About 6 hours ago, 99.1 WHFS, the Annapolis-based radio station that has been serving some form or another of the Modern Rock format to the Baltimore-D.C. area since before I was born, got the plug pulled on it and went Spanish. It was a long time coming; quality-wise, they went tits up along with the rest of the format in the late 90's, and my friend who until recently worked at their competitor DC101 always kept me up to date on how badly they were killing HFS in the ratings. And even though I never went to any of the famous HFS-tivals, they were definitely a big part of my youth. I remember, growing up in radio-starved lower Delaware, one of the reasons my brother and I looked forward to spending weekends with our dad in Baltimore was that we'd be able to hear what's new on HFS, which inevitably wouldn't reach radio in Delaware and MTV until weeks, if not months later. When we got to the Bay Bridge we always knew we were close enough to get a reception and made dad turn on HFS. They kind of had a reputation as the KROQ of the east coast, and it was always exciting to see what they were playing. But over the past few years it became more and more depressing to tune in, as they became this desperate, confused mix of nu-punk/pop and oldies from their late 80's/early 90's golden years. But even if only symbolically, it's a little sad to see them go.

Edit: more on 99.1 from HITS:

With moment's notice, the programming department ended the station's 20+ year legacy with some well-chosen songs: The Clash "Clampdown," R.E.M. "Gardening at Night" and, finally, Jeff Buckley's "Last Goodbye."

Labels: Baltimore music

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 at 5:45 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.