The legend goes that a mighty wind once raged through the airwaves, bulldozing any good tune in its path. Harmony dismantled, novelty erased, imposters established and anything worth enjoying dispelled at the gust of that forceful current-so the legend goes.
Or so a friend of mine would have you believe.
A friend recently tried to convince me of this myth. As he hastily hurdled from radio station to radio station with the forceful flick of his wrist, he asked me: Where has all the good music gone?
There is no need for me to explain the importance of music and its impact on cultures everywhere. In many cases, appreciating the potential of that impact requires exposing yourself to a broad and diverse realm of musical sounds.
Different types and styles of music are extremely abundant as well as accessible, and it frustrates me when someone questions the existence of good, new music. It seems many listeners would rather staple “lost” signs to telephone poles than take the time to discover and appreciate new music on their own.
There is always new music to be discovered and enjoyed-and Boulder is a prime example.
For instance, CU’s own Radio 1190, located in the UMC basement, offers a warehouse of new music. While the independent station’s AM frequency may limit the range of the live broadcasts, Radio 1190 programming is streamed online as well, offering an avenue that is growing in popularity by the hour.
As for the selection of music, prepare to treat your ears and psyche. After all, Westword’s Best of Denver 2007 feature recently honored the KVCU studio as the Best New-Music Radio Station.
The bottom line is that Radio 1190 challenges the musical tastes of any listener. It violently blends music with experimentation in an independent fashion. Because who is more experimental than college students? And the musical tastes of the student-run station attests to that.
Do not be frightened; there is no doubt that some song, some band or even a particular program waits in the depths to percolate your interest. All I am asking is that you abolish your routine of turning the radio dial every time you hear a song that you think you don’t like. It is rare for a station to have a great deal of control in what it places on the airwaves as Radio 1190 does, and that control deserves stable attention.
There is another Boulder gem that rests on the Hill during the day and screams into the night by sundown: the Fox Theatre. This theatre also gained recognition from Westword as the Best Large Venue.
The historic landmark offers an incredible variety of music nearly every night of the week at a reasonable price. Despite the lack of typical mainstream artists (which is in fact a charm), it is a joy to listen to the sounds spilling from the venue’s stage. Seeing a show at the Fox offers another great way to tear down your musical barriers in an attempt to enjoy something new.
Completely redefining musical tastes is not necessarily the goal here, because if you don’t like something, well, it’s hard to change that. But there is a lot of music out there that deserves exposure, and it never hurts to be open to it and exercise your tastes. With great musical resources like Boulder’s Radio 1190 and Fox Theatre, there is always new music to be heard.
If you ever find yourself asking where all the good music has gone, maybe you just need to look in your own basement.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Corey Jones at corey.jones@thecampuspress.com.
