Today is a great day for us here at WUSC...happy birthday to Julie Andrews! Oh, and happy World College Radio Day! Today, student radio stations all across the globe come together to celebrate our common goal of spreading music love for all to hear! Ah.
WUSC as an individual station has a long history, which you can read a little bit about here. We've been in operation as a free-format non-commercial educational system since 1947, starting off as a humble AM station before becoming FM in the late '70s.
During that time we've spun tunes for listeners across the world (galaxy?) playing Pitbull and Sam Smith before they became gods, adding sick pics to our Myspace page in the early 2000s, breaking world records for number of people yo-yoing at the same time, and even being featured in a Rolling Stone article on college radio's influence in the music industry. It's safe to say that we've had some good times, and we can't wait for the many more to come.
In celebration of this 11th annual Radio Day, we asked our music director about a WUSC special non-top 40 policy, which ensures all music being played on freeform shows has not charted on the Top 40 of
the Billboard 200 album charts since 1960. Why does this exist?
Our Music Director Jonas McAninch AKA LaMonty Beat:
Static Productions, Wednesdays 10PM-12AM
"I think our policy better provides a platform to up-and-coming artists, local artists, and artists whose music is not typically heard on mainstream radio. We’re able to give a space to artists from Columbia/South Carolina, are experimenting in their respective genres, and from different parts of the world, without having them having to conform to get airplay."
"Also, I think it gives DJs the opportunity to explore niche genres, scenes, and artists that they might not have otherwise explored."
~We're proud of our policy that helps represent smaller artists!~
~Now, read on to find out Jonas' and some of our other WUSC members' favorite parts of being a college DJ~
What has been the best part of being a part of college radio for you?
"Playing a part in promoting independent artists in Columbia or elsewhere has been a really rewarding experience. Also, forgive the cheese, but being around people who get stoked about music, whether they be DJs, musicians, or whoever has been great."
Our Digital Rotation Assistant Brandon Jolley:
No World Is As True As Mine, Tuesdays 12PM-2PM
"I've always listened to non-top 40 music honestly, but having the music I pick be played on air made me really pay attention to what other people would like compared to songs that I enjoy. It also makes me branch out among the musical genres I really didn't listen to. Before WUSC I didn't really pay attention to hip-hop or R&B save for the classics like MF DOOM or D'Angelo. Now I go out of my way to listen to those two genres to add some variety to my shows and expose more diverse artists to listeners of the radio."
"The best part of being in college radio is being able to play local music from people I know and respect to give them more exposure. And now as a digital rotation assistant, I have the opportunity to put local artists in focus at the station. Them telling me how appreciative they are of putting them in rotation has been such a rewarding feeling."
Cohosts David Schierlmann & Flynn Snyder AKA Old Bay & Hot Sauce:
Burnt Rooster, Mondays 7PM-8PM
"The best part about being a college radio host has been the ability to interview artists and represent WUSC at the Okeechobee music festival. Playing non-top 40 artists is also super important because it exposes the listeners to artists that are defining new genres and movements of music that the columbia audience may not neccesarily heard of before."
Our Program Director Jenna Sweetman AKA DJ Flick Chick:
The Drive In, Mondays 8PM-10PM
"All the fun events that WUSC has and being able to have my own show!!"
Cohosts Lily Wooters & Sydney Thomas AKA DJ Maple and DJ Honey:
Tunerise Kingdom, Fridays 8AM-10AM
Lily:
"The best part of being at WUSC for me has for sure been the community. Every person at the radio station is a kind, genuine, fun human being! (Disclaimer: some people at the radio station are very likely not human beings but actually monsters and/or aliens in human skin suits. I cannot confirm the identities of these entities at this time.) Getting to do events with WUSC and hang out with my fellow DJs has helped make some awesome memories."
Sydney:
"I agree with Lily 100%! I feel like the people involved in college radio are the absolute best. I love that I have gotten to meet so many cool people though WUSC:)"
Our Member-At-Large Katie McCain AKA DJ Miss Behavin':
Jazz Slam, Tuesdays 10AM-12PM
"Honestly being a jazz DJ has been the best. part. It’s also been pretty easy seeing as though we can play anything before 1969 even if it was top 40. The best part is definitely getting to share music and poetry with everyone listening and knowing that people actually listen which is kind of crazy. WUSC has honestly been one of my favorite parts of college."
Our Training Director Maddie Zediker AKA DJ Angel Hair:
My Chemical Rave, Wednesdays 12PM-2PM
"Training all the new baby djs and getting to become friends with all of them!"
Other Responses From Beautiful DJs:
"It’s all the people I’ve met. Everyone is so unapologetically themselves in the best way possible, and it’s made me feel comfortable doing the same. I wanna be all of my radio friends when I grow up."
"The events that we put on!"
Thanks everyone for listening to 90.5FM and supporting college radio! Below is a collection of some of the station's favorite non-top 40 artists. Listen and enjoy! WARNING: Due to the diversity of musical taste among DJs, this playlist is simultaneously chaotic, all-encompassing and breathtaking.