Big thanks to listener Keith in Vermont, who gave huge props to WFMU in a letter that he contributed to the July 26th issue of the New Yorker magazine. Keith's letter was in response to a recent Sasha Frere-Jones article about online music auto-DJ services like Pandora. Here's a snippet of Keith's letter:
Read the full letter here."All this new technology has yet to improve on the old radio model: putting yourself in the hands of independent, passionate, and deeply knowledgeable disk jockeys—the likes of which can be found at New Jersey’s incomparable WFMU, for example—and following them blissfully into the world of unknown and unexpected sound."
That's what I call a respect! Congrats. The only word missing from the letter is the word non-commercial. Almost anything's better than listening to "traditional" commercial radio. So glad the New Yorker published that love letter.
Julie Drizin
@AIRMQ2
Posted by: Julie Drizin | July 28, 2010 at 09:33 PM
I couldn't agree more. i joined Last.FM (a similar service)about 2 years ago. and it was fun for a couple of weeks but began to pall as i realized i was walking in circles, so to speak. i'm still subscribed but i almost never use it. and i think Keith nails it when he mentions "the unknown and unexpected", that's what keeps it fresh and interesting. If i wanted to hear music i already enjoy i'd simply play it on what i already own. That's all..love you guys and gals at 'FMU...keep up the great work
Posted by: Joel | July 29, 2010 at 08:42 AM
Yeah. With Pandora et al., you have too much control over what plays (at least that's how it works for me), hence no surprises. And eff that!
Posted by: Spike | July 29, 2010 at 11:53 AM
I really like Pandora. I've made some great discoveries, but it depends on what you put in, how you use it. I put in "Moondog" and a cornucopia of obscure wonderful weirdness came out. (At least two artists I've written about on my MusicForManiacs blog were discovered here). And, as I'm no expert in some things like country blues, I'll play those channels to get myself hep.
And then there are the times when I'm just really in the mood for a certain style, and the more predictable channels scratch that itch - for the days when, say, only classic Cali hardcore will do.
Pandora and FMU? Kind of an apples-and-oranges comparison.
Posted by: MrFab | July 29, 2010 at 12:34 PM
WAY TO GO
Posted by: blade | July 29, 2010 at 09:45 PM
I'm with MrFab-
Pandora rocks, but of course, it's not a substitute for WFMU.
More like another point of view.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.
Posted by: Scoot | July 29, 2010 at 09:46 PM
there is simply no substitute for an imaginative playlist that draws on a lifetime of music appreciation criticism and creativity.
fuck genre based scrobbling -- freeform forever!
Posted by: special tommy | July 30, 2010 at 12:49 AM