Compliments of WMAD 92.1
Circa 1996

I've disparaged my time working in commercial radio with great gusto and I'm not likely to recede from that viewpoint. The field of broadcasting was already well into the rotting process that has led to current state of corporate-driven, nationalized radio as the overwhelming norm. When I worked for WMAD ("Madison's New Rock Alternative") in the mid-90's, the place was this burgeoning media monopoly. I think seven of the city's radio stations were owned by the same company and the clear goal was to keep flipping this group to bigger and bigger companies. A few years after I quit, this block of stations was under the Clear Channel umbrella, all life thoroughly drained.

That noted animosity aside, there was actually quite a few aspects of working there that I liked. For one thing, I was primarily working weekend overnights which meant I was alone in the station most of the time, allowing for random hijinks. Me being me, this usually meant nothing much more serious than neglecting my DJ responsibilities to make mix tapes in the production studio.

SIDE ONE
RAMONES, "Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio?"
How better to kick off a tape assembled in the belly of the beast than with a classic putdown of the state of radio?
CAKE, "Rock'n'Roll Lifestyle"
JEWEL, "God's Gift To Women"
The poet, future actress and eventual "Star" hunter became insufferable so quickly. But when she was first breaking in, some simple sleuthing could yield the occasional winner, such as this b-side that's brisk, pointed and genuinely funny.
GARBAGE, "Kick My Ass"
TRANSVISION VAMP, "Tell That Girl To Shut up"
CHRIS MARS, "Popular Creeps"
I'm not even sure what this was doing in the station. We certainly never played it (same with the fantastic song listed directly above). Maybe the best single to come from a Mats solo album.
BECK, "Beercan"
SINEAD O'CONNOR, "Fire On Babylon"
HUNTERS & COLLECTORS, "Back on the Breadline"
I remember a road trip to Chicago that, of course, included tuning into WXRT as soon as we were in range. They played this song from the sadly obscure Australian band and it sounded so good as we were cruising along those packed city highways. Any time I hear this song (which isn't as often as I'd like) it takes me right back there.
THE CLASH, "Lost in the Supermarket"
SEBADOH, "Ocean"
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, "Youth Culture Killed My Dog"
LIVING COLOUR, "Solace of You"

SIDE TWO
CRACKER, "Eurotrash Girl"
I recently read an article that called this the greatest hidden track ever. That's quite an assertion considering "Train in Vain" is technically a hidden track (I remember the battered vinyl copy at 90FM had the title written in in deeply pressed ballpoint ink under the official track listing on the back). If you confine the argument to the CD era, then they might have a good point. All us dopey boys, always looking for that "angel in black."
NECTARINE, "Even the Losers"
Off of a long-forgotten Tom Petty tribute album. I liked this version because I could sing the opening lyrics to Springsteen's "Growin' Up" convincingly over the intro. It was like an early home-brew mash-up.
IGGY POP, "Livin' On The Edge of the Night"
I'm not sure how resident Iggy expert ("Igspert"?) caker_66 feels about this song (taken from, of all places, the Black Rain sound track) but something about the earnest drama of the lyrics and Iggy's delivery ("So I take a little bad with the good/It ain't just black and white") that I find really appealing.
X, "4th of July"
PIXIES, "Head On"
THE GO-GOS, "Head Over Heels"
Look! Back to back "Head" songs. Oh, I was a clever monkey.
TRACEY ULLMAN, "They Don't Know"
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, "Show Me You Soul"
Another unlikely soundtrack contribution, this time to Pretty Woman. What little patience I had for the Peppers was decisively eradicated by working at a station that forced me to play their least interesting songs over and over again. This relative obscurity evades my scorn.
SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, "O Baby"
The lead single off of their last album, which briefly generated some added excitement because it was produced by John Cale. It's a nice little song, but it, and the album, went nowhere. Not long after the Sex Pistols reunited and Siouxsie announced the dissolution of her band in response. Something about not wanting to keep at it in a music world where the sad cash-grab reunion of aging punk icons was happening. Bless her.
MADONNA, "I'll Remember"
BILLY BRAGG, "Little Time Bomb"
MORPHINE, "Gone For Good"
As I recall, casino_queen introduced me to this song. And then, weirdly enough, the mediocre film 2 Days in the Valley utilized it, locking it into my head for good (I think I was grateful to get the momentary distraction of a song that was more interesting than the movie's contrived plot).