WXRT

Let me start by saying this station, since it was acquired by CBS, has lost much of what had made it so unique. The independent voice of rock has since felt the heavy hand of corporate influence. That said, in comparison to the rest of commercial FM radio, this station is by far superior. Take a «walk» down the radio dial in Chicago (or most any other city) and listen to the sophomoric blabber on morning shows, the incessant dribble of pop music, the carbon copy corporate owned noise. Then tune in to 93.1. Sure, you will hear some tunes you can do without, but then there is that new release that Jason Thomas fires up, or some old tune from the 60’s you thought was long forgotten. Don’t forget Lin Brehmer in the morning — the Ann Landers of the radio with his «Lin’s Bin» and the playful banter between him and co host Mary Dixon. The majority of the on air staff have been there for years (Terri, Frank E, etc.). Try finding that on any other commercial station today. Yes XRT is not what it used to be in its rebellious youth. but how many of us are? They just don’t make em’ like that any longer.

My heart is achin’
For you, XRT
My HEAAAART is achin’
For you, XRT
’Cuz I love you so,
And I’ll never letcha go (sax riff)
How do I love XRT? Let me count the ways, from morning to night.
Lin Brehmer & Mary Dixon — great together, and clever, and ease me intro the brutal reality of going to my job
Terri Hemmert — like your favorite aunt who never tries to be cool but shows you that being one’s self *is* cool
Frank E. Lee (emeritus) — his intros made me happy — different every day, and also it meant it was 1:00 and that’s lunchtime (special recognition for Friday’s intro from The Wild One)
Jason Thomas — like a bike messenger you could actually talk to (though we know he loves his Prius), and his show contains the strongest lineup of new-​to-​me tunes
Then there’s specials like Saturday Morning Flashback, which dip you into a vortex and take you back to a time when jeans were different (or exactly the same as now) and movies cost, well, less than now. Depending on the year, this show can be very heavy on the personal nostalgia or may predate my existence and offer some pop history.
If I had to find a weak spot, I’d say the web site is a little too busy for me and I tend to go only when entering a contest or to stream online. And I don’t really dig DJ-​narrated commercials, but that brings me to my next point.
XRT used to be independent but is now owned by CBS. They used to live out west on Belmont but now have cushy offices in a high rise downtown. However, XRT seems to have kept its identity in spite of corporate ownership, and that is huge to me. Plus, when they play some BS like Mumford & Sons I just tell myself CBS made them do it and maybe they’re all disgusted by those banjo dorks like I am.
Finally, but really firstly, the music is the best in Chicago. There is such variety pulled from such a strong library of wicked rock n’ roll. I appreciate the nichier stations sometimes, too, and they almost all overlap with XRT in some way. But XRT will contrast, say, Pink Floyd with Florence and the Machine whereas the Drive has to put them next to something else from their era. So I get dosage of beloved classics and the fizzy zest of some new material too. Look at their playlist for evidence, or just listen for 20 minutes. A typical set might include REM, The Decemberists, Bob Marley, Talking Heads, Arcade Fire, Adele, Tom Petty, Beck, Fleetwood Mac, Warren Zevon, Garbage, Neko Case, The Who, Jack White, and one or two freshmen who may become your new faves.
XRT: low on the dial; high in my heart. Stay golden.

I used to like XRT a lot when I was younger, now I have a really hard time keeping the dial ‘glued’ to them as I used to.
I guess that’s why satellite radio is more popular… I like some of the stuff they play, but Jesus Christ, if I hear that relentless whining by ‘Churchill and her annoying song ‘Change’ one more time, someone’s gonna suffer…

XRT is still the best radio station in Chicago. The best 4 hours of radio each week are found on Wendy Rice’s «Saturday Morning Flashback». Wendy has great taste in music and Lin, Frank and the «Regular Guy» always add something interesting.
Wasn’t a big Lin fan when he arrived but I am now-​good morning show.
Just wish I wasn’t hearing Michael Franti & Spearhead; I don’t think that XRT would have been playing that if they weren’t owned by CBS…
It’s obvious that the station loves Chicago and the city wouldn’t be the same without it.

Say it like you’re from Chicago «Ninety-​Tree WXRT».
93 WXRT is the best radio station in Chicago.
Just like Melanie S. mentioned in her awesome review about how much she loves music, I love music and there Isn’t a day when I don’t listen to it.
WXRT has been around since 1972. I didn’t start listening to them until the early 80s but I have been listening to them for most of their years of being on the air. They have some of the best and smartest DJ’s with Terri Hemmert, Frank E Lee (and the Lee Ets), Lin Brehmer, Johnny Mars, Leslie Witt and more. Even though I have never been to the station I guess you can say that I have checked in every day weather on my way to work or on my way home from work and on Saturdays to catch Saturday Morning Flashback.
I remember one time when I was listening to XRT in my bedroom with my headphones on and I guess I was singing along with Deep Purple «Smoke on the Water». When I came out of my bedroom, my grandma (God Bless her) said that I sounded like a dying cow. I’m guessing that a dying cow is not a good thing. She was Simon Cowell before American Idle. I just laughed and went back into my room to listen to more music.
The style of music that they play is considered Progressive Rock. They play a wide variety of new and old music like Rock, Blues, Jazz, Indie, Grunge and Reggae.
They have feature programs like Local Anesthetic that features local Chicago bands, Blues Breakers and of course Breakfast with the Beatles.
My wife doesn’t care for this station too much because you can’t dance to all of the music. That’s okay, I still love her. I have to also admit that whenever I rent a car I add and program the channel to the car.

93 XRT is a good radio station, but it’s not as good as it was 10 or 15 years ago. It’s fun to hear some good current music on 93 XRT each day. I love listening to the classic rock songs that 93 XRT plays as well. But, unfortunately, 93 XRT tends to play the same songs over and over again. There are too many commercials on the station as well. The Drive (97.1 FM) is my favorite radio station in the Chicago area, but 93 XRT is still in my Top 5.

Same stuff, day in and day out. How many «classic Rock» stations can one city have? WDRV, WLUP, WLS, ALL play the same songs as WXRT. 1% of the time XRT will play something different. «Rock Station»? I disagree…“rock” stations don’t play Billy Joel, Nora Jones, Adele, Passion Pit, (F’in can’t stand them!!!), & all the other wuss-​a$$ music XRT plays. XRT plays safe, hipster dufus, café music.
XRT was cool in the 70’s. They had some balls then. The only thing cool about XRT now is Johnny Mars, (and always was), & Frank E. Lee. They make listening to XRT when forced to, a bit more bearable. Mars should get a lot more air time! Get rid of Beatle blower Hemmert, & replace her with Mars & put us out of our misery.
To those of you who do not have satellite radio, tune into 95.1 WIIL out of Kenosha, WI. They ROCK. Sure, their morning duo suck big time, but after they’re off the air, no Passion Pit, or Billy Joel in site! They hav a lot of commercials, but so does every station in Chicago. Chicago stations are the worst playing the same regurgitated music from day to day, station to station. I get more of a real rock variety traveling through little towns in the south of the country.

I’ll give it a 4.
I have listened since the time they were part-​time. Way back when they were truly original. Featured artists like «From the Beatles to Bach.»
But now, they are still one of the best. Just not original. I tend to listen to the Drive more and flip back and forth.

To the folks nitpicking WXRT:
(1) visit another city
(2) listen to the radio stations
(3) appreciate the miracle the WXRT even exists today
also I really enjoy the HD FM 2 other channels of commercial free XRT, the car came with HD radio and I’m like «wha?» Then I got hooked.
WXRT is a vital organ in the body of this City.

WXRT was #2 on my radio preset then #1 when Q101 went belly up. Quickly it ended up on #5 as they are tyring to please everyone. Noble but you know the old adage, ’”Try to please everyone and you’ll please no one” or «too many cooks spoil the stew.»
So I’m driving home the other night and ended up listening to XRT and Florence and the Machine was on — Woohoo! Then White Stripes — Gigadee! Then Steve Winwood — HUUUUUUUHHHH??? Then I’ve heard Springsteen, Doors and other rock and classic rock music. Good, yes but AT LEAST 3 other stations in Chicago play rock and classic rock oh and yes Winwood office music can be heard anywhere. Then there’s blues but that’s best live or on station dedicated to blues.
ADVICE TO XRT:
The randomness will create no loyalty. And your DJ’s will not be well versed in any of the genres of music.
DIFFERENTIATE! Alternative rock is the way to go here in Chicago as there are no other stations who play it. Which station does one get to listen to home-​grown Smashing Pumpkins? You will have a monopoly. Like when I visited Denmark — Indian guy with dark features in a sea of blondes, light skin and blue eyes. One of my best trips ever!!! :)

Thank you technology.
Moved to the PacNW, radio stations out here suck ass.
Too happy to be able to stream xrt, a little slice of home.
You don’t know what you have til you move.
those who complain about xrt
a) don’t get it
b) haven’t had to live without xrt
The ONLY station that plays good music.

Dropped in on ‘XRT today after deleting it from my programmed stations years ago for excessive commercials.
This visit? Three songs, 14 commercials.
Seriously? In this day of so many alternatives to radio? 14 commercials to hear three songs? I don’t think so.
Yep. Still on the deleted list.

When compared to other contemporary radio stations XRT is ok, even listenable. But compared to Classic XRT this station sucks. Sucks balls. They play the same songs constantly, have tons of commercials, and even worse — they play the SAME FREAKING COMMERCIALS EVERY 10 minutes. When you listen for 20 minutes here or there it might not be a big deal, but when you listen all day as I do it really gets on your nerves.
And I love Terri Hemmert but it is time for Breakfast with the Beatles to GO. There is no reason to dedicate 2 hours (or whatever it is) to a band that hasn’t produced new music in the last 30 years. Yes the Beatles were good (some people think), yes they were influential, but it’s 2011 and half of them are dead (and none of them have produced good music in 20 years). GET OVER IT. Once a month would be more than enough.
I guess I’m officially an old cranky person, but XRT is a shadow of its former self. Corporate takeovers suck.

If you are not from Chicago, you will never know whats WXRT. WXRT is a radio station for all ages and has a various format…
They play pop music from the 80s music to now. However, I really like the station because it plays some Indie music from local Chicago bands and other musicians from different area not signed up by some major record label…
They played some music from bands like Wilco, Smashing Pumpkins, Jim O «Rourke, and Audioslave from the 90s… And new bands are coming out using WXRT format… Smashing Pumpkin became a major record label after playing so many times in WXRT.
This radio station focuses on Indie local chicago bands while playing other genre…

Anyone that knows anything about me, knows that music plays an important part in my life. There is always music playing around me, even if it’s just in my head.
WXRT is nowhere near as good as it was 15 or 20 years ago, but it still blows away every other Chicago radio station.
My older brother is a rabid XRT fan, and turned me onto the station when I was in 8^th grade, so I have been a listener for +/​-​30 years.
My favorite part of WXRT that is no longer part of their programming was Rampant Beatlemania. Sure they still do «Breakfast with the Beatles» every Sunday, but nothing could top a whole entire day of Beatles, Beatles and more Beatles. In high school, I would cut school on Rampant Beatlemania day.
I’m a very nostalgic person by nature, so Saturday Morning Flashback is how I start every weekend. The music always brings back such vivid memories of many points in my life. Today the year was 1995, and I really enjoyed listening to the songs played. Saturday mornings are always a fond trip down memory lane.
This is also a radio station with a sense of humor. Every year, they do an April Fool’s Day prank. And every year, I fall for it. In years past, these pranks have included claiming that Playboy had purchased WXRT and the station’s call letters would now be known as «WXXXRT,» or that they were omitting Saturday Morning Flashback from their programming. If they EVER got rid of Flashback, there’d be outrage. Outrage, I tell you!
A few years ago at Christmastime, they were raising money for the World Food Programme and for a $ 50 donation, they would play any song you requested. And they stressed ANY song. I had talked to my brother earlier that day, and he wasn’t aware of the format that day. I listened to him whine and moan about hearing Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the theme from ‘Cats’. I informed him that they were raising money and suddenly it all made sense to him why his favorite station had suddenly decided to pollute his ears.
As we were hanging up the phone, he said that if he heard any Barry Manilow, he would put a gun to his head.
Naturally, the very next thing I did was call WXRT and happily fork over $ 50 for them to play «Mandy.» The beauty of my plan was that they would dedicate the song to anyone you wanted. I knew my brother would be listening all day and hear the song and my dedication. I didn’t get to see his reaction, but I was later told by his coworkers that it was priceless.
As his little sister, I had to get him back for all the years he tortured me mercilessly as only a big brother can.
WXRT holds a special place in my heart for this and many other reasons.

I’ve been listening to XRT since the late 70’s, and it used to be the only rock music radio station in Chicago that I listened to. But that has all gone to hell with its corporate takeover. How many days in a row do I need to hear Roxanne by the Police or Surrender by Cheap Trick, for cripes sake? — are they the only good songs by these classic bands? Now I hate those songs because XRT killed them for me just like a top 40 radio station.
I rarely hear any new music on XRT anymore. This is where I used to hear ALL of my new music. And on that rare occurrence that I DO hear something new, do the dinosaur sell-​out DJ’s ever let you know what just played? Even worse, if you go the their website and try to find it on their Now Playing History, half the time the song is missing and you are SOL! With all of the foo foo crap on their website that takes forever to load, if you can’t at a minimum provide a complete song history of the songs played, then the station is undeniably worthless.
I used to wake up and hear music all day on XRT, but now it’s just commercial, after commercial, after commercial. XRT is just another corporate conglomerate radio station. When I travel to either coast and listen to the radio out there, I always hear new cool music, and then I come back home and listen on XRT and never hear any of that cool music, and I ask myself — what is going on in Chicago with XRT!!!
And don’t even get my started on the XRT VIP lounge where you have to earn points by going to advertisers stuff! Can you spell sell-​out, SELL-​OUT, SELL-​OUT! XRT is dead, but long live ROCK and ROLL.

Since WLUP has gone down the toilet (in my book) with the loss of Johnny B. in the AM, and the rest of commercial radio in Chicago is pretty much shit (except WLS-​FM I still like my oldies =P) I decided to give WXRT a listen. Believe me I was glad I did!
I have finally discovered a station that has a very eclectic playlist with a range from classic 60s rock to todays alternative. Where else can I hear The Beatles «Eleanor Rigby», Smashing Pumpkins «Bullet with Butterfly Wings», Weezer’s «If I Want You To» and Arctic Monkeys «Crying Lightning» all in the same day?
AWESOME.

Yes, XRT has changed from what it was 10 or 15 years ago, but it’s still the best radio station in Chicago. You can still discover new music here and enjoy your old favorites.
Good shows like Breakfast with the Beatles, Flashback, Regular Guy, Big Beat and the Underground Garage (wow!) can still be found here. The jockeys are generally good. Some are better than others. I could stand to have Jason Thomas stop his faux British inflection though. It’s simply contrived and annoying. Hemmert is a treasure. Mars is probably my favorite, if you can find him.
I have discovered dozens of new artists via this station (mostly in the past, Rock Over London is definitely very missed), with most of them being a good number of years ago. Still, you can get turned on to new and old via XRT. When you discover one, you tend to discover a couple more. And they put their entire track listing on the internet so you can find that song that’s in your head.
On top of all that, they have the McCartney «93 X-​R-​T» promo. How cool is that?

WXRT is really unique to the Chicago market. It definitely has an age range and does get stuck in the music of the 70’s and 90’s sometimes. You want to hear DMB, Pearl Jam, the Pretenders and Wilco this hour? Dial it up!!!
But they also have an incredible variety of programming that fills the spaces between classic rock and alternative quite nicely. Saturday Morning Flashback is one of my favorite programs, and Wendy Rice’s cheerful voice makes me happy. The Regular Guy adds a snapshot of film in that year on Flashback, and makes cameos throughout the week critiquing new flicks.
Lin Brehmer is the best morning DJ in Chicago. Richard Milne is a devoted listener of local music with his Local Anesthetic. Kudos to a big station giving locals a spin regularly. I love new music Thursdays and XRT has introduced me to new bands like Phoenix and MGMT before I ever heard them on the local college stations, left of the dial.
Sunday evening is for Little Steven’s Underground Garage, normally only heard on satellite radio. Where else can you hear the Noisettes side by side with the Nuggets? Nowhere in Chicagoland, people. Sure, listening to WXRT for long stretches of time gets to be repetitive, but overall, it’s a station with its own personality, a real Chicago original.

Dear XRT:
You have a heart. You get points for that. And I like Lin just fine. Sometimes you play songs out of nowhere and I spend time trying to hunt down what song it was that you played.
But I want to kill you every time you play Natalie Merchant. You play her a lot. In fact, it’s kind of this joke amongst my friends how if you want to hear a Natalie Merchant song, just turn on XRT. Natalie Merchant or R.E.M. or Chrissy Hynde. Always. Always Natalie Merchant or R.E.M. or goddamned Chrissy Hynde. Just turn on XRT. Because if XRT isn’t playing Natalie Merchant or R.E.M. or Chrissy Hynde that exact second, wait 1 – 2 minutes and they will. It’s not a very funny joke.
I like you much better than most of the other stations in Chicago, otherwise; I just have to forgive you for your issues. We’ve all got a few. Even Natalie.
Love,
M