Crib Notes

Like the city itself, the music scene in Atlanta often seems fragmented, in search of its identity. And like the city, it is made up of a host of players, and it can sometimes be difficult to find consistency in its frenzied output. That ain’t all bad; smaller, more insular scenes tend to yield a homogeneous result, and the A is nothing if not all over the place. Below, five reasons to hold out hope for music in our fair metropolis.

1. Over in the trendier-by-the-second East Atlanta Village, the newish 529 has been hosting some of the best local and non-local shows in town for several months now with a decided focus on indie rock’s grittier subgenres. The space is nice, too: it’s tiny, but thanks to the outdoor patio, not claustrophobic, and the band area feels more like a house show basement than a rock club. Down the street, the Earl is still the de facto club in the Village, but 529 is quickly becoming a go-to spot.

2. In Grant Park, Eyedrum has brilliantly bridged the gap between D.I.Y. show space and legit music venue for years now. It has long been known as the place to go for experimental and noise; this past year has seen performances from Chicago avant-jazz hotshot Ken Vandermark and sample-driven duo the Books, among others. Earlier this year, they reportedly faced closure due to the high cost of maintaining the space, but it seems they’ve managed to remain solvent enough to continue for now. In addition to live music, the gallery exhibits some interesting stuff from local artists. (more…)

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On Fri., July 3 the student voice of Georgia State 88.5 FM/WRAS will host its summer fundraiser concert, with performances from Zoroaster tapping into the raw power of the stoned cosmos while the Spooks rattle their garage rock chains from beyond the grave. Thy Mighty Contract plays terse and chiming post-hardcore and Danger Woman, the crime fighting super hero who’s disabled, but able to rock will round out the bill. $10. 7 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655.

(Photo courtesy of the Spooks)

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After 15 years, alternative-rock station 99X (WNNX-FM 99.7) is moving to the Web to become a high-definition subchannel and webcaster. Top 40 hits sister station Q100 (WWWQ-FM 100.5) will be taking its slot for the higher frequency Jan. 25. Apparently, the transition has been looming over 99X for some time now, as the station’s ratings have been declining and the station is ranked 11 in its targeted audience of 18-34-year-olds.

When the AJC’s Rodney Ho wrote about the transition in his radio and TV blog, the majority of the commentors were thrilled about the change, complaining that it should have been done a long time ago. They also bashed program director Leslie Fram, the morning show and the monotony in 99X’s playlist.

So why are they replacing 99X with Q100, which also has a monotonous 20-song playlist of Top 40 hits and a similar morning show?

The majority of mainstream radio stations in Atlanta have morning shows with hosts rambling on about their personal lives and/or political views. When music is actually played, it’s the same songs over and over again. At least 99X had different radio programs to break up the monotony: “Organic X” played acoustic rock; “Sunday School” played new music, imports and promoted local bands; and “Live X” aired live shows played in the studio.

With the growing popularity of XM Radio, Sirius and the iPod, mainstream radio in general could soon succumb to the same fate. With all the new technology, and the annoyance listeners feel when there’s too much talk and not enough tunes, why would anyone bother listening to the radio at all?

Georgia State’s Album 88 (WRAS-FM 88.5) and Georgia Tech’s WREK (WREK-FM 91.1) — both of which were CL Best of Atlanta 2007 winners — seem to be the only stations that truly play a wide variety of music. Album 88’s playlist consists of everything from Swedish acoustic to hardcore metal. Georgia Tech plays music from video games (no shock there) alongside South Asian music and hip-hop. With their minimal chat and variety in music, college stations could set the standard for mainstream radio in the future.

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(photo by Brian Crumb)

Georgia State University’s acclaimed college station Album 88 (WRAS-FM 88.5) caps another year of programming with the musical showcase WRASFEST. Previous editions have featured buzz bands such as the Selmanaires and Deerhunter. The 2007 installment ventures outside of Album 88’s traditional indie-rock pastures for a more eclectic lineup featuring avant-garde soul starlet Janelle Monae, funky-breaks ensemble Cadillac Jones (pictured), experimental punk trio Chopper, rap group Clan Destined and organic-electronic crew Random Rabbit, among others, Fri., DEC. 14. $8. 7 p.m. Eyedrum, 290 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Suite 8. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org.

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