Category Archives: Without WOXY

by Curt Whitacre | May 7, 2010

Without WOXY: Muse – “New Born”

These days, Muse are a certifiable arena-rock act (perhaps the last arena-rock act), but it wasn’t always this way for Matthew Bellamy and company. No – back in the early aughts, if you wanted to hear Origin of Symmetry, you would have to shell out for an obscenely over-priced import copy thanks to Maverick Records refusal to release the album in the US market. That, or tune into WOXY, which had the single “New Born” in rotation by late 2001/early 2002 despite the fact that Muse’s own label found the album unmarketable. By the time Origin of Symmetry was officially released in the United States, nearly four years later, Muse were well on their way to being superstars. I can’t say I’ve followed much of Muse’s subsequent output, but I can certainly still recall the first time I heard the opening arpeggio of “New Born” coming from the tinny speakers in my 1988 Chevy Nova. Sure, it’s a little over-wrought… but it doesn’t really matter: it’s a kick-ass song that only crossed my radar because of the fine folks at 97.7FM. What would you have missed without WOXY? Continue reading →

Without WOXY: Sea Ray – “Revelry”

Well, it’s been almost one month since WOXY ceased broadcasting. Again. For almost 30 years, 97.7FM and WOXY.com introduced the world at large to music’s greatest up-and-comers. I began listening to 97.7FM in 1995 and, in my disaffected youth, the station seemed like the one beacon of progress in an otherwise dismal media landscape. I discovered countless bands through WOXY over the years… bands that I never would’ve stumbled upon in my rural Ohio hometown without the station’s expert guidance. In a meager effort to draw more attention to WOXY’s current plight, I thought I’d start sharing some of those musical moments with you… beginning today with Sea Ray and “Revelry.” What would you have missed without WOXY? Continue reading →