Believe it or not, there is a radio station at Choate. For some reason, not everyone seems to realize this. Choate Radio broadcasts on WWEB 89.9 FM out of a small studio on the third floor of the Humanities building. This year, shows on the station range from alt rock with sophomore Maddie Morris’s “Mad Mix” to sports talk on the “Bleacher Creatures” with fifth formers Alex Klaris, Alec Barnett, and Dillon Wuerth to hip hop and soul on “The Full Circle” with juniors Arman Naqi and Maliq Ben-Salahuddin. All of this information can be found on the Radio Station’s page under the Community tab on CHIP. The radio station is one of the best ways for Choate students to demonstrate their individuality, expertise and opinions. I strongly urge everyone who can to turn on the radio while they’re doing work or while trying to kill some time at night.
I happen to have my own show on the radio. It’s called the “Thursday Evening Express” and it airs every Thursday from 7 to 8:30 PM. Needless to say, I always try my best to keep the show from getting boring. For example, I finished a recent show with an upbeat Funkadelic tune before a finale of the brooding, mysterious Smiths. I add in my opinions on sports and movies between songs and I’ve also had two guests on the show. During the second week of my show, my teacher and one of the great personalities on campus, Mr. Shimmield, guest-hosted an All Rock & Roll show, in which he played such under-appreciated gems as a little-known Hawaiian rocker and the Argentine Elvis. I can guarantee that WWEB was the only place to hear such a show. Last week, I had Andrew Dominguez, a senior, on to play indie rock. We played indie greats such as Pavement, Beat Happening, and Belle & Sebastian and had a good time commenting on the history of this genre.
The radio station has big plans for the rest of the year. It intends to DJ a dinner in the Choate dining hall, entertaining students and teachers with appropriate dining music and perhaps giving away some free gifts. In the spring term, the radio station hopes to host a dance DJ’d by Radio Station disc jockeys, as well as a concert of the best local bands. The main goal for the radio station this year is to break out on the Choate scene and re-emerge as a powerful force on campus. Hopefully, students each day will be discussing the shows of the previous night: the music that was played as well as the opinions stated. Students will catch an early dinner on Thursdays in anticipation of a full night of Choate Radio starting with the “Thursday Night Smackdown” with Nina and Cordelia at 6 and uninterrupted until the end with “A Little Less Choate” hosted by Sam Wheeler and friends at 11:30. The radio is not dead. It can even be a lot of fun at Choate, but only if people tune in.
