This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves.

It was a bit of surprise to find myself back on the air at my beloved alma mater. After helping to usher in the new year, I expected it would be a bit before I was again obligated by federal regulation to speak the call letters and transmitter location of WWSP-FM in a precise order at the top of every hour. But when my pal Wayne Edwards calls for help, I do the best I can to swoop in to steward the airwaves. Unlike my last few spins with the venerable Sunday night program Then and Now, I didn’t bring an overarching theme to bear on the playlist decisions. Instead, I opted to solely rely on the station’s library and go wherever inspiration took me. More than most of my return engagements, it truly felt like old times.

For posterity’s sake, and my own record-keeping, this is my playlist from Then and Now on January 15, 2023:

The Soup Dragons, “One Way Street”
The Chills, “Pink Dream”
Pinkshift, “I’m Not Crying You’re Crying”
TV on the Radio, “No Future Shock”
Sugar, “Believe What You’re Saying”
The White Stripes, “My Doorbell”
Ladytron, “International Dateline”
Ani Difranco, “Worthy”
Waxahatchee, “Dixie Cups and Jars”
The Smithereens, “Green Thoughts”
Suzanne Vega, “Solitude Standing”
fIREHOSE, “Sometimes”
The Hold Steady, “Chicago Sounded Tired Last Night”
New Order, “Rock the Shack”
Youth Lagoon, “Daydream”

The Cranberries, “Dreams”
Big Thief, “Shoulders”
The Stone Roses, “Elephant Stone”
The Apples in Stereo, “Get There Fine”
Meat Puppets, “No Longer Gone”
Pylon, “There It Is”
R.E.M., “Catapult” (live version on the B side of the “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” single)
10,000 Maniacs, “Don’t Go Back to Rockville”
Everything but the Girl, “Driving”
EMF, “Lies”
Alvvays, “Hey”
The National, “Dust Swirls in Strange Light”
Milly, “Nullify”
Echo & the Bunnymen, “Stars Are Stars”
Frightened Rabbit, “Get Out”
Soul Asylum, “Another World, Another Day”

Kate Bush, “Love and Anger”
Portishead, “Cowboys”
Concrete Blonde, “Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man”
Sleater-Kinney, “The Ballad of a Ladyman”
Steve Earle, “Guitar Town”
Laura Marling, “Cross Your Fingers”
Dream Warriors, “Wash Your Face in My Sink”
Mary’s Danish, “Porcupine”
Bad Religion, “A Walk”
Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out”
Cartalk, “Arroyo Tunnels”
Carter USM, “Everytime a Churchbell Rings”
Best Coast, “Feeling OK”
Half Waif, “Torches”
Pink Mountaintops, “Axis: Thrones of Love”
An Emotional Fish, “Celebrate (Live in France)”

Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Radio Days” tag.