There's more ads down here, and they help support us so, y'know, check 'em out...

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Why We Might Not Be Here Forever

I've spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out how to put words together to describe what's happening to Internet radio in general, and Altrok Radio in particular, that didn't sound like whining. Since the upshot is that Altrok Radio could die a slow, painful death, however, I suppose sooner is better than later, so please bear with me.

If you like Altrok Radio, and Internet radio in general, there's a few things going on that you need to be aware of.

Firstly, Altrok Radio isn't free. It is for you, for the moment, and possibly for quite a long time, but that kind of depends on you. The fact is, it costs money to do this. More money, relatively speaking, than regular radio stations pay.

"They pay?" you ask. Yes, they pay royalties to organizations whose job is to distribute royalties to their member songwriters - ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and others of their ilk. Which is just fine - these folks wrote these songs, why shouldn't they be compensated for that?

I pay those royalties, too. And, responsibly, the songwriting organizations set the royalty rates at a level that made sure there was still some incentive for radio stations, both online and off, to keep playing the music that generates those royalties. If they set them too high, broadcasters of all stripes would either go out of business (bad for songwriters - no more royalties) or would tighten playlists in the hope that their audience would grow because they only play the most popular songs (also bad, but only for most songwriters - the really popular ones would love it, though.) Needless to say, both outcomes are bad for listeners.

But I also pay recording royalties - a fee for playing a particular recording, as opposed to the song featured on the recording.

And regular radio stations don't pay those.

"They don't pay?" you ask. Nope, because years back, the recording industry had to admit that when people play their recordings for an audience, that audience tends to buy those recordings - thus compensating the people who made the recording directly.

Over the years, the recording industry contented themselves with only the massive profits they've always received as a result of selling records to you and I. And when the CD appeared, they did it all over again - and this time, they claimed, it was digital, and digital was perfect. It didn't matter that cover art was shrunk, liner notes went the way of the dodo, and the general notion of selling the public a lasting product of enduring quality was swapped for the perceived perfection of these shiny metallic discs, at a sizeable markup that wasn't passed along to the artists who made those discs until many years later - in fact, because it was a new technology, the artists collected less, even though it was soon far cheaper to make CDs than it was vinyl albums...but I digress.

But then the Internet, a digital communications medium, came along, and with it came the very real possibility that this new digital medium could be used to transfer flawless digital copies of these perfect digital discs between people who had no intention of paying for them - which is, in actual fact, wrong. And so the recording industry sent its lobbyists to Washington to make sure that they could slap a fee on anything that could be used to transfer music, with a few successes:
  • There's a fee on every recordable CD you buy, regardless of use.
  • There's a fee on other recording media.
  • Promising new technologies like DAT were hobbled out of the gate by anti-copying apparatus that just made them less appealing to potential users, while putting up no barriers at all for people who actually did pirate music and movies.
  • They've made it illegal to break encryption, even of things you paid good money for.
And through it all, they've kept up one mantra: Digital reproduction is perfect. Perfect copies replace sold copies.

And that's how they managed to convince lawmakers to charge webcasters money to do the same thing regular broadcasters do for free.

Because webcasting is digital. And "digital is perfect."

And lawmakers are, apparently, unaware of the concept of "lossy compression".

You might be, too. If you are, here's a primer: lossy compression, such as MP3, does not create a perfect reproduction of sound. What it does is take enough little bits of the sound it's trying to reproduce as it can, and reassemble them, to reproduce something that sounds like, but does not exactly match, the original. It might sound about the same, at least until you get your hands on the original and realize how different it is. The more compressed it is, the less it sounds like the original. Most webcasters compress pretty heavily, because the smaller the webcast stream is, the more people can listen to it.

And yet, the recording industry has convinced lawmakers that when someone listens to web radio, they're listening to (and may possibly be capturing and keeping) a perfect replacement for the original record. For which they demand compensation.

And that's simply fiction.

If that were the only problem, Altrok Radio could tough it out. But that's not the only problem

The other part of the problem is that, having convinced lawmakers that webcasters need to pay a fee that broadcasters do not, they have now further convinced lawmakers that they need more money. The rate they asked for, and have tentatively received, is a rate so high that it eclipses the total amount of money most web radio stations make (certainly ours). A rate so high it'll likely force a lot of webcasters and webcast providers (like Live365, who do the honors for us here at Altrok) out of business. Which guarantees a lower revenue stream for the artists they're supposedly "looking out for" (most of whom haven't seen a check from SoundExchange, the agency that handles the collection of these new fees. After four years of operation, they hadn't yet found Dolly Parton. I'm not kidding.)

You may already have seen the first symptom of the reaction to this - the "are you listening?" popup that, if you don't respond, will shut down your listening. Show me an FM radio that does that and I'll show you an FM radio nobody will buy, but I suspect this is only the first in what will be a long line of lame repercussions.

So, what can you do? You might consider applying some pressure to your elected representatives. Head over to Save Net Radio for as much info as you can stand.

After you've done what you can there, do what you can here: keep listening, and keep saying you're listening when you do! I'd really like to stay in this for the long haul, but I'll need you - and anyone you know that supports, or MIGHT support, the music we play here at Altrok Radio - to help by listening, because that's the only way we can stay afloat. Without listeners, we might as well just crawl away and die.

More? Well, you can become a VIP and actually not have to bother with commercials or "are you there" prompts (at least not for about eight hours.) And you make us a bit of money when you check out our advertisers - about $10 since last November, so not a lot, but go ahead and check 'em out if they appeal to you.

And above all, spread the word. If you have a blog, link here. If you're on MySpace, link up with us over there, or at LiveJournal.

By the way, you'll be happy to know that the recording industry, while trying to portray itself as the "good guy" to artists in the hope of getting them to come out against webcasters (and their own futures) is also demanding a cut of the songwriting fees generated by industries they're not involved in, like ringtones.

Sensing a pattern here?

Monday, March 26, 2007

Altrok Radio Music Update #152

Firstly, the important stuff:

Altrok Radio is at http://www.altrokradio.com

Please remember to tune in whenever you can - every hour you listen turns into more visibility for the station; we show up higher in search listings, and such like that. And if you'd like to help us keep the stream running, check out the advertisers if they appeal to you; your interest actually helps fund us.

Now then, in addition to the outstanding Altrok Radio music mix that got us an Editor's Pick nod at Live365 and at About.com, we've added features we know you'll like...

Thursdays at 11:30am Eastern (and repeated at 9:00pm - both new times!), you get to hear me showcase the new music we've added this week on the Altrok Radio FM Showcase. New stuff, classic stuff, and Jeff Raspe with his Altrok Radio Underground Pick Of The Week...

And on Friday, it's Altrok's Eighties Friday: music from the eighties that mattered then AND now. An eight hour playlist that features some of the best that decade had to offer, drawing from all the music that was available at the time (yes, even from the seventies.)

As if that weren't enough, Fridays at 11:30am Eastern (and repeated at 9:00pm) you'll find New York's own DJ Shred and her hand-picked set filled with classics from the darker and more challenging corners of the Eighties.

But for now - we've got songs to let you know about.

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:

  • Brakes
  • The Blakes
  • Future Of The Left
  • Nine Inch Nails
  • The Rakes
  • You Remind Me Of Rasputin
Plus we've got newly-added music:
  • Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm
  • Au Revoir Simone - A Violent Yet Flammable World
  • Andrew Bird - Heretics
  • The Black Angels - Bloodhounds On My Trail
  • Bobby Cook - Gone So Far
  • Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa
  • Drive-By Argument - The Sega Method
  • Fanfarlo - You Are One of The Few Outsiders Who Really Understands Us
  • The Frames - Sad Songs
  • Modest Mouse - People As Places As People
  • R.E.M. - #9 Dream
  • The Sammies - Trainwreck
  • Voltage Union - All Who You Know
  • Voxtrot - Kid Gloves

Our Featured Classics:

  • Blondie - Dreaming
  • Dramarama - Scenario
  • P.J. Harvey - Down By The Water
  • The Human League - Being Boiled
  • Hurrah! - Sweet Sanity
  • Killing Joke - Seeing Red
  • LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
  • Payola$ - Eyes Of A Stranger
  • R.E.M. - Gardening At Night
  • Tears For Fears - Mad World

As always, thanks for listening!

Friday, March 23, 2007

On The Radio Tonight (More Than Usual)

The brand-new Altrok Radio FM Showcase will be airing tonight at its usual time in its usual spot at 90.5 The Night...10pm Eastern US Time. It's the show you'll hear next week on the Altrok Radio web station, so go ahead and take the opportunity to get in on it early. (In fact, remember to listen using 90.5's rather nifty AAC stream - twice the quality at half the bandwidth, or so it seems...)

But also and as well, tune in early. Really early. Three hours early.

Why? 'Cause it's pledge drive, and I'll be on the mike with Jeff Raspe, and the two of us won't just whine for pledges...uh, uh. We'll try to make it entertaining. Hopefully cracking each other up, and inserting thoughtful and knowledgable tidbits about the music that comes up on the ol' playlist.

So even if you're not likely to send in money, check it out. 90.5's an awesome station (hey, they put me on the air, don't they?) and they deserve to be listened to, even if you don't feel like donating.

But you should...


Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Still Basking in the Afterglow

It's been over a month since our glorious Melody Bar reunion event. I want to thank everyone who has uploaded photos to the Melody reunion photobucket account. Unfortunately, someone has deleted a few photos, so before mischief makes mayhem, I have closed the account for further uploading or editing. But fear not, the album is still fully viewable and here's the link http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u236/melodyreunion/

Just go there and you can see all the uploads.

Hell Is Now Officially Cold

The very first Altrok article I wrote discussed the wave of TV ads that used authentic alternative music, everything from Iggy Pop to the Buzzcocks. That was back in 2002. Since then many more ads have done the same and from time to time I have mentioned them over the years. I've recently noticed two more. A current Cadillac commercial plays the Jam's Start, which improves on Zep's Roll 'n Roll in my book. And the PGA played the Stone Roses as it's exit-to-commercial music just a few weeks ago. It's time to declare victory over something and call it a day.

Chuck E Cheese Hung Out at the Melody!

The other day my youngest son had his fourth birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. My boys have had several birthday parties there, which makes life very easy for my wife. There's no set up, no clean up, and all the food and fun are provided in the cost. I enjoy it too, as I get to play a few video games and watch my boys have a lot of fun.

In every Chuck E Cheese there's a stage area with tv screen's that continually show videos of various young dancers rocking out to a Chuck E Cheese song. I was amused to hear one of the tunes they were dancing to was Ministry's "Halloween". I laughed out loud and no one had any idea why. Typical. Chuck, you ROCK.

Labels:

Monday, March 19, 2007

Altrok Radio Music Update #151

Firstly, the important stuff:

Altrok Radio is always available through http://www.altrokradio.com

Please remember to tune in whenever you can - every hour you listen turns into more visibility for the station; we show up higher in search listings, and such like that. And if you'd like to help us keep the stream running, check out the advertisers on our main page if they appeal to you; your interest in them actually helps fund us.

Here's what you need to know about what we play: it's our opinion that there's no such thing as a "golden age" - in fact, "golden ages" are overrated by definition. They occur whenever things are good for long enough that pundits step back and say "wow, things are pretty great right now". Problem is, when the pundits pause to say things like that, it means things have slowed down a bit...in fact, it's almost always an immediate precursor to things not being so good anymore.

See, when you're writing about how good things are generally, you're not saying anything about specific good things...and that might be because you're no longer noticing them.

So Altrok Radio doesn't think there was a golden age in the late 70s, the early 80's, the late 80's, or the 90's...because there's good new music being made all the time. You've just gotta know where to look.

And Altrok Radio tries to make it a little easier for you. We're scanning the shops and trawling the Web, finding as much that's happening now as we can - and then we showcase it for you. All you have to do is tune in.

Speaking of new music...

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:
  • DJ Shadow
  • Hadouken!
  • Jill Cuniff
  • Air Traffic
  • Tokyo Police Club
  • The Switches
Plus we've got newly-added music:
  • Air - Once Upon A Time
  • The Airborne Toxic Event - Does This Mean You're Moving On
  • The Blakes - Don't Want That Now
  • The Cinematics - Keep Forgetting
  • The Enemy - It's Not OK
  • The Go Find - Dictionary
  • Lemuria - Hours
  • The Maccabees - About Your Dress
  • The Needles - Dianne
  • The Pigeon Detectives - Romantic Type
  • The Sammies - Falling Out
  • The Vals - The Last Time
  • We Are The Physics - This Is Vanity
  • The Wombats - Backfire At The Disco
  • You Am I - A Nervous Kid
  • You Remind Me Of Rasputin - Sonic Level Three
Our Featured Classics:
  • The B-52's - Roam
  • Beck - Where It's At
  • The Church - Reptile
  • Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth
  • The Cult - Spiritwalker
  • The Cure - Let's Go to Bed
  • Iggy Pop - Candy (with Kate Pierson)
  • Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug
  • The Smiths - William, It Was Really Nothing
  • Talking Heads - Found A Job
As always, thanks for listening!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Asbury Park's Rockers Fight To Keep The Music Alive

Why is it that when a developer tries to "revitalize" a community, they bulldoze some of the very things that made it appealing in the first place? The latest potential victim is Asbury Park, NJ's Wonder Bar, one of a handful of great live venues in town that have, for years, comprised the only reasons one would set foot in the town, if one didn't already live there to begin with. And so, Upstage Magazine, once again valiantly fighting the good fight, has stepped up to the plate with a day of exciting times in the once and future Paradise By The Sea.

The simple info is thus:

SAVE THE WONDER BAR BENEFIT
12noon-2am (that's 14 hours, folks! And it's actually 3am because of the time change and, well, y'know.)
at The Wonder Bar
5th and Ocean
Asbury Park, NJ
(732) 502-8886

And here's the press release, for the gory details. Drop in and help out by gracing us with your presence, willya?

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) - Few were watching as New Brunswick's thriving original music scene of the 1980s came crashing down when club after club closed leaving the Court Tavern as the only game in town. History may be repeating itself in Asbury Park, as the shore town's legendary music scene is now very much in the hands of one company - Asbury Partners - the company in charge of the oceanfront redevelopment plan. Nearly 60% of the venues providing original music in town - and all of the largest venues - are now under their control. An online petition was created to show interest in keeping one of their latest acquisitions alive as a music venue and now an all-day concert/rally will be held on Saturday, March 10th as well.

The Wonder Bar is scheduled to close for good after St. Patrick's Day. The club is a victim of eminent domain and speculation is that the property might become another condominium building. Over 1500 people from around the world have signed a petition to keep the Wonder Bar alive. The petition can be found online at http://www.asburymusic.com/petition or signed in person at the Wonder Bar.

Upstage Magazine is presenting the all-day rally in an effort to show just how important the Wonder Bar is to music fans and to the local community as well. The concert begins at noon and runs until closing time at 2am. In between, 13 bands and seven solo artists will perform. The lineup includes such local favorites as Joe D'Urso, Maybe Pete, Jon Caspi Band, Cool Days End, Michael Patrick & the Suburban Hillbillies, Anthony Fiumano, Agency, Tony Tedesco & Damnaged Goods, and the Danny White Band. It also includes rare Asbury Park appearances by Postmark Twain and Frank Thewes of South Jersey and Wiser Time, Sounds of Greg D, and Souls Release from North Jersey. Rounding out the bill is Keith Monacchio of The Commons, Freddie Fry, George Wirth, Nik Everett, Causeway, and Lone Shark.

"Nearly all of Asbury Park's musical history is in the hands of Asbury Partners now," said Gary Wien, Managing Editor of Upstage Magazine. "They own Convention Hall, Paramount Theatre, The Stone Pony, Fastlane, Baronet Theatre, Club Deep, Tiki Bar, the Casino, and soon will own the Wonder Bar. This basically means that they can either make the music scene thrive or they can kill it. We're hoping that the petition and concert shows them that thousands of people think music is vital to Asbury Park's future. This is not just a piece of the town's past; it is very much linked to its present and can play a major role in its rebirth. People around the world have heard of Asbury Park because of artists like Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. Most towns would do anything to have something like that to use for its marketing and we're trying to show Asbury Partners just how valuable the properties they own really are in terms other than real estate value."

"Asbury Park's redevelopment plan suggests that music and entertainment will play a role, but it's difficult to take that serious when Convention Hall and the Paramount Theatre are hardly used at all," added Wien. "If they cared about entertainment they would have found a way to bring events back to those venues on a regular basis. As it is, they are probably the two least used performing arts centers in the state. And if condos are placed across the street you can bet that it will only make things worse."

The Wonder Bar is located at 5th & Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ directly across from Convention Hall. The club will be open early on Saturday, March 10th for the show with music beginning at noon and running throughout the night. The club's restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner and people will be able to leave and return with their ticket stub. Tickets are available for $10 from the artists performing as well as online at http://www.asburymusic.com/petition/March10.html Tickets have already been sold to music fans from Virginia to Boston, so those interested in attending are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

But Enough About Us, Let's Talk About You...What Do You Think Of Us?

As the warm memory of the Melody Bar Reunion (hopefully the first of at least a few) recedes in the distance, we're left staring at the decaying remains of the party decorations, spilled drinks and odd bits of shredded ephemeral clothing that metaphorically populate what, for lack of a better term, we'll have to call "normalcy".

Yeah, post-reunion depression has set in. But we're in a "building mode", right? So the question is: what are you hearing these days at Altrok Radio that make you happy?

I'm all ears (and with a properly significant amount of time tuned in, you will be too) so feel free to throw a comment or two at me...and if you're looking for some bands we're playing to prime the pump, here's today's lineup:


APB, Keith John Adams, Anemo, The Arcade Fire

The B-52's, Blesk, Blonde Redhead, The Blood Arm, Blood Red Shoes, Blue Zoo, Bon Savants, David Bowie, Brakes, Bromheads Jacket, David Byrne

The Church, Hugh Cornwell, Elvis Costello

Dead Disco, Desperate To Impress, Devo, Dinosaur Jr, Director, Dogs Die In Hot Cars

Val Emmich

Feist, Fields, Fischerspooner, The Flying Lizards, Foals, Forward Russia!, Fun Boy Three With Bananarama, The Futureheads

Game Theory, Jigs Giglio, Good Shoes

Hadouken!, Harrisons, Hello Nurse, The House Of Lords, Hyper Kinako

Interpol

The Jam

Kasabian, Klaxons

LCD Soundsystem, Ladytron, Larrikin Love, Leon, Letters & Colours, Little Man Tate, Locksley, The Long Blondes, The Longcut, Los Campesinos!, Louis XIV, Lene Lovich, The Lyres

Madness, The Majestic Twelve, Mary's Danish, Maximo Park, Malcom Middleton, Modest Mouse, My Teenage Stride

The New Violators, Colin Newman, Noisettes, The Noisettes

Orbital, The Ordinary Boys

The Pigeon Detectives, Polyrock, The Postmarks, The Producers, The Psychedelic Furs

R.E.M., The Radio Dept., The Rakes, The Receiver, The Replacements, The Rifles

The Shins, Shiny Toy Guns, Shout Out Out Out Out, Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames, Simple Minds, The Sleepover Disaster, Christine Smith, Patti Smith, The Specials, Stereolab, The Strokes

Takka Takka, Tokyo Police Club, Frank Tovey, Two Gallants

The Uncertains, The Undertones, Urge Overkill

The Video Nasties, The View, The Vines, Violent Femmes

The Waitresses, We Are Scientists, Wicked Automatic, Keller Williams, Amy Winehouse, The Wonder Stuff

Xerox Teens

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yes Boss



Let me know, m'kay?

Friday, March 02, 2007

Altrok Eighties Friday: DJ Shred at 9:00pm

Today and every Friday, you'll hear a big pile of the music we had available in the 80's, all day and through the night, in CD Quality MP3 Pro, at Altrok Radio.

Got a slow connection? We've put it up for you in glorious mono as well - check the "slower connections" link on the right of the page.

We do it every Friday, and we do it with a lot of tracks you won't necessarily hear on your average "Eighties Rewind" special...and that's 'cause we were there, and the stuff that sold well wasn't necessarily the stuff that we keep going back to. "I Ran" and "I Melt With You" have been shoved out of the way to make room for some really good stuff (often including the good stuff A Flock Of Seagulls and Modern English made that got completely overshadowed by their "one hit wonders".)

As if that weren't enough, DJ Shred shares her fantastic collection with you today for two hours, starting at 9PM tonight...so if you're familar with La Shred's estimable preferences for things Joy Divisiony, Depecheish, and Siouxsian, you should be all set.

(She was also on for two hours at 11:30am, but we got this updated a bit late today...)

The bands for today (3/2/2007) are:

ABC, APB, Age Of Chance

The B-52's, B-Movie, Bauhaus, Blondie, Blue In Heaven, The Bongos, Bow Wow Wow, David Bowie, Bronski Beat, Buzzcocks

Cabaret Voltaire, The Call, The Chameleons, China Crisis, The Church, The Clash, Combo Audio, The Comsat Angels, Alice Cooper, Julian Cope, Elvis Costello, Josie Cotton, The Cure

The Damned, The Danse Society, The dB's, Depeche Mode, Devo, The Dickies, Thomas Dolby, Dramarama, Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy, Ian Dury And The Blockheads

Easterhouse, Eat, Echo & The Bunnymen, Eddie & The Hot Rods, The English Beat, The Europeans

The Fall, The Flying Lizards

Gang Of Four, Garbage, General Public, Generation X, Martin Gore

Happy Mondays, Heaven 17, The Hoodoo Gurus, The House Of Love

The Icicle Works

Joe Jackson, The Jam, The Jim Carroll Band

Killing Joke

Love & Rockets, Lene Lovich, The Lyres

Mad Daddys, Madness, Martha and The Muffins, Meat Beat Manifesto, Midnight Oil, Ministry, Morrissey, Peter Murphy

Bill Nelson, New Order, The New York Dolls, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan

Sinead O'Connor, Oingo Boingo

Robert Palmer, Polecats, Pop Will Eat Itself, Iggy Pop, The Primitives, The Psychedelic Furs, Psychic TV, Public Image Ltd.

R.E.M., The Ramones, Red Box, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Replacements, Romeo Void

The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Sex Pistols, Pete Shelley, Simple Minds, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Skids, The Smithereens, The Smiths, Soft Cell, The Sound, Sparks, The Specials, Split Enz, Squeeze, Stranglers, The Style Council, The Suburbs, Sugarcubes

Talk Talk, Talking Heads, The Teardrop Explodes, Tears For Fears, The The, They Might Be Giants, Tones On Tail, TV21

U2, Ultravox, The Untouchables

The Vapors, Violent Femmes

Wire, The Wonder Stuff, The Woodentops

XTC



Thursday, March 01, 2007

Altrok Thursday: Ferris O'Brien, Plus The FM Showcase

Ferris O'Brien will be plying his musical trade today at 11:30am Eastern on Altrok Radio, while preparing for his SpyRadio show at Oklahoma City's 100.5 The KATT.

...but what those listeners don't know (and what you now do) is that it's possible to maximize your Ferris pleasure by catching the Altrok Radio show as well.

Y'see, he does two hours for us, 'cause unlike commercial radio where you have to grasp and claw for a break in the usual format we're all about the new and unusual (and the classic and unusual, for that matter.)

So you've got a few things on your list now...

- Check out SpyRadio for yourself when it comes on tonight at 1AM Eastern US Time, at 100.5 The KATT in Oklahoma City, or worldwide at KATT's website.

- But before you do, hit Altrok Radio for two hours starting at 11:30am Eastern or 9:00pm Eastern. (And if you stick around, you can hear the latest Altrok Radio FM Showcase immediately afterward, with all the new and featured music from this week's Altrok Radio playlists.)

See? We take care of ya here at Altrok...
 
Please Look At Our Advertisers (Or The Website Gets It)
Congratulations, you've found the hidden text.
 
Welcome to Altrok.com, also available at AltrokRadio.com and AltrockRadio.com. Here's where the remaining listeners of several fine radio stations have retreated, regrouped, and built a replacement strong enough to stand on its own. It builds on the independent legacy of New Jersey's FM106.3, New York's WPIX and WLIR, Oklahoma's 105.3 The Spy, the pre-buyout mindset of KROQ, WBCN and WHFS and of every other alternative station that was destroyed at a moment's notice - not because they weren't making money, but because there was bigger money to be found elsewhere.
 
We've stood by as truly independent alternative rock radio died. Sure, something called "alternative" took its place, but we know for sure that anything that "tests well" with soccer moms just ain't alternative. (Even if some of us happen to be soccer moms.) So we've taken matters into our own hands.
 
This really is independent alternative rock radio, visible here at Altrok.com and audible at our web radio station. It has the classic music that fired our passions back in the day - or that we maybe only heard about from our elders - but it's mostly made of the new music that does precisely the same for us now. We're paying attention to scenes all over the world, watching the energy build, and waiting to see what it creates. Wherever it happens, we'll make sure you can hear about it here. We've been slowly building all this since 2001, and now that you've noticed us, we're glad you're here.
 
Of course, it's only here because you want it to be here, and it can only stay if you help it along - especially by checking out our advertisers (they support us) and by listening (the more that listen, the more visible we are.) Please use the "feedback" link above to let us know whether it works for you, and what you want it to be as the future unfolds. (And if you need help hearing it, let us know that, too.)