The Crappy Music of Chicago

With the resurgence of Chicago as a sports town (more on that later), I have been spending a lot more time in my car hitting the stadiums, junkets and related events. While I usually listen to my Lou Reed or Cars tapes (that is correct, I still have a stereo cassette player) I have found myself listening a bit more to Chicago rock radio and here’s a fact, WXRT plays at least one song by Collective Soul per day. For those of you who are not aware, Collective Soul is a bad proto-alternative band out of Georgia that has been releasing hack job power ballads for 15 years. They are the poster child for what WXRT’s plays these days and a sad reminder that Chicago does not have a modern rock station.
For those who are not aware, WXRT started as an independent radio station in the seventies and had a 20 year run as an innovative and ground-breaking beacon of adventuresome music. Their core on-air staff has not changed in 25 years. But since they got bought by Clear Channel in the early 90s, they suck worse with each passing day.
Does anyone remember when WXRT was at the forefront of modern rock? They played the Afghan Whigs, Galaxie 500, Frank Zappa, the Silos, American Music Club, and went deep into albums to expose Chicago to the non-single album gems. Each DJ had his/her artistic leaning and it served the greater purpose of the station’s personality. Now it’s a steady stream of Spin Doctors, Smash Mouth, Elvis Costello’s Greatest Hits, Tom’s Diner, and Collective Soul and it is simply sickening.
Oh, you didn’t know Tim knew his rock? I’ll tell you sunny-jim, when I started here in 1993 I got to see the Blake Babies and Urge Overkill in their martini lounge glory. I saw Liz Phair at the Beat Kitchen and was there when Lloyd Cole opened the Double Door. I likes my rock and what I hear these days makes me want to retch.
I can see it now, Mayor Daley is driving downtown with some members of the Olympic Selection Committee and one of them says, “Richard, you know what I would fancy - hearing this city’s premiere modern rock station? Ooh that would be a true delight.” And Richard would hem and haw until he remembered that Billboard stating, “WXRT – we snuck into your room and are playing your record collection” and of course Richard would know they weren’t talking about his Billy Ocean collection and he would direct the driver to 93.1 FM where, out of the car speakers would come, “One, two princes here before you…………” and they would laugh Richard off LSD.
Imagine the city not getting the Olympics because our music sucks? That would be sweet poetic justice. But nothing is going to change. Teri Hemmert is going to play the Beatles and the new guy is going to play the same Amy Winehouse single over and over again. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
It doesn’t have to be this way, a simple tweak to the current and you can still satisfy the Lenny Kravitz crowd while getting Ted Leo and the New Pornographers into the mix, but the geriatrics at XRT aren’t having. Their 2.1% market share and free tickets to Ravinia are enough to keep them complacent and mired in mediocrity and it is we who suffer.
Oh and by the way, Chicago sports are fun again. Go Team. And that’s the word of Sand.