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

Thirty-five years ago, in the late winter of 1991, Material Issue released their debut album, International Pop Overthrow. I was right in the middle of my tenure at the college radio station that I called home when I was an undergraduate, and I’d love to report that I glommed on to the album right away, giving it the spins it absolutely deserved. My recollection tells me otherwise, though, and that memory is backed up by station charts from the era. They were a band that was totally new to us. It took a while to realize the glory of these two sides of music they’d presented to us.

Once they broke through, though, I and my cohorts were utterly enraptured by their songs. It helped immeasurably that International Pop Overthrow is a perfect radio record. Drop a needle anywhere and a ludicrously catchy song comes out of the speakers. Most of the tracks are three and a half minutes or less, so Material Issue strikes with a power-pop punch and gets out of the ring while the listener is still reeling.

I sometimes wonder if part of the reason it took some time for International Pop Overthrow to hit with us is that it came out at the wrong time of the year. The album was slotted into our heavy rotation in early February, when we trundled to and from the studios in blustery cold and the whole place felt closed up like an ice fortress. I associate this music with summer at the radio station, when the windows were thrown open and the studio speakers were cranked up loud enough that we were sharing our songs with anyone who walked by our corner of the Communication Arts Center. I like to think those unsuspecting pedestrians were happy to hear “Valerie Loves Me,” too.

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