We're the Rock of New Orleans
I was an avid shortwave radio listener when I was growing up. I'd strung up a wire encircling my room as an antenna, and for a while had a wire antenna set up outside, which I connected to my radio through a window when there was no threat of lightning.
Most of the stations were government run and operated. The Voice of America, Radio Prague, etc. Being able to hear them was more important than actually listening to their programs, although I did find it interesting to get another (usually commie) perspective on the news, and realized from a young age that our national news might not actually be totally objective (the horror). Turns out the rest of the world wasn't as in favor of our invasion of Panama as I would've imagined, for example. Didn't they know that Panamanian military strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega was a bad guy (tm)?
It was also quite a kick to hear the rapid transition on the various Eastern Bloc stations from moribund commie party line to what the hell is going on to young liberal takeover after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Other than the VOA, most of the small number of U.S. based shortwave stations that existed were religious broadcasters, whose programs were painful to listen to, and who would ask you if you had accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior if you bothered to send a QSL.
There was one exception, however. WRNO, New Orleans. Also a FM station, with motto "We're the Rock of New Orleans", WRNO Worldwide was their shortwave service. Why someone thought it would be profitable to broadcast 100,000 watts of hard rock and New Orleans Saints games to the world, I'm not sure, but I definitely appreciated its presence on the dial.
One day I tuned into WRNO and they were playing "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The M.G.'s, one of my favorite songs. Awesome. I continued listening, and what do you know, but they played it again! Then again. And again. And again and again and again, with no DJ interruption. I listened to "Green Onions" for at least an hour. Were they having technical issues? Did the DJ put it on repeat to go binge on beignets & sazerac? I never did find out what the deal was.
Sadly, according to the Wikipedia entry I just read, WRNO Worldwide's shortwave transmitter was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and its license sold to a religious broadcaster. As for the FM station, in 2008 it switched to a "Rush Radio" format (as in scum of the earth Rush Limbaugh). But whenever I think of WRNO, I'll always remember the good times:
Most of the stations were government run and operated. The Voice of America, Radio Prague, etc. Being able to hear them was more important than actually listening to their programs, although I did find it interesting to get another (usually commie) perspective on the news, and realized from a young age that our national news might not actually be totally objective (the horror). Turns out the rest of the world wasn't as in favor of our invasion of Panama as I would've imagined, for example. Didn't they know that Panamanian military strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega was a bad guy (tm)?
It was also quite a kick to hear the rapid transition on the various Eastern Bloc stations from moribund commie party line to what the hell is going on to young liberal takeover after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Other than the VOA, most of the small number of U.S. based shortwave stations that existed were religious broadcasters, whose programs were painful to listen to, and who would ask you if you had accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior if you bothered to send a QSL.
There was one exception, however. WRNO, New Orleans. Also a FM station, with motto "We're the Rock of New Orleans", WRNO Worldwide was their shortwave service. Why someone thought it would be profitable to broadcast 100,000 watts of hard rock and New Orleans Saints games to the world, I'm not sure, but I definitely appreciated its presence on the dial.
One day I tuned into WRNO and they were playing "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The M.G.'s, one of my favorite songs. Awesome. I continued listening, and what do you know, but they played it again! Then again. And again. And again and again and again, with no DJ interruption. I listened to "Green Onions" for at least an hour. Were they having technical issues? Did the DJ put it on repeat to go binge on beignets & sazerac? I never did find out what the deal was.
Sadly, according to the Wikipedia entry I just read, WRNO Worldwide's shortwave transmitter was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and its license sold to a religious broadcaster. As for the FM station, in 2008 it switched to a "Rush Radio" format (as in scum of the earth Rush Limbaugh). But whenever I think of WRNO, I'll always remember the good times:
5 Comments:
So I guess the obvious question is: Did you ever hear any numbers stations?
You know, I'm not sure. I'm trying to remember if I was aware of their existence. If I was, it would've been, "oh, people reading numbers. boring", rather than, "wow, creepy, let me record four hours of this...". I feel like there's probably a decent chance I did hear one of those stations at some point, but I can't say for sure.
Incidentally, I probably watched that video for about an hour yesterday. There's just something about "Green Onions" that lends itself to repeat listening.
There's just something about "Green Onions" that lends itself to repeat listening
Yes, and the flailing sockhoppers don't hurt.
that numbers station stuff is pretty cool. I had never heard of them til know. Here's the wiki link for anyone who also didn't know.
Trivia: the voice saying "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" at the end of Wilco's "Poor Places" is a recording of a numbers station.
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