public station Archives

November 3, 2025 Jason Shrum

WNXP Gives So Much. You Should Give Back.

To say that WXNP saved my life may be the most honest thing I have ever written, because I was truly starting to feel lost until I discovered these wonderful curators of musicality. I came to the state’s capital just over two years ago after losing my small brewery in Seattle to the hardships of COVID shutdowns. There I was privy to KEXP and listener powered radio. That station and those DJs eased my soul everyday with affirmations of “You are not alone” surrounded by gorgeously manicured playlists. I was scanning the dial one morning in Middle Tennessee during an episode of deep thought, and I was wondering if my decision making was correct. Should I have stayed in the Pacific Northwest? Why did I choose to live in Nashville? What am I going to do for work? Will I ever be happy again? You know, normal life thoughts. Then I bumped into the station that quite literally based their model after my old hometown heroes, and I began to feel at ease.

B Sides FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

May 6, 2025 Jason Shrum

There is an Assassinate Attempt Being Made on Public Media

Several years ago, in Seattle I discovered Independent Radio (and yes, I am capitalizing because it’s important), funded by the listeners, and it changed my life for the better. That radio station was KEXP and it became my everything. DJs can play whatever they want, any theme, without algorithms or pay-to-play formats. They are both educational and spin a heavy rotation of local music as well as classic indie gems. I had never heard anything like it before. You might catch Public Enemy, followed by Joni Mitchell and then some small independent artist follows that track. Each radio host did their own thing as well. John Richards was the host that I first caught onto, and his music knowledge floored me. I like to think of myself as having a refined palate of sound logged in my craw, but this dude buried my grasp of music, and I learned so much from him. I am forever indebted. I got to meet him once and as I trembled terribly inside, I think I played it cool.