The New World

On the way to the office, Indie 103.1 was playing unusually good music this morning: X, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and Black Flag. I'm not a huge fan of Sid Vicious and his goofball image, but I can see why "My Way" would get in the rotation (I just would have picked the version with the orchestra from The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle instead of the live version of Sid Sings). It's 103.1's last day, and there's a canned message between the songs saying how the station is going online instead of playing lame music. The funny thing is, they hardly ever played Black Flag before today. Maybe if they spearheaded an "oldies punk" format, they would have done better.

I probably won't listen online. For some reason, I like radio that is local--and not blasted around the country. There should be local bands on the playlist, like the Silver Lake band that sounds like the Smashing Pumpkins, the Echo Park band that sounds like Love & Rockets, any of the groups that sound like The Cure, etc. Sometimes I make fun of them, but at least they help me keep in touch with younger bands and make me feel cooler for having seen the "real" groups that they emulate. I also like to hear my tunes coming out of radio speakers instead of via laptop or headphones. Don't ask me why. I'll miss the station--especially Jonesy's Jukebox every day at noon and Henry Rollins' "Harmony in My Head" program. And what will my Friday morning commute be without Barely Legal?

But not all is not bad. When I was listening to "The New World" by X, the part about life being "better before they voted for what's-his-name" really stood out. I'm used to old punk bands talking shit about Reagan and Bush, but most of the bands I like now are pro-Obama, and January 20 is coming up soon! As for the "don't forget the Motor City" refrain, that stays the same...