WZBC 90.3 FM

I think this radio station has changed and fulfilled the lives of many over the years. It’s one of the great radio stations of Boston and part of what has made Boston special to me and others I have known.

I want a big fat tattoo on my arm that says NCP! I will then go up to No Commercial Potential and ask it to marry me.

WZBC is a great college radio station that plays much better music than commercial radio stations in various genres.

Great station for underground electronic/​industrial. I stream it on my itunes whenever possible!

It’s Boston College’s radio station, but it doesn’t sound like BC. OK, that’s because it doesn’t have a horde of drunken college students rampaging over the airwaves. Instead, listeners will find a ton of electronic and very alternative music — so alternative no one outside of the musicians and producers have ever heard of it — as well as weird leftist news, an occasional sporting event and Melody du Jour, of which not enough has yet been said or heard.
ZBC’s programming could be best described as ‘eclectic,’ and at times that doesn’t begin to fully describe the range of obscure and weird stuff found at 90.3. Yet, in a single day involving a baseball game, some serious funk right out of a ‘70s movie and a 12 minute synthesizer solo around midnight, eclectic really can expand one’s aural horizons. That’s not a bad thing at all.

Totally something different and eclectic to listen to in the morning! A station that is a much needed break from mainstream… so nice to hear. I like the earlier morning playlists. Melody du Jour and Daybreak Gentleman with Alex G. are great. Robots are to be Cherished, no Feared with Sean has some good songs as well!
Give a listen if you like eclectic, off the beaten path songs like me!

WZBC and WGBH are the only two stations I listen to on the radio. WZBC has an eclectic mix of music, but I always manage to find something interesting to listen to. Also, one time I even stumbled onto a rebroadcast of Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman interviewing Noam Chomsky. I don’t think you’ll get that on any crappy Clear Channel station.

okay i can’t get up early enough to hear melody du jour in its entirety friday mornings. thank god for this:
alexandra is the wind beneath my wings.

clamtop bitterinos never tasted so. bitter

Wow, I never listen to FM radio anymore but I stumbled across 90.3 recently and loved Carrigan’s (sp?) morning show. What I heard of it was electronica, but I’ve heard some great noisecore stuff on here, too — stuff that sounds like it would be on a college radio station.
Also. Is it even called noisecore? Ummm.

I’m currently the music director at WZBC and while I don’t have too much to compare it too, I can tell you that the station is a perfect reflection of someone like me and my interests. Boston College is a fairly conservative school, considering we are a Catholic university, but ZBC provides students a outlet to share interests with like minded students. While the majority of the student body could be considered «preppy» or «conservative,» people can head to ZBC to meet slightly offbeat characters. At times it can be a stereotypical college radio station with stereotypical people (Pro-​Legalization stickers cover obscure noise bands posters that are plastered all over the stations walls, impromptu art displays or rallies are know to be held by station members and their friends, etc.), but for the most part people just enjoy sharing the company of other unique individuals. And the best part is that these people with extremely varying interests within this subculture of the student body can all get along well. WZBC is the connecting factor in that. The station has opened up my mind to different cultures, experiences, fashions, and types of music.
Okay, now that I’m done writing my love letter to ZBC, I’ll talk a bit about the music. We try to mix things up a bit, definitely playing stuff that isn’t typically heard on commercial radio, but we also try to mix it up even from the typical college radio play list. Our NCP (No Commercial Potential) shows are top notch, because even if I’m not familiar with that genre of music, I trust the DJ’s to be, and it shows based on the amount of listeners we have for these «un-​listenable» shows.
All in all, WZBC is a great community to be a part of. It is not relegated to the campus grounds of Boston College, since our range and listeners are spread in all corners of the city. And this has opened a door to an entirely new world I am glad to be a part of.

This is a review only for Cousin Kate’s Sunday Morning Country show… it is from 10am-​2pm and it kicks some serious country ass.
I am not talking pop CMT Faith Hill country (which I love as well…)
I am talking Bluegrass, the best Cash and Carter songs ever, Waylon Jennings (which is really all I needed to be sold), Willie, etc…
There is a great mix of music, and it is a great way to start my lazy sunday.
LOVES IT!

the Z is the best radio station in boston. rock blocks, bricklane beats, flyweight, kraft-​o-​matic bed of nails, etc. but i have to agree with Ms NonoMags about melody du jour every friday morning — it’s always exciting to listen to Alexandra’s blend of electronic, indie-​pop, post-​rock, shoegaze, and dream-​pop music from both american and european bands. and through the magic of the internet, you can listen to her show anywhere in the world.

I love this radio station! I first discovered it as an undergrad at BC — there were always so many interesting shows. I had a bunch of friends who were involved, but beyond that, there are always interesting playlists to be heard. I recently realized that one of my colleagues from work has a friend with a show during the summer, which amused me to no end — and I’ve started listening again. God bless internet streams!

Yeah, alright, ZBC. I used to be the music director here. The place is legit and the djs take it seriously. During daytime hours they play rock, meaning most stuff is ⁴⁄₄ tempos, meaning mostly rock beats. Sometimes you get noise, like AMT or Lighting Bolt, and some shows carry a lot of electroclash or electropop, ie Ladytron, ie Electronicat, ie The Knife. And some still play Built to Spill and some play a lot of post-​punk. But the unifying factor is that all the tracks you hear are high quality, niche, and only available on a college station. And yeah there is a focus on the new, it’s a fucking radio station. At night you get NCP (no commercial potential, term patented by ZBC). It’s pretty experimental and some of it sounds like dogwhistles and pots banging and static, but so what. Some of us still like our drugs, pansy. And also, the DJs talk, and they tell you what’s up, but they don’t talk in sing-​songy radio speak like the douchebags over at ERS tend to, which is nice. Oh and the website is dope, and has live playlists.
One con — ZBC plays DemocracyNOW! every week day at noon. It’s leftist news. Leftists not like NPR, but more like a workers of the world unite kind of thing. So when I used to DJ, I would call it the «people’s news» and call their hostess Amy Goodman «Chairman» or I’d just make idle threats about pulling it from programming. And like, immediately, I’d get psychotic Cambridge socialists calling in all like «Amy Goodman is the second coming, George Bush is the devil, when the revolution comes you will be the first against the wall.» Actually in hindsight I kind of miss that.
Oh and somebody said that ZBC plays too much electronica? What, are you sure? I’m pretty sure the last time I heard somebody use the word «electronica,» I was 13 years old, cool kids were wearing Airwalks, and Prodigy was selling records. That is probably also when you stopped listening to music.

Boston College radio. Not as diverse a program schedule are other college stations in the area, the majority of the programming is devoted to «rock». When the say «rock» they mean pretty much anything underground and contemporary. Way too much electronica for my tastes. This used to be such a great station during the 90s, but it’s gone a little down hill, due to the fact that the electronic crap is now so prevalent. They still do a good job of playing stuff that other stations won’t touch, including other college stations. The weeknight show, No Commercial Potential, plays the weirdest stuff I’ve ever heard. Crazy noise sond effect stuff.