Still Here, Part 3

Yes, we’re still here.

As we’re sure about what most of you can relate to, real life has inserted itself between us and the blog. We’re are still trying to nail down some artist interviews and we should have lots of new stuff soon.

Part of our mission statement here at Garagerocktopia is to make sure you know where to find great garage rock, power pop and proto-punk. And, as we always do on this subject, we’ll acknowledge that in this internet-driven age, it’s no longer difficult to find the kind of music you want, no matter how obscure, pretty much on demand. So if you are already a devotee of the kinds of music we feature here, no doubt you already have your own sources.

The days of having to rely on college radio or pirate stations for cool music have passed, though college radio is still a vital part of the music scene.

Yes, you can use various websites and apps that, after you have typed in an artist or band, will automatically create a playlist of music related to that artist or band. Imperfect though they sometimes are, you’re sure to hear something really cool, maybe something new to you, or maybe something from three or four presidents ago.

Ditto various video websites loaded with pretty much every-and-anything you could want musically, which often include suggestions for similar artists.

But there are also real live human beings all over the world who have taken on garage rock as a labor of love and presented this music, and we want to recognize some of them. As with this blog, they’re making little or no money. They’re doing it because they love the music.

As you no doubt already know, the world of internet radio is a very iffy one. Many of these stations are run by working schlubs who are  just like us. And as anyone who has ventured into this universe can tell you, the very nature of internet radio is here today, gone tomorrow. Sadly, we do have to report a bit of bad news about a couple of our faves.

One of our favorites for the last several years has been the great station out of Germany, Yeah Right Radio, which sadly appears to have ceased operation. The website is still up, as is their social media page, but there's no information there as of this post. For modern garage rock, particularly from Europe, this was a great source of music, and several features on this blog happened because yours truly heard them first on YRR.

Garagerocktopia has reached out to the proprietors of this station. They had in the past agreed to an interview but unfortunately we just couldn’t synchronize our schedules. Now, they are not there. Were still trying to get an explanation, but so far we have no news to report.

For another great internet radio station, the news is not quite as bad.

For a long time, the most popular feature on this blog was Kevin Anthony’s great project, Psychedelic Jukebox. As Kevin explains on his website, the royalty rates were changed and were a crippling blow to him.

Definitely check out our story and more importantly, check Psychedelic Jukebox out. Kevin outs his heart and soul into it, and has compiled a breathtaking collection of ‘60s music, especially garage rock. When it comes to first wave garage rock, Kevin Anthony is still the go-to guy.

The good news is that he has adjusted and found a way to continue. It’s not quite as handy as the radio station was, but at the end of the day, you can still get your Psychedelic Jukebox.

We always like to end on a positive note here at Garagerocktopia, and this week we’ll do that by recommending a few other internet stations which should satisfy any cravings.

Garage Rock Radio 24 is one. This station, operated out of Switzerland, focuses mostly on obscure ‘60s garage, though there is a sprinkling of more modern music. The website also includes short explanations about the great music they play.

Another station we just got hip to this week comes out of Spain, which has a pretty impressive garage rock scene. Radio Cowabunga isn’t purely garage rock but actually mixes in many of the genres we write about here – garage, proto-punk, power pop and first-wave punk, plus other related genres like surf. There's also a podcast and interviews, en espanol, with some of the artists.

If it’s power pop you’re looking for, perhaps the best place to find it is at Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio. This is an amazing station that encompasses pop from the ‘60s -- the cool stuff, not the MOR music -- to current indie pop.  It's no accident that it sounds like a professional operation -- Haber is an ex-radio guy who brought power pop to the commercial airwaves back in the '90s. The website is also awesome. If you like excellent pop music, you're going to find that you can't live without this station. 

This post is by no means intended to an exhaustive guide to garage rock on the internet. We know there are a number of great podcasts we haven’t even broached. But in this brave new cyber-age, exploring may be the most fun of all. And if you find something cool, do please leave a comment. We’re always looking for something new!