Isn't it a good thing that the Underground plays non-mainstream college radio music as opposed to the corporate-fueled CMJ playlists? Maybe I'm wrong....About the Underground/OSU funding, that is a difficult and lengthy issue....To make a long story short, the people at the station have been trying for years to get more funding, more awareness and a larger audience, etc.....but OSU is too concerned with countless other BS projects to ever contribute their precious money to a unique, diverse college radio station...that would just be absurd, wouldn't it.
Springfest is there to create awareness for the station, but is a Catch 22 because of the lack of funding, which translates into lack of organization, less "big name" artists, etc...This year, I'll admit, was somewhat disappointing, partly because of the rain and scheduling problems, partly because of a weaker lineup...But as I've said before on this site, it is free, and the good people at the Underground try hard to keep things so fresh and so clean, so please support no matter how small and under-funded things get.

I think Springfest could do a better job of incorporating local music also.

Oh no, here we go again.

I have worked for the Underground, well, long after college, and since it's inception. I've been involved in all the Springfests except for this year. Stardrop, I can see you now; over thirty, still trying to rock, and a frequent listener to CD101.

College radio has nothing to do with trying to attract a mainstream audience or trying to attract funding by playing to a specific audience. The university, unlike countless around the country, should automatically give funding to a radio station operated solely by the students and for the students. They do news, weather, talk radio, broadcast football games, baseball games, interviews, noise shows, metal shows, country shows, jazz shows, you fucking name it, it's on there. And I'm quite sure there's a DJ who will play Blur or Grandaddy every opportunity they get.

That's the beauty of college radio; it's up to the student body to shape it. Ever listen to WFMU in NJ? Their playlists are infinitely more obscure than the Underground's, and they are known as the best in the country.

As for playing the usual "alternative" mainstream you are requesting we play, that's what CD101 is supposed to be hyping, rather than Cracker or Dada or Susanne Vega. But they don't, so don't put that in college radio's lap. College radio is there for the students to do with what they will, if this means only ten people run the station, well those ten people pick what's played. Any student on campus has the opportunity to speak thier mind and make a request or work for the station, but with OSU's general lack of interest in the station (most of thier funding goes to the faculty station WOSU, a classical a.m. station) it reflects a lack of interest from the students.

So in closing, yes springfest was somewhat lame this year, no one is to blame, you try and put together a show that big with no university help. But that has no bearing on just how fresh the Underground is every day. Listen to them on the internet http://www.underground.fm , not CD101 (they're not doing their job right), you may be pleasantly suprised. College radio is where the unknown get heard. Yeah and they play plenty of local music and Springfest had three local bands. Plus, whoever dissed Awol One doesn't have a father. You are deaf, dumb and blind.

Faustoid hit all the right points.

The rest of this conversation will surely bore me.