Radio Waves of the Heart

As my time left in Ithaca dwindles away, there’s one aspect about life in Tompkins County that I only recently realized just how much I’m going to miss: the radio stations. Now, I’m not sure how wonderful or terrible the radio stations were in your hometown, but where I’m from in the New York, tri-state area, FM programming is a waste of frequency space. There are more Spanish than English stations, the local college frequencies don’t have enough power to broadcast without going static every few seconds, and the pop stations play literally the same ten songs with twice as many commercials. After more car rides than I could count during which I arrived at my destination before my scan button came across anything I wanted to hear, I learned that I was better off driving in silence than even bothering with the radio.

Of course, an easy remedy would have been to purchase Sirius XM Satellite if I was willing to spend the cash, but for me, moving to Ithaca proved to be an equally viable answer. Although Ithaca is by no means the major world metropolis that New York City is, the 150,000-person locale has somehow managed to broadcast FM stations that totally trump the crap that I grew up with down state. Four frequencies in particular, have made my fifteen-minute car rides to Ithaca Mall and Wegman’s far more enjoyable than any trip I ever took around Long Island. Since these stations have filled my VW beetle with so much musical pleasantry, I thought I’d take this column to touch the surface in dissecting the magnificent state of Ithaca’s rock and pop music frequencies.

As a college student, it’s only right to begin this with the two college channels and my clear favorite is Ithaca College’s WICB (91.7). The self-proclaimed “station for innovation” is all a rock music lover could ever want during a car ride and more … plus they have the awards to prove it. Last year they were named best college radio station at the mtvU Woodie Awards and this year the Princeton review gave them the top spot in the same category! Both awards are well-deserved as this modern rock channel, which spins current big time and independent artists, is also home to unique shows like “Breakfast with the Beatles” and “Homebrew,” which focuses on local musicians, that make this station top notch. Oh, and did I mention that there aren’t any commercials, ever? Yeah, I know. Amazing.

Cornell’s equivalent frequency, though independent from the university, WVBR (93.5) is not as outstanding to my ears. Though VBR markets a focal point on mainstream rock, classic rock holds a heavy presence in their programming and as a result the station lacks a bit in currency and more often than not misses the mark in setting the musical trend. Alas, I cannot complain too much, as this channel, broadcasting from Ithaca’s East Hill, always has something playing that’s at least listenable — although it may be more appealing to my parents than my friends, which is interesting since it’s a student run station. However, together with ICB, these two stations do a fantastic job of covering the rock bases and it’s baffling to me that wealthy-backed New York City stations can’t do the same. Bravo, Ithaca!

On the same note, as you’ve likely noticed if you’ve spent a bit of time in a car around these parts, there are two relatively new frequencies that perform complementary roles and together do an excellent job broadcasting the pop genre. The competing Hits 103.3 and Z 95.5 both play a mix of recent pop that’s varied enough so it’s not overwhelmingly new or old. Before I head to the bars, these are my go-to stations and they totally hit the spot. While one wouldn’t think it’s too hard to program for a Top 40 station, NYC’s Z100 (100.3) and PLJ (95.5) hardly stand a chance against what Ithaca’s got broadcasting. Totally, baffling, but way to go Ith!

On a side note, while I don’t think I’ll ever fall into the category of country fan, I cannot carry out this dissection without mention of Q Country (103.7). Correct me if I’m wrong, but last I checked, the New York tri-state area didn’t even have a country station, so it’s not too hard to one-up that. But from what I hear via my country aficionados, Q Country is where it’s at, and I a have a feeling those country listening gals will be missing the channel when they depart from Ithaca too.

So readers, do you hear what I’m saying? Bask in the prime FM frequencies in Ithaca while you can. Those ten minutes in the car may not seem like much, but I swear they add up. Even if it means falling in love with Jesse McCartney’s “Body Language” and having to admit that to yourself, it’s better than silence, cause as I’ve said before, the music always wins.