Well, fuck! R.I.P. 89X

[JRC99]

89X to change format- Detroit Free Press

I loved 89X as a kid. Pretty much any alternative/indie rock I ever liked from the last 15 years, I found it there. I won't lie, I haven't cared for it in a while, but it still makes me sad.

Take this, for example- It's the first song I think of whenever I think of 89X. When I first heard it when I was 7 or 8, I immediately fell in love with it.

This is the first song they played.

89X
May 13, 1991- November 19, 2020

[Captain Cayman]

You might like this then: https://kexp.org/ seattle commercial free independent radio.

[Bandit]

@jrc99 Ha that comes just days after my rant on here about how all Detroit has left is Pop, Rap, and 10,000 Dad Rock stations.

[Vondon302]

@bandit I thought of that too.

[Vondon302]

@jrc99 Well crap. Curious what they switch to.

[Exage03040]

Oh man.

I remember being a kid in Vancouver and listening to 104.9 X-FM which was the only station beside 99.3 C-FOX to play alt rock (and they played way more of it). Only lasted 4 years: gone by 2004. C-Fox was also Way Way more edgy in the 90's and early 00's than what it is today.

These days I'd put on classic rock than modern rock if I was stuck with only the radio.

[someassemblyrequired]

@jrc99 Bell Media is the worst. It'll be some Jack FM/Bob FM clone, or worse yet, all Christmas music until it is a Jack FM/Bob FM clone.

[dieseldub]

Wowww, what a bummer. I started listening to them in the late 90s and kept on doing so until I left the state in 2010. Definitely picked up a lot of music from listening to them frequently. Last couple times I went back for a visit, I'd flip them on. Was surprised to hear they were completely Canadian, no longer had any U.S. DJs or offices. Dave and Chuck the freak had moved to 101.1 WRIF. That made my head spin.

I did like that they also took a liking to playing a bit harder stuff than the stuff that passes for alternative on the West Coast right now. That station was my jam for more than a decade.

[JRC99]

@exage03040 The problem with classic rock is, it's all the same songs. It's the softer, more prog side, or yacht rock and power pop.

I prefer hard rock and 70s metal, but they never play it. Detroit radio honestly sucks these days.

[Urambo Tauro]

Another thing I miss about Detroit radio is having a local oldies station. Nobody plays Temptations, Beach Boys, Supremes, etc anymore, and it seems like the only Beatles song I ever hear is Live and Let Die

[Stapleface]

I'm in the Philadelphia market, and I too wish for more radio diversity.
Our oldies station flipped to 80's a few years back, which I honestly love, but the true oldies market doesn't really have an outlet.
There were a couple of great alternative stations in the 90's, but they've changed formats a long time ago. The only current alternative station doesn't seem to play any old stuff any longer.
And Rap & Hip Hop really doesn't have a good station either. The ones that do cater to that audience seem to lean very heavily into the R&B side of things

[Bloody-the-resident-LandRover-apologist]

@stapleface you're talking about Alt 104.5 right?

[Stapleface]

@bloody-the-resident-shitposting-saffer said in Well, fuck! R.I.P. 89X:

@stapleface you're talking about Alt 104.5 right?

Yeah, 104.5 is okay, but they aren't nearly as good as DRE or Y100 was back in the day. Or, I'm just older and don't like new music

[Bloody-the-resident-LandRover-apologist]

@stapleface I definitely miss Y100 and most day's I'm just streaming music but 104.5 is okay in a pinch.

[JRC99]

They went pop country. We literally have 4 of them in the area now, all playing the same shit. I'm a very unhappy fella right now.

On the upside, it was a perfect bookend- The last song they played was "Stop!" by Jane's Addiction- same one they started with.