Yeah, sure, satellite radio is all the rage and now you can listen to NASCAR or the Major Leagues or what-have-you in crystal-clear sound from coast-to-coast. Podcasting is the big dumb trend of the moment that has people boxing their ears with excitement. Audio itself surely isn’t in it’s last throws, but do you remember when rock radio actually MATTERED? Shit no you don’t, unless you lived through the 60′s and 70′s, the hey-day of free-form radio where DJ’s weren’t just monkeys in glass cages. I’ve longed for something like that to make a comeback for a long time, but I’ve seen any number of “indepedent” radio stations (most notably WLRS and WQMF here in town) go the way of the dodo and be sold out to ClearChannel because they just couldn’t make money.

I thought, perhaps that the little radio station that could, WOXYup the river in Cincinatti was my shining example of indie radio that worked. I’ve written about them a number of times, and you can read all about WOXY’s history here: About WOXY, so I won’t bore you with the fine print. All you really need to know is that they sold out of the radio business back in early 2004 and went Internet only and now in 2006 even the Internet-only option is coming under a serious financial strain. So much so that they are making a last-ditch effort at securing listener funding for the station – with a deadline of March 6th.

Radio lost me years and years ago. It’s something that I have a serious beef with nowadays. While NPR is near and dear to my heart, there is no reason why I, a 27 year old male of “alternative” music tastes should spend 99.5% of his radio listening time on National Public Radio. NO REASON. Radio has lost me forever, and I am not going back. I’ve got the Internet, I’ve got my iPod(esque) device, I can have ad-free music via satellite. Radio – you fucked up and you fucked up big time. I’m sorry if this is the first I’ve told you of this, but I’ve had this conversation with myself many times. I am a market, and I am crying out for programming, and I know I’m not alone.

I don’t know if the Internet is really the answer for radio. There are many things against it. It’s land-locked, it requires a computer, it isn’t solely local. For radio, which by it’s very untamed and radiative nature is not bound by anything but the size of your radial, that’s terribly restrictive. I can’t listen to you in my car. I can’t buy an appliance for $1 at the Dollar Store and flip it on and hear you. WOXY is in a tight spot for any number of reasons, and while I think it’d be worthwhile to see them continue on living, I just don’t know if it’s possible. If you haven’t listened to WOXY before, go and lend and ear, and then maybe pitch some folding money in the virtual hat.