flow is out of print. It doesn’t seem to be available for digital purchase either. The song is presented here with that understanding. If I’m contacted by anyone with due authority to request its removal, I will promptly and gladly comply.)