89X Memories

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

What are your favorite 89X memories? What concerts did you go to?

One of my favorites is the Homeboy Show. I remember first listening to Eminem on there in the 90's.

The music itself was quite unique. We would have never heard of bands like BranVan3000, Sneaker Pimps, or even Thornley if not for them.

Did you ever meet Dave and Chuck the Freak? Phat Matt?

Who remembers "the Dish" from Christina?

[Mega Hertz]

The Night 89x Stole Christmas in 2002.

I won tickets to see 311 from them in 2004.

The jocks were the first ones I noticed that had a "different" delivery than the other DJs. Arthur P these folks were not.

Warped Tours in 2003, 2004 and 2007.

Calling the X lines, getting to make a request, and they'd actually PLAY it. Pre-Dookie Green Day and pre-Nevermind Nirvana.

[bjmcdevitt]

Xing out the Summer in '92 at Pine Knob with:
Brotherhood Recipe
Charm Farm
Concrete Blonde
Crossed Wire
Goober & the Peas
Material Issue
Too Much Joy
Verve Pipe
Brave New World
Electronic Dream Factory
The Hoolapoppers
Oriental Spas
Thunderchief

[BFSEsq]

I probably listened to 89X almost exclusively for about a decade, and they were really important to me in figuring out my taste in music. I loved the station and the jocks. I thought it was such a cool station. Remember Vince Cannova? He was so out there... bit of a space cadet, possibly a stoner. Apparently from California, which makes a lot of sense. But yeah, him, Phat Matt ... the good early days of Dave & Chuck, when Kelly Brown was still on the show with them. It was simpler, a bit more low-rent, but that made it good. I think, in a way, we all miss 89X being legitimately just a low-budget, college-like, fly by the seat of your pants station. Of course eventually the music became more mainstream and things became more polished. But essentially this was just because of their success. Can you really fault them that? It's like hating a rock band once they hit it big because you feel like they "sold out."

Cristina was amazing. Legitimately knowledgeable about so much classic alternative... and hell, she started as an intern in '91 and was there for most of the station's history, so at the time it was current to her. But she knew what was going on. I remember The Dish. I remember Time Warp on Sunday mornings and still miss it; that show was legitimately great.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

I forgot all about Vince until I found this air check. Yeah, he was really chill. Love this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od-HPLF ... e=youtu.be

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Xing out the Summer in '92 at Pine Knob with:
Brotherhood Recipe
Charm Farm
Concrete Blonde
Crossed Wire
Goober & the Peas
Material Issue
Too Much Joy
Verve Pipe
Brave New World
Electronic Dream Factory
The Hoolapoppers
Oriental Spas
Thunderchief

I started listening in 1995-96 when I was in 6th grade because all the cool kids were listening. LOL. I only recognize Verve Pipe.

[thatonedude]

Cristina was amazing. Legitimately knowledgeable about so much classic alternative... and hell, she started as an intern in '91 and was there for most of the station's history, so at the time it was current to her. But she knew what was going on. I remember The Dish. I remember Time Warp on Sunday mornings and still miss it; that show was legitimately great.

Her Time Warp podcast is excellent: https://www.mixcloud.com/cristinarocks/

Wish a station would pick it up...107one or WDET would be a nice place for it, since I sure as hell know Entercom won't spring to get her on board...

[Mega Hertz]

Xing out the Summer in '92 at Pine Knob with:
Brotherhood Recipe
Charm Farm
Concrete Blonde
Crossed Wire
Goober & the Peas
Material Issue
Too Much Joy
Verve Pipe
Brave New World
Electronic Dream Factory
The Hoolapoppers
Oriental Spas
Thunderchief

I started listening in 1995-96 when I was in 6th grade because all the cool kids were listening. LOL. I only recognize Verve Pipe.

You don't know Charm Farm!? YouTube "Superstar". If you had the radio in 1995-96, you heard it.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

I don't remember it. I definitely remember Oasis and Beck though.

[szmigiel]

In the summer of 1990 I learned that Greg St James was moving to 88.7 to do a Alternative Rock show in the evenings, even the term Alternative was fairly new as the terms Modern Rock and New Wave and New Music were still in use. I tuned in the 1st night of "The Cutting Edge of Rock" at 8pm to listen and it became my go to station to listen to at night. The block was originally 8-Midnight and kept expanding later and later into the overnight hours. By May it had taken over the whole station becoming 89X. And just in time as grunge was just starting to build up steam, and then in September 1991 Nirvana released Nevermind and grunge took off becoming the big thing for the 90s. and 89X was there to capitalize it. By the mid 90's the term "Alternative to What?" was being used as grunge went mainstream and the other rock stations had more and more grunge and post grunge music being played.

[drew10219]

I started listening full time in about late 1992. Literally, I did not turn the station and did not really need to. The music and DJs were awesome. They were in downtown Pontiac for the entire world cup 94 and held a birthday bash concert on the roof of the Phoenix center with beck and Sponge before they were really anybody

The best times were before “the plant” came to take a slice of the action
Arguably the best lineup before that was

Mikey Mike Mornings
Christina –Mid days with the retro lunch
Vince Canova – with Christina doing music news and the Metro Times Entertainment guide
Kelly Brown- Evenings

[scifi and horror]

89X was my mainstay in the 90s, going to Club X in the old State Theater on Saturday nights.

[mkhopper]

In the summer of 1990 I learned that Greg St James was moving to 88.7 to do a Alternative Rock show in the evenings, even the term Alternative was fairly new as the terms Modern Rock and New Wave and New Music were still in use. I tuned in the 1st night of "The Cutting Edge of Rock" at 8pm to listen and it became my go to station to listen to at night. The block was originally 8-Midnight and kept expanding later and later into the overnight hours. By May it had taken over the whole station becoming 89X.

I did exactly the same thing. I was there from the first night they introduced The Cutting Edge (I still have an old bumper sticker somewhere) and listened to nothing else. After the full flip to 89X, I literally set every push button on my car radio to 88.7, which irritated anyone who was a passenger, but too bad for them. This station was playing stuff that no one else in the area would even think of playing and they were just a loose bunch of great DJs having a good time playing great music.

These days, terrestrial radio is dead to me. I listened to the flip yesterday and that was probably the longest amount of time I've tuned in to a local station in I don't know how many years.

[Mega Hertz]

So, a quick aside...

Has anyone else noticed WRIF has kinda turned up the 90s rock of late? Just today, in the 12pm hour, I heard "What's My Age Again" by blink 182, and it seems about every time I tune in, they're playing some kind of 90s rock/alt rock song.

98.7, I'm giving you credit. It takes balls the size of grapefruits to flip to a format that failed miserably roughly a year or two ago. I mean, you tout "alternative" and "89x ditched you, we got you", and then go on to play something 96.3 would play. There is MINIMAL reflection of 88.7 or 93.9 in this station. I'd say, at best, 1 in 5 songs is good/listenable.

Fuck I miss the 90s. At least alternative rock was still fucking ROCK back then. Not hi hats that sound like sprinklers and 808s that sound like a clearing drain.