I have no idea what prompted Kiss FM to return this dusty gem to semi-regular rotation this weekend, but it was the perfect complement to a sun-soaked weekend. Whatever happened to Lil' Troy, anyway? Wanna Be A Baller - Lil Troy...

First Wrigley gum dropped Chris Brown's promotional campaign yesterday, now the Milk Campaign has pulled Brown's "Got Milk" ads. But more troubling for the R&B singer: Radio stations have stopped playing his music, too. I called Kiss FM to ask about the absence of Brown from the station's playlists this afternoon and a DJ confirmed "he's done for now." (Rihanna is still in regular rot...

When 94.5 changed to Lake FM, a redundant, kitchen-sink format that litters Milwaukee's airwaves with additional classic rock, it felt like a big F-you to the city, so it's fitting, then, that the station's commercials literally flip Milwaukee the finger. The TV spots, generally loathed by viewers, introduce a bemused dude who controls music with his finger, but curiously, tha...

I’ve happily made the acquaintance of local radio. In the two or so hours I’ve spent in a rental car, I’ve discovered that the city has at least five or six urban stations and three or fou�r top 40 stations. It puts Milwaukee to shame. [Milwaukee couldn’t even hold on to its one adult pop station, WKTI, which I will never be able to forgive for switching to a format that makes room for cla...

With yesterday's announcement that Atomic Records is closing after 24 years resounding as a stark reminder of the hard times ahead for local businesses and Milwaukee institutions, WMSE 91.7 announced today that it will host a half-day pledge marathon on Friday, Dec. 12 to hopefully offset the shortfall from last month's larger pledge drive. Straight from the press release: The featu...

As Milwaukee radio listeners remain flabbergasted that one of the city�s last contemporary stations has switched to a mostly classic rock format, it�s worth noting that the satellite radio industry isn�t exactly experiencing a renaissance either. Yesterday the two stations, Sirius and XM, completed the final stage of their merger: integrating their programming. Judging from the comments on XMFa...

Hat tip to my friend Beth, who alerted me to the news in an e-mail titled "Wow ... Another Milwaukee Radio Station that Plays 'Whatever.'" In a confounding move, one of the few Milwaukee radio stations that played contemporary-pop music, WKTI-FM 94.5, has shifted formats to a free-form station modeled after the "Jack" formats found in other cities. There's an irony here: Although this for...

Nothing could replace the Late Night Hype Show, one of the longest running rap radio programs in the country. With unmistakable character, that 10-year WMSE staple was a tireless advocate of underground, classic and Midwest hip-hop. But the Kid Cut Up and DJ Madhatter-hosted show that succeeded the Late Night Hype Show, which they now call Mad Kids, has quickly come into its own. Whil...

When Milwaukee�s alternative-rock station FM 102.1 re-branded itself two years ago, it created buzz by briefly calling itself �Quick 102.1,� and playing only short, familiar passages from popular songs. It was a funny stunt, and it worked. It had people talking about a station many had abandoned years ago. It�s hard to tell whether the station was attempting a similar fake-out this Memorial...

What is your opinion of Milwaukee rock radio? Does it play enough new stuff, does it play too much of the same old stuff? Are there bands and songs you are sick of, are there bands or songs you would love to hear that you don't? And finally do you really care because there are so many other outlets with the technology of the day you don't even listen to radio?...