Pittsburgh Radio Stations.

Cafe Society
1

I’m just too burned out to put enough passion into this post to make it worthy of a Pit thread.

So…

Pittsburgh radio stations.

You know, we are considered to be a medium to large city. We have a population of over a million people. If you take out all of the Yinzers, we’re pretty well diverse, too (the gene pools in Pittsburgh are as murky as the Mon on a bad day.)…

Why do our radio stations suck?

I have specific examples. There are two types of listening media that give me pleasure: talk radio and techno (“discoteque” for you Europeans). Neither is good in Pittsburgh.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have KDKA - the first official radio station, ever, and obviously, the longest running. Believe me, it’s programmed on my car radio.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pittsburgh radio gave the beginnings to such notables as Fred Rogers, Gene Kelly, Jim Neighbors, and Rush Limbaugh, et al.

But KDKA sucks. Traffic checks every five minutes? Is this necessary? Does anyone change their traffic pattern because of these? Raw sewage could be fountaining out of the Parkway West - I’m driving right through it.

After the traffic check, ten minutes of commercials. Yeah, ten minutes.

WPTT is no better, nor is WPIT. Our AM personalities are so hollow. Well, 1410 has some good poignant segments on it, including a Radio Mystery Theater sometimes on Saturday nights. They also have rebroadcast War Of The Worlds on occasion.

But let’s flip to the FM half of the spectrum. What are our serious choices here? B94, 105.9, 100.7, and 96.9. I have purposely left out WDVE. They are not all that and a bag of chips. Same with 96.1.

Here are my standard listening patterns:

Howard Stern on 105.9 and NPR during the commercials for my morning commute. Eh. It gets me to work.

Mike on KDKA during my lunch hour. He’s entertaining. My lunch ends before Rush comes on.

Evening commute is channel surfed between 105.9, 100.7, and 96.9. Why do I channel surf at this time? Because 105.9 inevitably plays a Pearl Jam song. Then 100.7 inevitably plays an Eagles song. Then 96.9 inevitable plays a Who or Journey song. No, I do not like these bands. I usually give up about half way home and just put 90.5 All Things Considered on for the latest news.

Weekends. My radio listening on the weekends is primarily for the non-profit stations. 89.3, 90.5, and 91.3. I catch Rush’s Saturday Best-Of show, I catch Car Talk, What Do You Know, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and Garrison Keillor.

But I am neither a sports fan, nor a Christian fundamentalist, so talk radio on the weekends is strictly out of the question.

Okay, Chicago, pull it together. You are digressing.

So, let’s get to the music. The Oldies stations suck. The New Rock stations suck. The Classic Rock stations suck. The Top 40 stations suck.

And there is no techno. I have searched and searched and searched during all hours of the day, and have yet to find a single true techno song on any Pittsburgh station. One caveat: there was a brief AM station, 820 or 840, that played a good portion of semi-techno. The AM seemed to increase the bass. But, alas, that station is no longer there.

So. Pittsburgh radio listeners. Do you know of a radio station that plays a good portion of techno?

Also. What is your favorite talk radio show in Pittsburgh. If I haven’t already listened to it, I will give it a try.

2

I have a suggestion: invest in a CD player. Preferably one that can read CD-RWs and .MP3 formats. Go home, burn about 6 of your favorite albums onto the CD-RW and put it on random picks. Get tired of those albums? Erase the CD and burn some others to it.

Actually, I know how you feel. None of my family’s vehicles had a CD player, and I got frustrated quickly with the radio stations in Pittsburgh. So I went down to Best Buy and picked up a cheep CD player (obviously, one that could read CD-RWs and .MP3 formats) and a car kit all for about $35. Just hook it up, throw the CD player in the glove box, and you’re good to go. No more having to program in 7 different versions of mediocrity, constantly pushing the buttons, praying that something good comes on by the time you finish the cycle.

3

We’ve got WQED. That’s reason enough for me.

And every Saturday night, DUQ plays big band swing! Woohoo!

4

Aw, cry me a river. Or three rivers. Radio sucks everywhere. I get all the New York stations, and they all stink.

But look on the bright side–where else but on Pittsburgh radio can you hear Donnie Iris played three times a day?

5

Donnie Iris. He he he.

6

Traffic reports every five minutes? I can’t understand that part, to be honest. Do you guys have horrible traffic, or something?

Washington, which has some of the worst traffic in the country, has traffic reports every 10 minutes on their one-and-only news station.

7

How long have you lived in Pittsburgh that you’re still trying to listen to the radio? I gave up after less than a year.

Oh, and this is barely a city of 300,000, never mind a million. To get a million you’d have to include all of Allegheny County (1,200,000), and I don’t think the suburbs would appreciate being lumped in like that :slight_smile:

8

I’ve never been able to figure out-who the hell is Donnie Iris, exactly?

9

Doesn’t Clear Channel own every radio station in Pittsburgh?

My favorite radio station was alway WYDD, till they were sold to some Christian group. Now, who knows what’s there.

I moved to Philly, and loved WYSP. Then they changed the format–I hated it.

Moved back to W-PA and can’t even get a decent radio signal. Radio Sucks.

Donnie Iris played a concert at Clarion University in the early '80s. The crowd got so rowdy, the University banned concerts for 3 years.

10

I remember in the late 70s and early 80s, WYDD would play all kinds of cool new wave and borderline punk. The only thing I listen to out of PGH these days is Howard Stern on my days off.

Duquesne University’s radio station was pretty cool, but its been more than a decade probably since I’ve heard it.

Jon