Is 96x Back? (Update: Yes, It is.)
Is 96x Back? (Update: Yes, It is.)
Remember 96x? Remeber the impressive line-up of alternative rock that aired on 96.1 FM in the mid to late 1990s? Remember how sad you were when you woke up on April 1st, 1999 (I think it was 1999) to find out that the station had switched to an oldies format for real, not as an April Fool's joke?
Today, rumors are flying that the beloved alt-rock station might be back. The main evidence is front page of http://96xmemphis.com, which says "It's 2013...WE'RE BACK."
To back that up, there's this series of posts on RadioDiscussions.com, which implies that the station is coming back.
At the moment, if you turn your radio to 96.1 FM, you'll notice that they're playing the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" on repeat, which may or may not mean anything.
I've been doing some digging and making a few phone calls, but I haven't been able to confirm anything official yet. I'll keep you posted as soon as I find out something for real.
In the meantime, I'll be in my attic, trying to find both the cassettes that I recorded from 96x in middle school and something to play them on.
UPDATE (2:25 p.m.): RadioInsight.com has a story about it that they're updating regularly. The most important part is this:
" WIVG will imminently shift to Alternative as “96X“. The move resurrects a brand that has been used previously on two stations in the market. What is now Clear Channel’s “Hallelujah 95.7” WHAL-FM was Alternative with the “96X” brand and WRXQ calls from 1994 to 1999. 92.9 WMFS would rebrand its Alternative/Active Rock hybrid format as “93X” in 2001 and use the X brand until its flip to Sports in 2009."
UPDATE (2:47 p.m.): Then, I got this cryptic tweet from Shea Flinn (son of George Flinn, owner of WHBQ):
UPDATE (5:50 p.m.): It's true - 96x is coming back. I've had it independently confirmed that it's happening. Also, they've now stopped playing "Blister in the Sun".
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