by Robert Litowitz, Washington, DC

Growing up in Trenton, I was weaned on WMMR in the early 70s, and then on the legendary WHFS when I moved to DC. But over the years the music died. Family-owned WMMR went corporate, leaving DC a musical wasteland. Then WMMMR became an classic rock station. And so I was left in suspended animation, recycling my Neil Young and Steve Forbert tapes on long drives home to Trenton. Until the day I happened to switch my dial to 88.5 and heard the strains of Catie Curtis’ “Soulfully” over the airwaves. I immediately knew that real radio — without rigid format and with new music imbued with the independent spirit of the music I loved — still existed.

And thanks to the miracle of the Internet, I could take that music home with me to DC. My musical reawakening had begun.