Adam and I have a running bit where I make reference to a song that was unavoidable when we were growing up (we are the same age), and he will claim to never have heard it. Sometimes I’ll play it for him and he’ll recognize it, but other times he will stand by never having heard it. A recent example was “Peek-a-Boo” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, which I remember as being played absolutely everywhere when we were in high school.

Eventually I realized that, growing up, we listened to KROQ, and not everybody had KROQ. I assumed every city had a similar radio station, and that just wasn’t true. We were unbelievably lucky. We had Rodney on the ROQ (Rodney Bingenheimer), pulling emerging British hits and introducing them to an American audience, often for the first time. According to Wikipedia, “Bingenheimer helped numerous bands become successful in the American market. He developed a reputation for being the first American DJ to identify new artists and play “edgy new bands” such as Blondie, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Van Halen, Guns N' Roses, Duran Duran, the Cure, Joan Jett, the Hollywood Squares, Hole, Symbol Six, No Doubt, Blur, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, the Bangles, X, the Pandoras, Germs, and many others.”

Jed the Fish (Edwin Jed Fish Gould III) was similarly influential, running the afternoon drive show and contributing his unique taste, which introduced a generation to new punk and new wave artists in the 1980s and alt-rock in the 1990s.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I realized how special KROQ was. My husband, growing up in Palo Alto, had Live 105 (KITS), but their playlists were safer, sticking mostly to already-established artists. By the early 90s KITS had already transitioned to more male-oriented guitar rock like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Many cities didn’t have a decent alternative rock station at all.

My musical taste, for the rest of my life, was shaped by what I listened to on KROQ every single day. I treasure the connections I make with people who fondly remember albums that most people have never even heard once, like “Bellybutton” by Jellyfish (if I hadn’t had it on CD, I would have worn out the tape) or “Dear 23” by the Posies. The friends I still have today bonded over the music KROQ introduced us to 30+ years ago. So I just wanted to express my gratitude for KROQ for being there. Now I appreciate how lucky I was. I’ll end with one of my favorite photos of myself and my BFF in 1990-ish, she in her “World Famous KROQ” shirt.