Bye-Bye 'BCN: 104.1's Last Gasp of Rock

WBCN (104.1FM) is concluding its four-day farewell as a rock radio station. If you want to get technical, a sports station with those call letters will appear tomorrow at 98.5 as WBZ on the FM dial (while music will still be heard on the web and as a secondary HD-radio channel). In spirit, though, it is the final day for this radio institution after more than 40 years of rock.

We may not be losing anything except a traditional placemarker for rock. It's been years since any radio station could take the chances necessary to make an impact on the greater music scene, like WBCN did in the past. When U2 was at the Somerville Theatre last year, they weren't bashful to thank 'BCN for helping them break into the States. On the other hand, the station has still been making an impact on local music with its weekly "Boston Emissions" show and by sponsoring the annual Rock 'N Roll Rumble.

Bostonist has been listening to WBCN for a couple of hours today. It's been years since we tuned out commercial radio, but Adam-12's final show has been a great mix of rock, punk, and local bands such as: Mission of Burma, Del Fuegos, Darkbuster, and New Hampshire's The AG's.

Most of the above links probably won't work much longer, but there's still plenty of online info, including former DJ Charles Laquidara's WBCN archive. Someone's even making a documentary on the station's early years, and they're looking for any footage or memorabilia from 1968 to 1975. Holler if you have it, and keep rocking.