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WRAS (FM)
Encyclopedia
WRAS is a college radio station
in Atlanta
with a frequency
of 88.5MHz, which has been in operation since January 18th 1971. It is owned by Georgia State University
and its on-air staff are all GSU student
s, with the exception of those who broadcast the University's athletic events for the station (the Georgia State radio network). WRAS has the highest power (100,000 watt
s ERP
) of any student-staffed radio station in the world — a distinction it now shares with WREK FM in Atlanta since October 2011.
The name "Album 88" dates back to the late 1970s. It refers to the "album based" rotation
the station employs: stressing several cuts from each album rather than a single
. The station is non-commercial
, with the only breaks in between songs being song listings, public service announcements, promos for various WRAS shows
, brief news
segments, and community affairs shows
.
The station has won countless awards frequently beating out commercial radio stations from the Atlanta weekly Creative Loafing
, the monthly Atlanta Magazine
and the College Music Journal
. The station has over 50 student volunteers who host rotation shifts as well as specialty shows (which fall outside of rotation). Many of the non-student envoys to the administration of the school also worked at the station in their college days.
Among the specialty shows at WRAS are: Nippon Music Champ (one of the few Japanese music shows in the southeast), The Georgia Music Show (dedicated exclusively to artists from Georgia), I Don't Care (punk
), Soul Kitchen (funk
, soul
, disco and related), Crossroads (blues
), Beatscape Lounge (ambient
, electronica
and nu jazz
), Subterranean (drum and bass
), Cowtipper's Delight (classic country
and alternative country
), Dot Dash (post-punk
), Hotel Parallel (drone music
and space rock
), Mighty Aphrodite (female vocalists), We're Not Gonna Take It (heavy-metal music), Tower of Song (psyche, prog, freakbeat
), a large variety of hip hop
including the long-running shows Tha Bomb, Rhythm and Vibes (Atlanta's longest-running hip hop show) and Hush Hush (instrumental
hip hop), Martinis Con Queso (lounge
) and many more.
WRAS has played a crucial role in "breaking" a wide range of artists including R.E.M.
, Deerhunter
and Outkast
(the latter band, WRAS was the first to play on radio). The station featured more commercially-identifable rock in the 1970s and early 1980s; many of the platinum and gold records that hang in the station's office
s reflect this. According to Bob Geldof
he penned the Boomtown Rats
hit song, "I Don't Like Mondays" in the WRAS office after reading a telex report of the schoolyard shooting on which the song is based
.
On March 14, 2008, an F-2 tornado
struck Atlanta's downtown
core and led to the evacuation
of students and employees from various areas of the Georgia State campus. WRAS was thus forced to suspend broadcasting for nearly two days. (See 2008 Atlanta tornado)
, WRAS has a construction permit
to move to the Atlanta Public Schools
facility, which transmits WABE FM 90.1, and WPBA TV 21 (DTV 30.1) east of downtown. It currently transmits via a studio/transmitter link
from the Panthersville area (no apparent relation the the GSU Panthers mascot
), located southeast of the city between I-285 and I-20).
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
with a frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of 88.5MHz, which has been in operation since January 18th 1971. It is owned by Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
and its on-air staff are all GSU student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s, with the exception of those who broadcast the University's athletic events for the station (the Georgia State radio network). WRAS has the highest power (100,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
) of any student-staffed radio station in the world — a distinction it now shares with WREK FM in Atlanta since October 2011.
The name "Album 88" dates back to the late 1970s. It refers to the "album based" rotation
Heavy rotation
In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time, however they are not completely shuffled, so as to avoid playing the same song again too...
the station employs: stressing several cuts from each album rather than a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. The station is non-commercial
Non-commercial
Non-commercial refers to an activity or entity that does not in some sense involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis...
, with the only breaks in between songs being song listings, public service announcements, promos for various WRAS shows
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
, brief news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
segments, and community affairs shows
Public affairs (broadcasting)
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time...
.
The station has won countless awards frequently beating out commercial radio stations from the Atlanta weekly Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing
CL Inc. is the Tampa, Florida-based publisher of three city newsweeklies and their associated websites. Each of the papers focuses on local news, politics, arts and entertainment, and restaurants...
, the monthly Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta (magazine)
Atlanta is an award-winning monthly general-interest magazine based in Atlanta, Georgia and owned by Emmis Publishing, a division of Emmis Communications...
and the College Music Journal
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
. The station has over 50 student volunteers who host rotation shifts as well as specialty shows (which fall outside of rotation). Many of the non-student envoys to the administration of the school also worked at the station in their college days.
Among the specialty shows at WRAS are: Nippon Music Champ (one of the few Japanese music shows in the southeast), The Georgia Music Show (dedicated exclusively to artists from Georgia), I Don't Care (punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
), Soul Kitchen (funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, disco and related), Crossroads (blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
), Beatscape Lounge (ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and nu jazz
Nu jazz
Nu jazz is an umbrella term coined in the late 1990s to refer to music that blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, soul, electronic dance music, and free improvisation...
), Subterranean (drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
), Cowtipper's Delight (classic country
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
and alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
), Dot Dash (post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
), Hotel Parallel (drone music
Drone music
Drone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics...
and space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
), Mighty Aphrodite (female vocalists), We're Not Gonna Take It (heavy-metal music), Tower of Song (psyche, prog, freakbeat
Freakbeat
Freakbeat is the name used for rare, collectable, and obscure British Invasion records, particularly from 1966 and 1967. Elements of the freakbeat sound include strong direct drum beats, loud and frenzied guitar riffs, and extreme effects such as: fuzztone, flanging, distortion and compression or...
), a large variety of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
including the long-running shows Tha Bomb, Rhythm and Vibes (Atlanta's longest-running hip hop show) and Hush Hush (instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
hip hop), Martinis Con Queso (lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
) and many more.
WRAS has played a crucial role in "breaking" a wide range of artists including R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, Deerhunter
Deerhunter
Deerhunter is an American four-piece indie rock group originating from Atlanta, Georgia. The band, consisting of Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta, Josh Fauver, and Lockett Pundt, have described themselves as "ambient punk," though they incorporate a wide range of genres, including noise rock, art...
and Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
(the latter band, WRAS was the first to play on radio). The station featured more commercially-identifable rock in the 1970s and early 1980s; many of the platinum and gold records that hang in the station's office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
s reflect this. According to Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
he penned the Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...
hit song, "I Don't Like Mondays" in the WRAS office after reading a telex report of the schoolyard shooting on which the song is based
Brenda Ann Spencer
Brenda Ann Spencer is a convicted American murderer who carried out a shooting spree from her home in San Diego, California, on January 29, 1979. During the shooting spree, she killed two people and injured nine others at Cleveland Elementary School, which was located across the street from her home...
.
On March 14, 2008, an F-2 tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
struck Atlanta's downtown
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
core and led to the evacuation
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
of students and employees from various areas of the Georgia State campus. WRAS was thus forced to suspend broadcasting for nearly two days. (See 2008 Atlanta tornado)
, WRAS has a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
to move to the Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. APS is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with interim superintendent Erroll Davis...
facility, which transmits WABE FM 90.1, and WPBA TV 21 (DTV 30.1) east of downtown. It currently transmits via a studio/transmitter link
Studio/transmitter link
A studio-transmitter link sends a radio station's or television station's audio and video from the broadcast studio to a radio transmitter or television transmitter in another location....
from the Panthersville area (no apparent relation the the GSU Panthers mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
), located southeast of the city between I-285 and I-20).