If you watched the film Dead Man Walking, you can understand how some people aren't saved until they face death. The same might be said of WBCN, "the rock of Boston," which rocks no more. The station that first played U2 in America, launched J.J. Jackson's career, and featured a pre-J. Geils Band Peter Wolf as an on-air personality went off the air at midnight. In the lead up to the sign off, CBS lifted corporate restrictions on playlists and disc-jockey discussion for the station's final days. It's the corporate equivalent of the death-row courtesy of last words or a last meal. The one-month notice, and the four-day reprieve from the radio dictators at CBS, is a classy move. I tuned in one day to my favorite Washington, DC station, WHFS, only to hear foreign jibberish, so WBCN's coup de grace could have been less dignified. That said, CBS's generosity in allowing a long goodbye revealed the corporate behemoth's mismanagement of the station. Free to their own devices, automatons became disc jockeys--playing Buffalo Tom's Summer (my favorite fall song), The Who's raucus version of Summertime Blues, Whiskeytown, and, in farewell, Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond. The final days gloriously demonstrated what WBCN once was, and more sadly, what it could have been.

Welcome to the free-market state capitalist system! Get used to it, Mr. Flynn.

Yes, the free-market has spoken and a station mismanaged by remote corporate overlords has gone out of business. If only this were always the fate of businesses--Chrysler, Bear Stearns--that don't respond to the market, then I would welcome your welcoming me to the free-market "system."

Yeah, if it weren’t privately held and had not failed on it’s own due to the natural balances of the market (and certainly some parent company mis-management), it would have been much better for it to have been a ward of the state, $ucked, lost money and still stay in business on our dime. That would be much better.

Some people just don't seem to get it.

I and I is missing the Reggae Splashdown, that's for sure.

I forgot how great wbcn was untill this week. I listened to bcn every morning getting ready for school in my room or in the shower radio growing up. You didn't need cds or ipods back then when u were at a party, in a car, or drinking at the park as long as someone had a radio with wbcn. In high school bcn used to have lunch time concerts went to a couple with a buddy of mine suds (last I checked he is still alive) after sneaking in we met ken shelton and had a beer with tank, (who did sports and special events for bcn)great times and cool people. Growing up in the 80's you had a special appreciation for dj's particularly on wbcn they knew an awful lot about music, had their own opinions, took request and quite frankly I learned alot. Wbcn (along with my uncles) shaped my music tastes and what I listen to today. The character, depth, and genuine passion of good rock music that the whole staff of wbcn displayed will be sorely missed. Although Wbcn in the late nineties ( Wbcn's worst period) took a turn for the worst, it got some of its identity back in recent years, but not enough. I feel sick today partly because wbcn is gone, but more because I know a station like wbcn will never rise again. Those days are gone and peoples tastes or lack there of have changed for good. Thank you WBCN. RIP

You know, thinking about the old DJs reminded me of something while listening to WRNR from Annopolis, Maryland. (The person who started 'HFS went on to found what was the last of the decent radio stations in the DC area -- WRNR -- until it too fell to the "playlist"). Anyhoo, I remember hearing the song "Candy Everybody Wants" followed by the Doors "Backdoor Man". And you know, they really, really went well together, as odd and funny (for so many reasons) as that is.

It's not like those two songs are obscure or anything, but it was during the era where the DJ chose the songs, kept the vibe and feel going, and gave you a listening experience that you wanted to KEEP LISTENING to. Of course, if you're not into the groove, you'll switch the station and not hear the all important commercials that pay for the DJ. But by trying to appeal to as many people as possible, these guys are killing free radio.

It was thinking about and missing the Reggae Splashdown show that used to be on HFS (they also carried Dr. Demento [sigh]) that triggered this. Because, sure there are good Reggae stations on XM or other services, but don't tell me that a playlist can find that cool groove or those interesting and unexpected connections between songs.

This is the future I guess, but the future sucks.

Everything goes well with J.M. and the Doors. You could follow Beethoven's 9th with Morrison wailing Backdoor Man and it would work. I think.

"the free-market has spoken and a station mismanaged by remote corporate overlords has gone out of business."

The free-market has told us the will of the corporate overlords, but it's not saying what you and asdf think it is. How many independent radio stations are left due to your precious free and unbridled market system, Mr. Flynn? This is a result of your ilk worshiping and supporting corporate domination and control of the broadcasting apparatus, which is a logical result of deregulation and the monopolization of broadcasting companies. This doesn't even begin to account for how the corporate music industry destroys artists through manipulative and coercive contracts. For a brief and factual summary of this, check Steve Albini's "The Problem with Music". Of course, you and your fellow free market fundamentalists marvel in awe at the "efficiencies" and individual wealth maximization brought about by this system.

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

"it would have been much better for it to have been a ward of the state, $ucked, lost money and still stay in business on our dime. That would be much better."

After the manner of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and AIG due to the policies of the Bush/Paulson economic regime, with the complicity of your precious conservative republicans? asdf, you really are a master of the red herring. I have never once advocated for state domination of media apparatus.

Let us not forget that the so-called “free market” system works just as well for the guy who runs the local banana stand as it does for those evil corporate raiders. The basic concepts are the same. The fact that some get big and choose to abuse the power of the markets are a different thing all together. Abuse comes in many forms – like big government for instance. Little to do with economic systems. Necessarily.

I would certainly agree though that G. Sachs, Citigroup, and AIG should have been left to their own devices of failure without government intervention. AIG was the worst. Giving them $185 billion of OUR f’ing money to distribute overseas to shore up foreign markets was appalling. However, remember that the liberal Paulson convinced a malleable lame duck G.W. that the Earth would explode if we didn’t act yesterday and also consider that the majority Democrat Congress were in real control and blessed then re-blessed (as long as they got their $150 billion tribute) the whole sickening operation.

Plenty of blame to go around and as our fearless incompetent college professor President would say – it was a teachable moment. Apparently though, the way the Dems are blowing through money they don’t have, it appears they didn’t get the memo.

Hate to clue you but big business and corruption have always gone hand in hand. There are (really!) unethical corrupt people out there and those folks need to be monitored and addressed. But big corrupt government control or appropriation is not the answer. I say let’s leave the corrupt business practices to the experts and the corrupt government practices to the experts and hope they don’t collide. We can see the start of that collision now and it’s not pretty.

Changing my car radio's presets from WBCN to another station a few days ago was a sad moment.

Amen to that. Selections on the dial are getting weaker.

Dan, you should do an interview with Shred about the demise of BCN.

Dan, you should do an interview with Shred about the demise of BCN.