Swiss Radio International

Yesterday I posted about Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's Dazzle Ships album from 1983. It seems that OMD had a thing for radio (specifically shortwave) and communication in general. Besides "Radio Prague," other tracks include "Telegraph" "Radio Waves" "Time Zones" and their follow-up album Junk Culture had a track called "Tesla Girls." I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of the title but I would assume it had something to do with early radio pioneer Nikola Tesla. Other songs like "This is Helena" and "ABC Auto-Industry" utilized radio broadcasts within them. The last track on the 2008 reissue of Dazzle Ships is called "Swiss Radio International" and, like "Radio Prague," consists of that station's interval signal. The 14 notes were repeated for about 5 minutes before the start of SWI's broadcast. OMD's drummer referred to it as "The Ice Cream Song" because of its similarity to ice cream truck music. Take a listen:




Swiss Radio International ceased broadcasting on shortwave in 2004, a disturbing trend brought on by the ease of listening via the internet. A different SRI sticker was posted here.

Radio Prague / Radio Praha

I've been listening to my CDs in alphabetical order over the past few months while making my 50 mile round trip commute to work every day. I'm now in the letter O which includes Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice, California indie-pop band The Orange Peels and UK electronica from Orbital.
Next came Dazzle Ships by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, an experimental synthpop and sound collage album from 1983. The first track is called "Radio Prague" and simply consists of the opening bars of the Communist anthem Forward Left which was used as the interval signal from (what was then) Czechoslovakia's international broadcast station. An interval signal is just a short musical call sign indicating that a station's broadcast is about to begin.
Here's the track set to some eastern bloc imagery sure to cause cold war flashbacks.






Radio Prague began broadcasting in 1936 and has programming on satellite and internet in six different languages. They ceased most shortwave broadcasts in 2011 although they can still be heard in North America via Radio Miami International in English and Spanish.

WQLT

WQLT was a Top-40 station licensed to Florence, Alabama.

"Q107" is now an Adult Contemporary station playing "Great Classics and the Best of Today."

WQLT was originally owned by Florence native Sam Phillips who recorded a young Elvis Presley for his famous Sun Records label. Sam Phillips also recorded Howlin' Wolf, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and B.B. King, along with what many consider to be the first rock and roll record: "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (led by Ike Turner.)
Q107, along with WXFL and WSBM is operated by Big River Broadcasting which is still owned by the Phillips family.

WKRI

WKRI broadcast at 1450 AM out of West Warwick, Rhode Island. I believe they carried a MOR format when the anniversary sticker was current and played Country music by the time of the bottom decal. 1450 AM is now WLKW, an ESPN Radio affiliate.

WEGR / WOTO

WEGR is a Classic Rock station in Memphis, Tennessee.

A dual sticker featuring the long-time walrus mascot of Rock 103 along with the now-defunct WOTO. "Oldies 95.7" was on the air in Memphis from 1999 to 2002 and is currently a Gospel station "Hallelujah 95.7" WHAL.

KXLE

A 1993 decal from 1240 AM KXLE, a News/Talk station in Ellensburg, Washington. They are one of about 30 stations in the Seattle Mariners Radio Network. Stickers from sister station KXLE-FM can be seen here.

Three Z93s and a 93Z

KLJZ is a Hot Adult Contemporary station located in Yuma, Arizona.

WGTZ ((W)Great Trails(Z) Broadcasting--a former owner) was a Top-40 station in Dayton, Ohio from 1984 until 2007. They were licensed to Eaton, OH and had one of the greatest top-of-the-hour IDs in radio history: "WGTZ Eaton Dayton and Springfield Alive!"

WIZM is a Top-40 station licensed to La Crosse, Wisconsin.


KAMZ was a Top-40 station in El Paso, Texas circa 1985. 93.1 FM is currently a Hot AC station "Kiss FM" KSII.

Super Bowl XLVI

America's most-watched sporting event of the year takes place later today as the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It's a rematch of the Super Bowl from 2008 when the Giants defeated the Pats to ruin their run at a perfect 19-0 season. As a Buffalo Bills fan for over 25 years, and despite what happened in Super Bowl XXV, I'll be rooting hard for the Giants to destroy the hated Patriots. New England shares the same division with the Bills, plays them twice a year, and has dominated Buffalo for most of the past decade. (Who hasn't dominated the Bills for the past decade?) I despise Tom Brady. I loathe Bill Belichick. I detest Robert Kraft. GO GIANTS!!

WBCN was a Rock station in Boston, Massachusetts for over 40 years and the flagship station of the New England Patriots Radio Network (now at WBZ-FM.) Prior to 1968, they were an Easy Listening station and before that had a Classical format (their call letters stood for (W)Boston Concert Network.) WBCN lives on as a digital-only HD-2 station. Their old frequency is now Hot Adult Contemporary WBMX "Hot 104.1"
I found this decal at the post office where I work. It was stuck to the back of a reusable rolling mail container which had obviously been in the Boston area at one point. So I pulled it off and stuck it to some thin poster board and added one more sticker to the collection.

WFAN is a Sports station in New York City and the flagship of the New York Giants Radio Network. WFAN became the world's first 24 hour all-sports station in 1987 when they were located at 1050 AM. After moving to 660 AM and with the addition of Don Imus in morning drive, the ratings for WFAN jumped considerably. They were the number one billing station in the US in the 1990s and the model for sports stations across the country.

A WFAN/New York Mets "Fandini" head scarf.

Dart on Map - WJDQ

Every so I often I throw a virtual dart at a map of the United States and post a sticker from the nearest radio station that I have a sticker from. The dart this time landed in a scrubby field just a few feet from the Mississippi/Alabama border. (click to enlarge)


"Q101" WJDQ was a CHR station licensed to Meridian, Mississippi, about 20 miles northeast of where the dart landed. The WJDQ call letters have since moved from 101.3 FM to 95.1 FM where they are now known as "95Q."

Radio Sticker of the Day Mailbag - KWEY

Yesterday I received a fantastic batch of stickers from K.M. Richards in California. They're all vintage mid-80s decals including some "mystery stickers" of unknown origin as well as this oddly-shaped beauty from KWEY in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

AM 1590 KWEY is a Country station now known as "The Coyote." They simulcast their 1000-watt signal on KWEY-FM located at 95.5

KFBK

1530 AM KFBK is a News/Talk station in Sacramento, California. They celebrated their 90th birthday today, having gone on the air on February 2, 1922. A KFBK museum can be found on their website featuring audio clips, photographs and details about a time capsule that was placed behind a wall in 1990 and opened today.

WJRZ

In over 40 years of broadcasting, WJRZ has kept the same call letters through about a half-dozen different formats: Top-40, Adult Contemporary, Oldies, Rock-leaning CHR and Country (twice).  The WJRZ shark mascot has also made an appearance in at least three different decades.  The currently shark-free WJRZ is licensed to Manahawkin, New Jersey and carries a Classic Hits format.

This acid-washed denim jacket probably dates back to when WJRZ was a Top-40 station. All I would need are some mirrored sunglasses, Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet"-era hair and some original Air Jordans to complete the Jersey Shore-circa-1987 look. The station's shark logo is embossed right into the denim. (click it to enlarge) It's actually kinda cool and fits perfectly but I've never worn it in public. Maybe later today....

KQBZ

KQBZ "100.7 The Buzz" was a "Hot Talk" station aimed primarily at a male audience. They were on the air in Seattle, Washington from 1999 to 2005. 100.7 FM is currently KKWF "The Wolf" airing a Country format.
Former syndicated talk show host Tom Leykis did afternoons on "The Buzz" from his Los Angeles home base of KLSX. When callers became tiresome or unwanted, Leykis used to "blow them up" by playing an explosion sound effect while he hung up on them. After awhile, callers simply said "Blow Me Up Tom" when they knew they were about to get kicked off the air. The catchphrase was also the last words spoken on his show before KLSX flipped from Talk to CHR in 2009. The Tom Leykis Show is set to return as a podcast on April 2, 2012 according to his website.

KIKN

KIKN was a Country music station licensed to Port Angeles, Washington. They went off the air in 2006 after Salem Communications, who bought the station in 2002, boosted sister station 1300 AM KKOL to 50,000 watts necessitating that 1290 go silent.
If Zack Taylor ever comes across this and wants his publicity photo removed, email radiodecals@gmail.com and I'll give it the boot.

Radio Board Game - WBT

I first read about this radio-themed board game dating from the 1920s over at Jose Fritz's excellent Arcane Radio Trivia blog. Two to four players each start at a different "Tune In" station in the northern part of their time zone and try to be the first to get to the "Sign Off" station which is WFAA in Dallas, Texas...although it appears way south of Dallas on the map. Click it to enlarge. The blue routes are shorter but filled with danger (Static! Antenna Down! Poor Reception!) and the red routes are longer but easier going.
Of the 40 stations shown on the board, 12 still exist on the AM dial with the same call letters. (Two others--KFJM-Grand Forks, North Dakota and KFKX-Hastings, Nebraska are now on FM instead of AM. KOB in Albuquerque, New Mexico is still around too although their calls are now KKOB.) I have stickers from 10 of the 12:

KLZ - Denver, Colorado
WOI - Ames, Iowa
WKY - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
WWJ - Detroit, Michigan
WTAM - Cleveland, Ohio
WHAS - Louisville, Kentucky
KDKA - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WBZ - Boston, Massachusetts
WDAE - Tampa, Florida
and
WBT - Charlotte, North Carolina

1110 AM WBT is a 50,000-watt, clear-channel News/Talk station that went on the air in 1922. The call letters were assigned by the Department of Commerce but unofficially stood for Watch Buicks Travel after the original owners sold it to a local Buick dealer. Much of their programming is locally produced including Keith Larson's show on weekdays from 9am to noon.

LAMA! is a greeting of sorts or verbal "high five" between Larson and his "self-selecting" club of listeners. When asked what it means he apparently dodges the question but the audio drop he uses is taken from Bill Murray's character in Caddyshack. (At the :55 second mark.)

KMYI

"Star 94.1" KMYI is a Hot Adult Contemporary station in San Diego, California.

The KMYI call letters date back to 2001 when they were known as "My 94.1" which also had a Hot AC format.

KABG

"Big 98.5" KABG was an Oldies station from Los Alamos, New Mexico. In 2007 they shifted to a Classic Hits format featuring more songs from the 1970s and 80s than a traditional Oldies station would play.

Australia Day

8HA (8 Heart of Australia) went on the air in 1971 and was the first commercial radio station in Alice Springs, Australia.
Happy Australia Day everybody!