Featured Links
May 29, 2001

Featured link of the week: WONC-FM

Back in 1991, I called WONC-FM Naperville the best radio station in Chicago. I think it's still one of the best, although I don't follow the market as closely as I did when I lived there. It has an unusual format they call Pure Rock, which mixes classic rock like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles with modern rock like Radiohead and PJ Harvey. The only station in Chicago that can match the scope of its playlist is the venerable WXRT-FM; out here in Washington DC, the only thing that comes close is WRNR-FM Annapolis, which can only be heard via the Internet out in the boonies where I live.

In addition to its eclectic blend of rock, WONC-FM is a top-notch local station, broadcasting high school and Division III sporting events, news and traffic reports that concentrate on roads in the western suburbs, and public affairs programs on local issues. The vast majority of radio stations in the United States are now owned by large corporations and broadcast hardly any local content, so it's refreshing to find a radio station that is still committed to its community.

And the good news is that WONC-FM will never be bought by a large corporation, because it's owned by North Central College. It's run and programmed by students, which helps keep it fresh. Admittedly, some of the DJs are a little rough, but in all they do a remarkable job.

Last year, to my delight, WONC-FM started broadcasting on the web. Give it a listen. It's really an excellent station.

Other Pure Rock links:

In 1991, when I listened to WONC-FM all the time, I heard a number of artists I could hear on no other station in the area. And I haven't heard them on the radio since. But many of them are still out there still producing really good stuff.

• Michael McDermott - McDermott's debut album 620 W. Surf received extensive airplay on WONC and some exposure on other Chicago stations such as WXRT and WLUP in 1991. He's still recording and touring, and has a devoted following in Chicago.
• Richard X. Heyman - Heyman made his major label debut in 1991 with the album Hey, Man!, which contained a wonderfully catchy single in 1991 called "Falling Away." I never heard it anywhere other than on WONC-FM. For some reason there was a seven year gap between Hey, Man! and his next album, Cornerstone. He performs occasionally in and around New York.
• Peter Himmelman - Himmelman has been around for years and is well known in alternative music circles, but for some reason he's never been widely popular. His single "Only Innocent" received a hell of a lot of airplay on WONC in the summer of 1991, for what that's worth. Himmelman may now be best known as a composer for film and television; he composes all the music for the show Judging Amy, for example. He also wrote the theme to Making the Band, but try not to hold that against him.
• Plain White Ts - Last year when I was in Chicago, I turned on WONC-FM and happened to catch a terrific song called "Kitty Cat Shirt" by a band I'd never heard of, the Plain White Ts. I think they're a very good, if unpolished, band. You can download MP3s of "Kitty Cat Shirt" and some of their other songs and judge for yourself.

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