Return to Sender: Despite All My Rage (I Still Listen to FM Radio)

Dear Radio 104.5:

I don't know where you came from, but I think I love you.

With Y-Rock exclusively 24/7 on the internet and in HD, the Philadelphia airwaves had been severely lacking in the modern rock department of late. And then one day, while my boyfriend was surfing the radio in his car, "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" came on. I assumed that we were still listening to one of his pre-programmed XM stations until I looked at the dial (do they still call it that in the age of digital radio?) and saw that, no, we were listening to plain ol' FM radio.

"Where did this come from?" I asked him.

"New station," he said.

"Wasn't this the Latin station before?"

"Dunno. But I like it."

I'd been listening to you on and off since then, usually just when I was in my boyfriend's car, but what did it for me, what really did it for me, was that on a recent voyage to Ikea in a PhillyCarShare Element (oh, PhillyCarShare, you deserve your own column!), I turned up the volume just in time to catch most of Stroke 9's "Little Black Backpack." Now, the band's MySpace page claims that that song was a great commercial success for them – but I know about three people outside of myself who know that song, and it's probably because I introduced them to it. So hearing this song—this song that meant, probably, way too much to me in high school (how couldn't you love lyrics like "Don't wanna tango with you/ I'd rather tangle with him/ I think I'm gonna bash his head in"?)—not only made my day more than any old Ikea bookcase could, but also solidified my love for you, 104.5, and your kick-ass modern rock playlist.

I know, I know. By professing my love to you, I'm risking my indie cred. You are, after all, owned by the rather odious Clear Channel Communications, an organization I have not been shy about disparaging amongst my friends. But somehow, Clear Channel managed to get it right with you; I just can't get enough. And so indie rock cred be damned (but only when I'm listening to FM radio and XPN isn't interesting me): I have fallen in love with a commercial radio station.

Just don't get any annoying morning DJs, okay? That's a good way to make me fall out of love really quickly. I don't want to give you up, but I can.