Pizza FM: Making Music Delicious

By Aiden Baker on March 16, 2015

“What kind of music are you into?”

This question, apart from the occasionally thick “oh, you’re an English major?” has to be the question I dread most. I tend to tense up, over-think my answer, and end up mumbling out a few bands that fail to accurately describe my taste. The best answer is that I dig what I dig. Like most college students, I’m pretty simple: I just like music.

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This is why I was pumped to hear that Allen Hall, a Living Learning Community at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, broadcasts a radio station right from their very own basement. The station is called “Pizza FM” and is hosted completely by college students, free-form and commercial free. The concept was conceived in 2011, with the first show publicly broadcast on Sept. 23, 2013.

Pizza FM spreads tasty tunes, with a focus on more alternative, lesser-known artists. The station is completely student run, with students hosting every show and broadcasting them on the air. As described on their website, the broadcasts “highlight music, artists, and ideas underexposed by commercial stations and outlets. On top of that, you’ll hear in-studio performances, talk, radio dramas, and tons more.”

From the Pizza FM Website, pizzafm.org

I am so appreciative of their mission to spread more underground jams, especially after hearing “Blank Space” on the bathroom radio every single time I need to go. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on Taylor Swift. I’m hating on mainstream radio that doesn’t seem to understand that there are more artists out there than their beloved T-Swizz.

Pizza’s focus on underexposed artists provides a great exposure for lesser known artists and provides a format for super dope tunes to be accessed, shared and enjoyed. If you’re at all like me, and just enjoy music, then I highly suggest checking out Pizza FM.

Hit up their website at any time. My personal favorite show is the Ultra Bonus hour, but the station has so many more to offer. With such a great vibe and so many different shows, you’re likely to find one that fits that awful question: “What kind of music are you into?”

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