OT: RIP ... WAAF

A sad day is on the horizon for us boomahs .... WAAF is being sold to a non rock entity. WAAF and WHJY were everything pre sattelite radio ... WBRU also to a lesser extent for album cut people.

The glory days of youth slowly erode.

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Literally.

IcyPatriot said:

A sad day is on the horizon for us boomahs .... WAAF is being sold to a non rock entity. WAAF and WHJY were everything pre sattelite radio ... WBRU also to a lesser extent for album cut people.

The glory days of youth slowly erode.

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Sad indeed.

It started as a WAAB-AM sister station in Worcester.

Funny, they currently are heavily promoting it's 50th anniversary.

Ah darn, when I got out of the Air Force in 1972 and returned to Mass. for awhile, WAAF was my radio station of choice. They were "free form" FM in those days, and I relished listening to them. They were the first station to play the Allman Brothers, Steely Dan, Jethro Tull, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (Moody Richard), Quicksilver Messenger Service ( Doin Time in the USA), and a host of others. I moved away from the area but always fondly remembered WAAF.

This is the only thing that can get Greg Hill off the air. I’m kidding, of course.

Growing up in the early 90’s grunge era WAAF was a great way to listen to all that great music. Plus all the great DJ’s they had back then like Liz Wyld and Jon Osterland.

RIP

So many memories .... with the Rock n Roll Air Force playing in the background.

Woosesstah is doomed

Our “long journey to the middle continues”
Lester Bang

IcyPatriot said:

A sad day is on the horizon for us boomahs .... WAAF is being sold to a non rock entity. WAAF and WHJY were everything pre sattelite radio ... WBRU also to a lesser extent for album cut people.

The glory days of youth slowly erode.

Click to expand...

Sadly, another victim of the Internet digital age. The days when on-air radio was a source for new music discoveries died long ago along with record stores like Tower and HMV. Hell, I remember spending hours flipping through LP cutout bins and taking home 99-cent records by bands I'd never heard of because they had cool album art. Has me wondering if young people commune over common musical interests anymore with millions of available choices literally at their fingertips.

Tunescribe said:

Sadly, another victim of the Internet digital age. The days when on-air radio was a source for new music discoveries died long ago along with record stores like Tower and HMV. Hell, I remember spending hours flipping through LP cutout bins and taking home 99-cent records by bands I'd never heard of because they had cool album art. Has me wondering if young people commune over common musical interests anymore with millions of available choices literally at their fingertips.

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That’s how it happened.
Example:
Sophomore at UNH. Go into the record store on main st the second day back in early September. See this in the new arrivals bin:


Buy it. Listen to it. It’s ****ing great. A couple of weeks later I see in the Phoenix that they’re playing at the Metro in October.

Becomes a life long band I love.

Clonamery said:

That’s how it happened.
Example:
Sophomore at UNH. Go into the record store on main st the second day back in early September. See this in the new arrivals bin:
View attachment 26125

Buy it. Listen to it. It’s ****ing great. A couple of weeks later I see in the Phoenix that they’re playing at the Metro in October.

Becomes a life long band I love.

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Ever go to concerts at the Channel? What a great venue that was.

They're becoming Christian contemporary?? Really??

QuantumMechanic said:

They're becoming Christian contemporary?? Really??

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Big market for that and the new version of country which is really a form of pop.

IcyPatriot said:

Big market for that and the new version of country which is really a form of pop.

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You mean pop is a brainwashing mechanism now? What hath the Pilgrims wrought?!?!

Not only is WAAF a victim of the internet radio age, it is a victim of the younger generation's complete lack of interest in rock music. Rock radio has been living in a state of arrested development since the turn of the century. I work with middle school kids, and their knowledge of "classic rock" is limited to Guns and Roses, AC DC, Metallica, Nirvana, and whatever band logo Target is pushing. What new (decent) rock music has cracked the airwaves over the last two decades? White Stripes, Black Keys, anything else?

It's a damn shame - the corporate structure of radio airplay. They missed out on the indie rock flood of the mid-2000's. Maybe it was a little too twee for the likes of AAF, but some early Modest Mouse would have fit in fine, and the Mars Volta would have blown minds. Nowadays there is a glut of great bands influenced by classic rock, psychedelic, and early metal sounds - King Gizzard, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segal - that could have completely refreshed a listener base tired of reliving 1996 over and over and over again.

Adapt or perish.

Tunescribe said:

Ever go to concerts at the Channel? What a great venue that was.

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The Rat was a favorite because of “anything.”

Rock music costs more money to produce than the manufactured music popular today ... just need a computer and other sound generating and altering equipement.

Tunescribe said:

Ever go to concerts at the Channel? What a great venue that was.

Click to expand...

I lost my hearing for 2 days after a Plasmatics show there

IcyPatriot said:

A sad day is on the horizon for us boomahs .... WAAF is being sold to a non rock entity. WAAF and WHJY were everything pre sattelite radio ... WBRU also to a lesser extent for album cut people.

The glory days of youth slowly erode.

Click to expand...

To this day, I mourn the loss of WBCN. Such a great and special part of my childhood. I wouldn’t trade anything for growing up in the Boston area in the 70s & 80s. Rock was to us, what iPhones & tech are today’s kids.

Sad to see AAF go the same way. It is a shame they couldn’t adapt.

I’ve never heard of it. Is it like a MILF?

Tunescribe said:

Sadly, another victim of the Internet digital age. The days when on-air radio was a source for new music discoveries died long ago along with record stores like Tower and HMV. Hell, I remember spending hours flipping through LP cutout bins and taking home 99-cent records by bands I'd never heard of because they had cool album art. Has me wondering if young people commune over common musical interests anymore with millions of available choices literally at their fingertips.

Click to expand...

If anything, it makes it infinitely easier. Among my group of friends is some serious music junkies. A common Friday night, many drinks deep, is to take a device connect it to Sonos/Bluetooth Speaker, bring up Amazon Music/YouTube and pass it around, with each person able to play something they want to hear, no matter what it is.We tend to call it Youtube Karaoke

In speaking for myself, I have been exposed to a ton more folk/bluegrass than I ever would have on my own. I would have never heard of Billy Strings, Tyler Childers, Yonder Mountain String Band, Mandolin Orange, Avett Brothers etc etc etc etc if I had to go buy a 33 to do it.