After Christmas I read The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I can’t remember the last time I fell so in love with a series of books. While I don’t normally trend towards the best-seller list, I can understand completely why all three books in the trilogy currently top it currently. They are simply that good. There is no way I could have waited for the last two books in the trilogy. I’m just glad that I read the entire trilogy as a whole.
Where do I even begin? The entire premise of the books is eerie, the characters are rich and wonderful, and the political undertones of the book struck a nerve, at least with me. I’m not sure if Suzanne Collins intended for the books to have a political message, but they do for me. It is hard for me to believe the books are considered young adult. They are so rich, so complex, and so intense; it is not what one would normally expect from the young adult genre.
I will delve into greater details, including my favorite characters, at a later date. This is a subject I intended to revisit from time to time. There are just too many themes to explore. In the meantime, I can’t wait for the movie! My brother’s girlfriend K and I have a date to see it. I cannot wait! I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for a movie premiere.
I’ve long loved radio and decided to put all my favorites in one place. I’m not sure when I first loved listening to the radio, but as a child, I remember listening with headphones late into the night, long after I was supposed to be asleep. I also made plenty of mix tapes. That doesn’t even mention one of my favorite childhood pastimes, creating radio stations, original jingles included, using a Fischer Price tape recorder. Today, I can’t stand to be in a car without the radio on. Enjoy.
My senior year at MSU I decided to get involved with the major student radio station on campus. It is something I did purely for my personal enjoyment. I love music, and playing music, that much. Everyone involved with Impact 89FM starts out on their online training station The Fix. After learning the basics, you are left alone to spin music for a few hours by yourself. You can’t imagine how much fun I had in the studio! My only regret is that I didn’t get involved as a freshman.
The radio stations I always associate with my childhood are WHNN-FM and 102.5 WIOG. Throughout my later elementary school years, I rode to school with my Mom, who taught 6th grade at the time. She listed to WHNN-FM every morning to catch Johnny Burke’s morning show. Thanks to that station, I know the music of the 50s, 60s, and 70s pretty well – and appreciate it. I still listen to Johnny Burke every morning on my way to work. WHNN-FM covers a huge chunk of Michigan.
While WHNN-FM catered to my parents’ generation, 102.5 WIOG is still home to current pop. It was the radio station as a teenager. Like WHNN-FM, 102.5 WIOG has a huge reach. Unless you liked country as a teenager, you listened to 102.5 WIOG. Back in the 90s, mainstream alternative and SKA ruled the air waves.
94.5 The Moose and 98 KCQ are the two big country stations in Mid-Michigan. Growing up, I hated country music. Now, there is a lot of it I love. In my opinion, pop isn’t nearly as relevant as it once was. Country is now the genre featuring the best artists and innovation. I grew up a fan of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Motown, and the Beatles. Today I love Toby Keith, Blake Sheldon, Miranda Lambert, and even the Dixie Chicks. Go figure.
Driving anywhere with my Grandma during the summer months meant the Detroit Tigers on WSGW – NEWSRADIO 790 and Ernie Harwell. Any radio broadcast of the Tigers will remind me always and forever of my Grandma.
Back in the day FM TALK 100.5 AND SPORTS! actually turned into a pirate radio station for a while. I love the concept of anything to do with pirates. Before that, it happened to be an alternative to 102.5 WIOG.
Where do I even begin with KOOP? It is the reason why I love Austin so much to this day. Somehow I consented to go on a blind date with a man who happened to be very involved with KOOP. At the time, he hosted the show ATX Live. He is still involved with KOOP after serving as president of the co-op for several years. Today he serves as the Tech Team Area Coordinator for KOOP.
At the time, his involvement with KOOP led to us spending plenty of time together checking out local bands, artists, and even festivals. Andy even introduced me to one of my best friends in Austin, his former manager Cheryl. Of course, they originally meet through KOOP. I can’t begin to imagine Austin without the music.
It was directly as a result of Andy’s involvement in KOOP that I decided to go back to MSU and get involved with the Impact 89FM, even if only for one semester.
You can read more about my experiences in Austin below:
Undoubtedly the internet is saving the radio from obscurity. I love the fact that in many cases fans can now go to the website of their favorite band and/or artist and listen in. In particular, I love The Beatles website for this. Not only do they play everything in the Beatles’ catalog, they play John, Paul, George, and Ringo’s solo work as well. What is there not to like?
