Something different at 1550 AM

January 11, 2006 3:38 PM

"Open Source Radio" was what I found at 1550 AM when I was tuning around on the radio.
It didn't sound at all like AM radio, and it wasn't a pirate.
It's Infinity Broadcasting/CBS Radio/VIACOM, but it's also klezmer weddings, motivational spam, Rhino Records, current Japanese music, self promotion, unsigned bands, and things that I can't identify.
posted by the Real Dan (23 comments total)

Where are you?
posted by alumshubby at 3:48 PM on January 11, 2006

Oh, never mind...I misunderstood; I should've clicked the link before asking...
posted by alumshubby at 3:49 PM on January 11, 2006

Sorry. SF Bay area.
posted by the Real Dan at 3:49 PM on January 11, 2006

These guys are going to be pissed...
posted by SweetJesus at 3:52 PM on January 11, 2006

S'okay...MeFi's pretty much global.

That page renders weirdly in MSIE, Opera and Firefox for me...the scrolling region is transparent and superimposed on the sponsored links, so it's really hard to read. Looks interesting, though.
posted by alumshubby at 3:56 PM on January 11, 2006

I remember reading about this a couple of years ago. They took an underperforming station and decided to do an experiment where people could submit anything they wanted for programming. They figured they could not lose any more money than they already were, so why not try something. Highly out-of-character for Evil Corporate Radio, but there you have it.
posted by briank at 4:07 PM on January 11, 2006

Cool idea. My radio reception in SF blows, but I'll try to check it out.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:22 PM on January 11, 2006

Your radio reception in SF blows? Think of mine in NYC!

Thanks for the link. There's always the possiblity that no one in the corporate suites is noticing that some is doing something interesting...
posted by ParisParamus at 4:32 PM on January 11, 2006

This is pretty cool. I like the name.
posted by nickerbocker at 4:45 PM on January 11, 2006

I have to register to listen?
posted by fixedgear at 4:52 PM on January 11, 2006

Not if you pull the stream link out of the source.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:16 PM on January 11, 2006

I hope they add Ian Masters to their line-up - he deserves wider broadcast.
posted by specialk420 at 5:22 PM on January 11, 2006

streaming an AM station... whoah. This ain't the 70s anymore...
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 5:53 PM on January 11, 2006

Fuck Rhino.
posted by phaedon at 5:55 PM on January 11, 2006

I'd rather not; they've a terrible smell.
posted by blendor at 6:39 PM on January 11, 2006

What specialk420 said.
posted by hortense at 6:52 PM on January 11, 2006

Fuck Rhino

Yay! They're my favorite rave metal band! I didn't think anyone else knew about them outside of Stockton! "Riding Herd" is my favorite album EVAR!
posted by freebird at 7:28 PM on January 11, 2006

Great. Now all I gotta do is figure out how to make podcasts on my 10.2.8 OSX, and I'll be putting commands into the brains of SF strangers.
posted by klangklangston at 6:23 AM on January 12, 2006

The site seems to be all about podcasts. I looked around, saw some that looked interesting, then tried to download them, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. After some frustration, I went to the FAQ, and found:

Q: How do I download a Podcast?
A: You cannot download Podcasts on kyouradio.com. Instead tune in to 1550 KYCY-AM or click Listen Live.

WTF?
posted by iconjack at 7:37 AM on January 12, 2006

"Open Source Radio" provides an ASX stream, and some sort of player that presents "Your current computer configuration is incompatible with our Audio Service"? Nice.

Do these folks know what "open source" means, or did they just pull a buzzword out of a hat?
posted by mendel at 8:39 AM on January 12, 2006

Open Source Radio" provides an ASX stream

Lame. Do you have to use Windows to listen? I tried QCD and WinAmp with no luck.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:29 PM on January 12, 2006

plays ok in VLC (like everything else). at least for a 32kb/s stream of an AM station. they really like using the word podcasts.
posted by psychobum at 3:02 PM on January 12, 2006

My podcasting pioneer friend Dave Slusher has a lot to say about KYOU (scroll to the bottom and work your way up). Bandwagonesque.
posted by intermod at 8:45 PM on January 12, 2006