Pickled Priest Mini-Project #3: Radios Appear! A Mixtape of Our Favorite Songs About the Radio
For many younger music fans, the romance of the radio has been lost in favor of the on-demand convenience of streaming services, YouTube, TikTok, and the like. When I was a young kid, radio was everything and the only thing. I had no money to buy records, but a cheap transistor radio, my bulky clock radio, and my dad’s Montgomery Ward hi-fi could all dial in Chicago's WLS-AM 890 and later, FM stations like WLUP, WXRT, WCKG and a host of others that programmed the music I craved. Listening to the radio was the only place to hear my favorite songs in my earliest years. It was no different for musicians, many of whom discovered their true calling from the sounds they heard on the radio. It makes sense then that there are a lot of songs that fondly mention or are completely about radio. That said, we're the first to recognize radio's dark side as well. Payola, commercialism, corporate programming—you name it, it's all been done. Here we present a single, solitary mixtape of our favorite songs about the radio, most capturing that initial romance, some not so much, but all take on some aspect of radio's rich and sometimes fraught history. For such a frequently written about topic, curating the list was difficult. Made easier by a set of ground rules, of course.
Songs should specifically be about music radio, not talk or news radio (Hence, no "Radio Free Europe" by R.E.M.)
Songs do not qualify just because the word “radio” is used somewhere in the lyrics (hence, no “Visions of Johanna” by Bob Dylan or “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen).
Just because a song has “Radio” in its title, doesn’t mean it’s actually about radio (i.e. “Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” by Joni Mitchell, which is primarily an analogy), nor does a song about radio have to have the word “Radio” in its title to qualify.
Songs about DJs, no matter how good, don’t qualify (i.e. “The Last DJ” by Tom Petty, "Panic" by the Smiths, “Clap for the Wolfman” by the Guess Who)
We also need to like the song, so no “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen or “Turn the Radio Up” by Barry Manilow.
It’s all very easy, really, so here’s our final list with apologies to many great songs that just missed the cut (some detailed at the end).
RADIOS APPEAR! PICKLED PRIEST'S "RADIO SONGS" MIXTAPE
SIDE A
Intro: "WKRP in Cincinnati" | Steve Carlisle
I loved WKRP in Cincinnati when it premiered in 1978 and not just because it prominently featured busty sex symbol Loni Anderson in its cast, although that was admittedly a factor (I was in my early teens, if you know what I mean). The show had a great ensemble cast and was about the inner workings of a rock station, which put it right in my wheelhouse. For such a funny show the theme was strangely melancholy, about a guy who chose a job at a struggling radio station in Cincinnati over a relationship. The song, to this day, ranks with one of the best themes ever and countless people of a certain age remember all the words. There's no better song to get us in the mood for a radio-themed mixtape.
01 "Detroit Rock City" | Kiss
I feel uptight on a Saturday night Nine o' clock, the radio's the only light I hear my song and it pulls me through Comes on strong, tells me what I got to do
Kiss had the creative capital to do whatever they wanted during the recording sessions for Destroyer and that included a full 90-seconds of sound effects to open the album's classic first song, "Detroit Rock City." It featured a guy revving up his car, turning on the radio, singing along with "Rock and Roll All Nite" (of course), and then setting out on a power drive, his doomed fate sealed by song's end. And you can blame it all on the power of radio. Everybody knows the right song at just the right time can act as an adrenaline boost, causing one's foot to punch the gas pedal involuntarily. It's a minor miracle I still have a driver's license at this point.
02 "Roadrunner" | The Modern Lovers
I'm in love with the radio on
It helps me from being alone late at night
Helps me from being lonely late at night
Continuing with the power of rock 'n' roll radio theme, this time sans tragic ending, Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" may be the ultimate driving song, the perfect companion for a late night drive. In fact, based on the lyrics, radio might be his only companion on some nights. And isn't that one of the main functions of radio? To keep you company. To keep your mind off your problems for a while and to lift your spirits when nothing else will. The repeated "Radio on!" refrain at the end acts as the answer to almost every problem. When in doubt drown them out with rock and roll. Turn the radio on.
03 "Radio On" | Ex Hex
Turn around and you're gone
With the radio on
There's no way we're going to pass up the chance to put Ex Hex's homage to The Modern Lovers' iconic "Roadrunner" right next to it on our mixtape. Some things just fall into your lap. "Radio On" (why no exclamation point?) takes the most triumphant moments from the end of the Modern Lovers' classic, recontextualizes it a bit, and then delivers yet another great driving song, albeit once removed from its source. From their 2014 album, Rips, it's the most recent song to make our list of favorite radio songs. Band leader Mary Timony has been around a while, so she has first-hand knowledge of radio's role in soundtracking our lives, in good times and bad.
04 "Radio, Radio" | Elvis Costello
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anesthetize the way that you feel
I can't think of many artists who packed more into one three-minute song than Elvis Costello in his early years. "Radio, Radio," a carnival ride at double-speed, initially sounded like an homage to rock and roll radio until you sat down with the lyric sheet (always advised with any Costello song). The fact it was actually an indictment of the state of modern radio didn't dampen its impact. If there's on thing I've learned over the years it's this: everything you love eventually gets ruined by the almighty dollar. You just know that deep down Elvis loves radio, otherwise he wouldn't be so angry about its corruption. Even in his agitated state, he still managed to produce a classic rock song.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "Radio, Radio" | Fito Paez
A cool take on "Radio, Radio" from Spanish Model, a 2021 album that reimagined Elvis's 1978 album, This Year's Model, with all Spanish artists. Fun fact: "radio" translates to "radio" in Spanish. How convenient.
05 "On My Radio" | The Selecter
I bought my baby a red radio
He said he loved me, but he had to go
While we're bashing radio around a bit, here's the Selecter's "On My Radio," a song that laments the repetition of the "same old show" every day on UK radio stations. An interesting premise, especially considering "On My Radio," a quirky ska hit from England's legendary 2 Tone Records, became a Top 10 single in the UK in 1979 thanks to rampant radio play. Maybe not the same old show after all?
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "On My Radio" | Screaming Females
If you prefer a more modern take on this period classic, you could do worse than Marissa Paternoster's spirited take on the song from 2022, which once again proves she can pull off almost anything.
06 "Rock and Roll" | The Velvet Underground
...one fine mornin' she hears a New York station
She just didn't believe what she heard at all, hey, not at all
She started dancin' to that fine fine music
You know her life was saved by rock 'n' roll, yes rock 'n' roll
Lou Reed's love for early rock and roll is well documented as was the way he discovered it...through the radio. The VU's "Rock and Roll" ranks with the greatest radio songs ever because it captures that moment of discovery that sets young hearts free. Hearing "your" music for the first time. There's nothing quite like it.
07 "Magic Power" | Triumph
She climbs into bed
She pulls the covers overhead
And she turns her little radio on
She's had a rotten day
So she hopes the DJ's
Gonna play her favorite song
Believe it or not, I wrote the Lou Reed entry above without thinking that the protagonist in Triumph's arena-show-stopping "Magic Power" is also "young...wild...and wants to be free," so in essence "Rock and Roll" and "Magic Power" are saying the same exact thing about a decade apart. Music is the underlying addiction. The gateway drug? Radio.
08 "The Spirit of Radio" | Rush
Begin the day with a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays that song that's so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
The greatest radio song of them all? Perhaps, but definitely one of the most dynamic and thrilling, shifting gears from moment to moment like it's flipping around the radio dial looking for that "magic at your fingers." Here's definitive proof that a great song about radio doesn't even have to mention the word "radio" in its lyrics—there's no need here—for Neil Peart instead tells us of "invisible airwaves," "antennas [that] bristle with... energy," and "emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength," language that surely would've secured him a job at Radio Shack if the rock and roll thing didn't work out. In the song, the freedom of expression music provides, just like democracy itself, is always worth defending. Especially against those who think the true magic of music is in its profit margins.
09 "On the Radio" | Donna Summer
If you think that love isn't found on the radio
Then tune right in, you may find the love you lost
Songs have always been a safe way for people to communicate with each other when they cannot, because they either lack the words or the confidence or both. This is the main reason I made my then girlfriend, and my now wife, so many mixtapes back when we started dating. If she listened close enough there was a goldmine of veiled messages contained in some of those songs. When she asked me about these songs directly, I'd simply say, "They're just songs I thought you'd like." Donna Summer's "On the Radio" is about hearing a song on the radio that seems to be written just for you and maybe the person you love. Perhaps it was somehow, someway, who knows? Could one song bring two people together if they hear it in different places at the same time? That's a lot to ask, but thanks to radio it is entirely plausible if highly unlikely.
10 "Oh Yeah" | Roxy Music
There's a band playing on the radio
And it's drowning the sound of my tears
Are loud tears really a thing? Anyhoo, if you need more proof that the scenario I just wrote about in the Donna Summer entry above is possible, here you go. Two lovers fall in love to a song on the radio. Then they break apart. Some time later, the song comes on the radio and the man breaks down into tears in his car. What happens next? Somebody tell. mewhat happens next! Is it the preface to a reunion or an eternal case of the one who got away? Either way, radio has the uncanny knack for catching you off guard. You can't control it (unless you're a program director, I suppose). Just when you're most vulnerable, it attacks.
11 "Caravan" | Van Morrison
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
Van Morrison just might be rock and roll's patron saint of radio. The radio is absolutely everywhere in his songs. "Wavelength", "Domino", "Brown Eyed Girl", "In the Days Before Rock and Roll", "On Hyndford Street", and best of all, "Caravan," one of the greatest celebrations of radio ever written. It finds Van encouraging Emma Rose to turn up her radio, a little bit louder now, it's got soul, so we can get down what is really wrong. And we all know nothing is better for a deep conversation than a radio cranked to the max.
12 "Radio Girl" | John Hiatt
Whoah oh oh
Radio girl
Radio girl
Livin' for that three minute song
Welcome to the real world
I'm glad I made room for John Hiatt's "Radio Girl" on this list at the expense of some other well-known songs because it just gets my motor running every time I hear it. The story of a girl who experiences love primarily in pop song format, here we find a DJ she's never met encouraging her to believe in love. Little does that DJ know that her way of blowing away her pain is to change the station.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "Angie Baby" | Helen Reddy
"Angie Baby" gets special status as an alternate on this list because it is easily one of the strangest "radio" songs of all-time and easily one of the oddest #1 singles ever. About Angie, a "touched" girl (It's so nice to be insane / Nobody asks you to explain) who lives a fantasy life through the songs she hears on her radio. Until the very end that is, when a boy goes missing after seemingly being sucked into Angie's radio, now her secret lover or so we are to believe.
13 "Listen to the Radio" | Nanci Griffith
When you can't find a friend
You've still got the radio
Radio, listen to the radio
There are few artists that have the same effect on me as Nanci Griffith. Her voice was so pure and she was a captivating storyteller, too. She is also responsible for perhaps my favorite "radio" song ever in "Listen to the Radio," a simple piece of advice for the lonely and downhearted. I've been following it in one form or another for a long, long time. From personal experience, music is the answer to many of life's troubles. Well, if not the answer, at least it's a refuge from the storm.
SIDE B
14 "Transmission" | Joy Division
No language, just sound, that's all we need know
To synchronize love to the beat of the show
And we could dance
Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, to the radio
We had to get a little dark at some point and to whom would you rather turn in such a situation than Joy Division? "Transmission" is an eerie song, open to interpretation; some read a lot into it, some take it at face value. I see it as music being the only thing that can really help us escape our personal darkness. Even if we never see the light again, we can still dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio. What say you?
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "Dance, Dance, Dance to the Radio" | M.O.T.O.
Cult band M.O.T.O (Masters of the Obvious) delivered an alternate approach to "Transmission" whether they knew it or not in 2003. If Joy Division wanted to stay in the darkness, the Masters wanted to live in the light, turning a blind eye to all the world's problems. But the dancing? They still wanted the dancing.
15 "Windfall" | Son Volt
Switching it over to AM
Searching for a truer sound
Can't recall the call letters
Steel guitar and settle down
Catching an all-night station, somewhere in Louisiana
It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven
Not overtly about the radio per se, but "Windfall" does express in a very simple way the magic of finding the perfect radio station at just the moment when on a long road trip. From the sound of the song, it seems like that revelatory discovery is happening in real time, so convincing is the vocal of Jay Farrar. It never fails to stir something in me.
16 "Yesterday Once More" | The Carpenters
When I was young
I'd listen to the radio
Waitin' for my favorite songs
When they played I'd sing along
It made me smile
I love the Carpenters. Some may view them as wimpy, but they recorded some absolutely ravishing songs in their day and Karen could lay down a miraculous drum solo when she wanted, too. "Yesterday Once More" is about radio's ability to take you back in time through music, with everything just as you left it. Be prepared to get a little choked up.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "This is Radio Clash" | The Clash
If this is just too sweet for you, we'll look the other way if you want to pump a little Clash into your mix.
17 "Left of the Dial" | The Replacements
And if I don't see ya in a long, long while
I'll try to find you
Left of the dial
If one song takes me back to my days in college radio it's this one. The Replacements emerged smack dab in the middle of the glory years of modern college radio (a real format, presaging its inevitable monetization as "alternative rock") and I was lucky to attend, and DJ, at the exact same time. Hard to believe, but at one point, R.E.M., U2, the Replacements, Pixies, the Smiths, and countless others were relegated to the format, too this or that to qualify for mainstream radio.* Most college stations were "Left of the Dial," way over near the edge of the AM (or FM) band, where most people never bothered to go—the other side of the tracks if you will. But we did, and I was forever changed by the experience.
*Check out Live From the Underground: A History of College Radio by Katherine Rye Jewell for more.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "Around the Dial" | The Kinks
This is about the phenomenon of having a favorite DJ suddenly go off the air without ceremony. Without the internet, you could go your whole life wondering what happened to them and where you can find them now. I know this has happened to me a few times (Sky Daniels from Chicago's Loop for one). The song is less about the radio itself, but we'll let you have it if you must. It's the Kinks after all.
18 "Just This Morning" | The Silos
Just this morning
I heard my favorite record on the radio
The Silos' Cuba album is on my list of all-time favorite records. "Just This Morning" is one reason why. Once again, it's about hearing your favorite record on the radio, nothing more, nothing less. But this time Walter Salas-Humara sounds like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown at the time and hearing his favorite song snapped him out of it thanks to one benevolent DJ.
19 "Heard It On the X" | ZZ Top
So listen to your radio
Most each and every night
'Cause if you don't, I'm sure you won't
Get to feeling right
Man, those early ZZ Top records just sound hot to the touch don't they? This ZZ classic recounts the impact of super-powerful Mexican radio stations (whose call letters all started with an X) that had no limit on the wattage they could pump out back in the day (from the 1940s to the early 1970s), so many in the States grew up listening to them, sometimes because they pushed out other less powerful local stations sharing the same radio dial. Accordingly, these stations were called "border blasters." And if ZZ Top is the result of their influence, consider that wattage well used. But the influence of Mexican radio doesn't end here. Read on.
20 "Border Radio" | The Blasters
This song comes from 1962
Dedicated to a man who's gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
It's only fitting that the Blasters would also write a song about the aforementioned Mexican "border blaster" radio stations even if that's not the origin of the band's name. The Blasters were always a band with their own distinct hybrid style of influences, much like Los Lobos, that emerged from and existed alongside the L.A. punk scene of the early 80s. It's safe to say the future members picked up plenty of influences from radio stations blasting out of Tijuana during their formative years growing up in Downey, California, a short drive down the coast to the Mexican border. But the influence of Mexican radio doesn't end here. Read on.
21 "Mexican Radio" | Wall of Voodoo
I wish I was in Tijuana
Eating barbequed iguana
I'd take requests on the telephone
I'm on a wavelength far from home
Los Angeles's Wall of Voodoo also heard it on the X, just like ZZ Top and the Blasters, but "Mexican Radio" is something else entirely, without a doubt the weirdest, goofiest song in the triptych, but it was also a catchable curveball for tightly-programmed U.S. radio stations thanks to its immediately infectious chorus, which you are probably singing to yourself right now.
22 "FM (No Static At All)" | Steely Dan
Worry the bottle, Mama
It's grapefruit wine
Kick off your high-heeled sneakers
It's party time
The girls don't seem to care what's on
Man, this song has some fucked up lyrics. Truthfully, it's nowhere close to my favorite Steely Dan song, but when I named my son Finn, I made sure to give him a middle name that started with an "M" just so I could call him "FM" as a nickname. And maybe someday, if fates aligned, that would get him a job at a radio station. Still, a good song and worthy of being on the list, but sentiment puts this one over the top for me.
23 "Mohammed’s Radio" | Warren Zevon
Don't it make you want to rock and roll
All night long
Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio
Ah, the redemptive, healing power of rock 'n' roll. I assume you've experienced it. Whenever life gets you down, turn to the radio and maybe you'll find a song that'll alter your perspective a little bit, even if its only temporary. Who was Mohammed in this scenario you ask? Conventional explanations tell us Zevon saw a guy dressed as an Arab on Halloween and he was holding a radio to his ear, listening to music as he walked. That sounds as plausible as anything else you could tell me. True or not, a certified Zevon classic.
24 "On Your Radio" | Joe Jackson
Don't you know you can't get near me
You can only hope to hear me on your radio
On your radio
You're gonna hear me on your radio
Radio as vehicle for vengeance on your enemies, ex-teachers, lovers, bosses, doubters? Why not? That's the "last laugh" mentality on this track from Joe's second LP, I'm the Man, and I don't know if his payback is petty or just karma working itself out. Part of me thinks saying nothing would be a better option—pretend they never bothered you at all—but that's not normally what the angry young man of this world do. Airing your grievances in a public forum has become the national pastime, so it's hard to blame Joe for using all his resources to get some payback courtesy of the radio.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "On the Radio" | Cheap Trick
While the verses are rough, the chorus is a knockout. And that's mostly what runs the game on the radio anyway.
25 "I Can’t Live Without My Radio" | LL Cool J
My radio, believe me, I like it loud
I'm the man with the box that can rock the crowd
We ain't talkin' about your average transistor radio here, that's for sure. This is industrial strength volume, the kind that needs, as Radio Raheem knows all too well, 20 motherfucking D batteries to function properly (which could cost you about 50-bucks in 2024!). Who had this kind of budget even back in the 80s? Nonetheless, the boombox was the OG of dynamic portable sound back in the day, long before people strapped on Beats cans and kept their music to themselves.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATE: "Baby's in Love With the Radio" | Johnny "Guitar" Watson
This tape could've used some 70's-styled funk, so I add some here courtesy of a frustrated Johnny "Guitar" Watson, whose baby is so into radio she won't even give him any action. That's harsh.
26 "Do You Remember Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio?" | The Ramones
Do you remember lying in bed
With your covers pulled up over your head?
Radio playin' no one can see
Hopefully this post answers the title's question. While we don't necessarily want to dig up radio again like so many dinosaur bones, we do fondly remember the days before Napster, Spotify, social media apps, and now AI. We also know that some things are best left to history. Let's face it, most radio stations have completely given up anyway. But, hey, vinyl made a comeback, so maybe there's a chance for radio, too. Stay tuned to find out.
Outro: "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" | Reunion
Life is a rock
But the radio rolled me
Gotta turn it up louder
So my DJ told me
This song is kind of radio's version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," but it does have a great chorus that can usher us back out into the modern world again. It's a hoot, but don't play it all the time or you may become suicidal.
ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE (LITERALLY) OUTRO: "Transistor Sister" | Gaunt
If you want a little something about the death of radio, here you go. A murder mystery built on one repeated question: Who killed the radio? Who killed the radio? Who killed the ray...dee....oooh-oh?
NON-ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES (AND WHY)
"Radio Free Europe" | R.E.M.
Less about music than a propaganda machine. Plus, most lyrics are nonsensical (which is part of its appeal).
"You Turn Me On I’m a Radio" | Joni Mitchell
As noted previously, an analogy for the most part, although a great song still.
"Radio Ga Ga" | Queen
The worst song about radio ever written? Live Aid hand-clapping be damned, it's totally insufferable on its own.
"Radio Song" | R.E.M.
Perhaps my least favorite R.E.M. song, or close.
"Video Killed the Radio Star" | The Buggles
More about TV than radio, although it tells a historical truth.
"Turn the Radio Up" | Barry Manilow
If anyone can pull off a "Turn the Radio Up!" song, it ain't Barry.
"Turn Up Your Radio" | Autograph
The chorus alone could've been a good outro, but I just couldn't encourage them.
"Turn Up the Radio" | Madonna
One of the worst of the "turn up the music" tracks.
"That’s Why God Made the Radio" | The Beach Boys
Fuck me. Just because it has some nice harmonies doesn't mean it's not a shitty song. God didn't work at Radio Shack. Do we have to give him credit for every goddamned thing?
"Guerrilla Radio" | Rage Against the Machine
A political song for radio to play.
"Radio" | Beyonce
By law, she must be considered, but this is a shitty song.
"Radio Nowhere" | Bruce Springsteen
Would've been better if he had fully ripped off Tommy Tutone's "867-5309 (Jenny)" and not just the riff.
"Radio Head" | Talking Heads
Thanks to the Heads for inspiring a few good Radiohead records, but for the most part this song is guilty by association for two decades of Thom Yorke staring down at a synthesizer, swaying his little bean head back and forth to glitchy beats and emoting wordlessly in an insufferable falsetto. Denied.
______________________
I might've missed one. If so, I'll fix it in post. Next up? Television Songs perhaps?
Cheers,
The Priest