Raised on FM Radio

I grew up in Montreal, Québec in Canada in the eighties and FM radio ruled the land. It shaped my tastes in music and was responsible for my love of rock ‘n’ roll and metal. I can’t imagine discovering bands from the seventies like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple and countless others if it weren’t for FM radio. And if we’re going to be specific, our local rock station, CHOM 97.7 FM, Montreal’s Home for Classic Rock and the Spirit of Rock in Montreal was my station that I listened to for hours on end every week. Back in its heyday, shows like the “‘70s at Seven” and particularly “The Overnight Show”, which I spent a lot of time tuning in to while in college, singlehandedly gave me an education in all things rock ‘n’ roll. I used to call the station so often for song requests at any time of day on any given day that most of the DJs recognized my voice and knew it was me as soon as I said “Hello.” I used to call in to win movie and concert tickets, participating in sometimes obscure music trivia questions (without the help of the Internet/Google to provide answers), and I won a ton of times. I was a loyal CHOM listener but in the mid-eighties, I was also into Rap and Pop music and I’d listen to the two big French language FM stations, CKOI 96.9 FM and CKMF 94.3 FM, mostly on weekends during their countdowns. I’d have the local newspaper in one hand with the list of the Top 30 songs and my other hand on the red “record” button on my ghetto blaster to make 60-minute or 90-minute tapes of all my favourite songs. Ah, those were the days. You had to work hard for your songs and you prayed the DJ wouldn’t interrupt them by talking over them or cut them off short while you were recording.

Sure, going to the record store was also a good place to discover new music and bands from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s along with the current ‘80s and later ‘90s music, but this was a time before listening booths and you couldn’t sample say, an old David Bowie or Bruce Springsteen album unless you purchased it. The newer generations, meaning every kid born in the Internet Age, don’t know how difficult and at the same time how pleasurable and rewarding it was to have to go out there and seek out new music and bands to listen to. It’s easy to take for granted nowadays how accessible music is from streaming services and online stores, YouTube and the plethora of apps and ways to get music, but back then, stumbling upon a band you’d never heard of that rocked your world was something truly special. FM radio is still around, of course, but it’s not the same. I, for one, only experience it when traveling long distance in a car and turning on the radio out of curiosity to take a break from the vast music library on my cellphone. I listen to the radio an average of an hour every couple of years or so. Gone are the days where DJs were local celebrities and radio stations could be heard broadcasting their tunes at barbecues and pool parties in the summer. It’s like everything else with the world, things change and evolve, and eventually disappear, I guess. It’s just fun sometimes to reminisce about those years that I’m forever thankful for that were my gateway to an infinite world of music. Thank you, FM radio!