KCRW music library, The Sopranos theme, 88Nine

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We’ve been fans of KCRW since The Burst Collective was based in Los Angeles nearly 10 years ago.

And music fans the world over are fortunate that we can stream their programming from their website or iTunes, staying up to speed with the pulse of what’s next in music.

And you must have heard this story before, but it’s a pretty great example of the cultural impact of a station : while producing The Sopranos launch, creator David Chase was impressed by a song he heard on KCRW while driving around LA. The rest, as they say, is mob history. Diana Nyad retells the story in a post and podcast at the station’s website.

It’s amazing what rare musical gems have been stored away in the basement of the Santa Monica Community College.

There are countless other stories and recordings and legendary artists who have been recorded in the production archives at the station, but help is needed to properly present the inspired music, timeless interviews and live recording sessions. They’ve launched a campaign to generate awareness and funding for the cause… The Music Match: A Campaign to Save KCRW’s Library.

Closer to home, Milwaukee’s very own 88Nine is doing some great new things for the local music community, as well. It’s quite encouraging to see diverse and alternative programming growing instead of shrinking - for years our only option was the college station WMSE, who have done an admirable job of even staying afloat while the city was slow to catch up - and 102.1’s Kramp & Adler have been super supportive of the growing indie scene (including on-air features with Burst friends Maritime, Fever Marlene and Northern Room).

Join us, drop a dime, help out the world of music if you love it..

donate here : KCRW | 88Nine

… because we all know there ain’t many of us left who are actually paying for the music itself. [dh]