I’ve been pretty addicted to this Seattle radio station, C89.5, since my trip to Bellevue. Thank goodness they broadcast online.

I hate normal radio for several reasons:

• Too many commercials. For every minute of music, there are like two minutes of commercials. This is worse during most morning shows, where there are three minutes of commercials for every minute of comedic drivel.
• Radio “powers.” Songs that are considered “power” on the radio get repeated over… and over… and over… Most of the time I hate those songs. Who says payola doesn’t exist anymore?
• I’m WHITE. Let’s be frank - most of the new stuff coming out is Ebonic-laden hip-hop. Admittedly, I can dig some of it, but not as much as is getting cranked out. Pronounce your words, people. And make it something I can hum along to. You can’t hum to hip-hop.

C89.5 overcomes all of these obstacles. It doesn’t play commercials because it’s a public radio station, run by a Seattle high school. It does repeat songs, but they’re songs I can get into and enjoy. I understand all of the words to all of the songs. And I can hum or whistle along. Added bonus - all the tunes are danceable.

So I’m digging it.

Anyway, they’re having a pledge drive because apparently the school has pretty much cut their funding and they have to raise their own. From what I’m gathering, they’ve had to do this in past years, but this year’s a little tighter because they’ve gone online and the funding has been cut (as is standard with school funding nowadays).

I started thinking about school funding. From what I can tell, they cut the drama departments and the libraries before they cut sports. That’s cool if you’re into the sports thing, but I’m not. I’m the guy the jocks picked on. I’m the guy who went to the library. I’m the guy who loved the drama department.

I’m pretty sure the kids in the radio broadcasting program want to be there. I wish my high school had run a radio program. I’d have been there. And I know that I’d be pretty pissed off to see that the assholes playing football still got to run around on the field where they’re learning no marketable skills while I’m trying to learn something and my program gets shit-canned.

So I went to the pledge site (which I encourage you to do, as well), checked out the different things you get for different pledge levels, and really wanted the custom dance mix CD… but didn’t want to pledge the $89.50 for it. I like the station, but I’m not going to single-handedly support the place.

Instead, I threw in $50 to get the t-shirt. You can get a “can-cozy” for $35, but… I don’t need a can-cozy. I’ll wear the shirt with pride, though. So a shirt it is.

I’m sure I’ll hear about this when I get home. We really are pretty strapped for cash lately, what with Jenn working pro-bono at her pharmacy technician externship. I figure it as an investment in something I believe in, though, and it’s tax-deductible, which is a Good Thing. (Of course, I don’t own a house or anything, so my contributions rarely actually make any difference on my overall deduction at the end of the year.)

Anyway, listen to the music, love the station, then go pledge. It’s worth it.