At Freq Amp we are often bemoaning the proliferation of white nationalist hate radio, right-wing republican propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and outright lies found across the AM spectrum. Lately I have come across a recent addition to the AM dial that is the polar opposite of all of that and has a positive and uplifting voice.Continue reading “Black Information Network/BBC Radio Six/John Allen resurfaces/ Schaap lives, by Dick Alexander”
Tag Archives: WFMU
Kokaine Karma cancelled by FMU! Freeform’s early days, the MC5 and the legacy of high-energy music.
Heavy ghosts lurk, as mist in the archives In the bleakest days of lockdown, when work was scarce and the libraries were closed, I took solace searching through online repositories. One of these in particular offers some interesting insight into the history of freeform radio and the role of the underground press in promoting highContinue reading “Kokaine Karma cancelled by FMU! Freeform’s early days, the MC5 and the legacy of high-energy music.”
50 years of Phil Schaap/deep, deep focus/Belockian trivia/McGasko delivers the goods/Brian Lehrer on vaccine safety/Tom Robbins on Minnesota police, health quackery on the air, etc.
Phil Schaap’s 50th year on the air Back in February, WKCR’s Phil Schaap marked his 50-year broadcast anniversary. As anyone who has listened to Schaap for any length of time knows, he hasn’t just been doing a radio show for 50 years. He has been putting every bit of his physical/psychic/emotional/mental energy into programming. WhenContinue reading “50 years of Phil Schaap/deep, deep focus/Belockian trivia/McGasko delivers the goods/Brian Lehrer on vaccine safety/Tom Robbins on Minnesota police, health quackery on the air, etc.”
Indie and the 606 massive, by Dick Alexander
In 1980 WNYU 89.1 FM began broadcasting a radio show called the New Afternoon Show from 4 pm till 7 pm every weekday with a different DJ each day. That radio show was the brainchild of station programmer and DJ Sal LoCurto with the help of station manager Vincent Montuori, both NYU students who prettyContinue reading “Indie and the 606 massive, by Dick Alexander”
Post-election dispatch. Contested election or contested reality? Reactionary AM scrambles to forge a narrative in real time/Weird Giuliani Audio/Brian Lehrer, On the Media, Reveal deliver the goods/WBGO steps it up/Friday night funk on FMU, and more…
Editor’s note: As we were getting ready for this dispatch to go out, the New York Times ran a short blog on how conservative radio hosts are covering the contested-election story. The Times piece largely relies on the number of times certain terms like “fraud” appear in a show’s transcripts. They contrast Limbaugh and HannityContinue reading “Post-election dispatch. Contested election or contested reality? Reactionary AM scrambles to forge a narrative in real time/Weird Giuliani Audio/Brian Lehrer, On the Media, Reveal deliver the goods/WBGO steps it up/Friday night funk on FMU, and more…”
October 19 Dispatch: Heshy’s War/Giuliani unravels “scandal of the Century”/Curtis Sliwa—Let us Now Diss Dead Rockstars/WABC’s “Back the Blue”campaign/NYT on AM radio/Tectonic event/Off the Hook/Morricone Island/Majestic Pirate Soul (with audio receipts galore)
Heshy’s War: WSNR host Heshy Tischler seeks martyr status, pushes white grievance cop-out theories Harold “Heshy” Tischler finally got a taste of the fame and attention he’s been working so hard to attain. Tischler’s role as an erstwhile leader of the raucous Boro Park protests that saw the burning of face masks got the hostContinue reading “October 19 Dispatch: Heshy’s War/Giuliani unravels “scandal of the Century”/Curtis Sliwa—Let us Now Diss Dead Rockstars/WABC’s “Back the Blue”campaign/NYT on AM radio/Tectonic event/Off the Hook/Morricone Island/Majestic Pirate Soul (with audio receipts galore)”
A weird week in an age of weird weeks. AM radio responds to Trump’s taxes and Covid/WNYC takes on voter disenfranchisement on Long Island/Quote of the week, and more…
Every day feels like a weird week has passed in our current state of virus time. But this week has been a doozy. A week bracketed by the New York Times expose on Trump’s tax evasions, and the President’s hospitalization for Covid. It’s hard enough getting accurate information as it is. Once the media learnedContinue reading “A weird week in an age of weird weeks. AM radio responds to Trump’s taxes and Covid/WNYC takes on voter disenfranchisement on Long Island/Quote of the week, and more…”
The FM dial: Woke-hop, left factions, freeform, free jazz and more
A modest survey of some of the things found on the FM dial. WNYC 93.9 WNYC’s stellar, but underutilized, news department has been doing excellent coverage of the protests against police abuse and the violent antics of the NYPD (both topics on which WNYC has been historically weak). WNYC-produced On the Media has been consistentlyContinue reading “The FM dial: Woke-hop, left factions, freeform, free jazz and more”
FREQUENCY AND AMPLITUDE 