#Current10: Interactive Timeline
January 21, 2015
Signing on to the airwaves on Jan. 24, 2005, was just the first of many milestones that The Current has passed over the course of a decade serving its audiences.
Over the past 10 years, there have been plenty of noteworthy moments. New staff people have joined the team. The station has experimented with new ways of presenting content; some ideas have stuck and remain part of the station to this day, like Radio Free Current and Theft of the Dial. Other programming has been set aside after running its course, such as the "My Three Songs" segment at midday or "The Current Fakebook" series at the Fitz. Still other things have evolved; for example, Rock the Garden used to be held in the street over the course of one evening; now it's on a hillside, and it lasts for two days.
And of course — many, many new artists and new songs have captured our ears and our hearts. Who knew that Peter Bjorn & John would have a megahit with the song "Young Folks", which The Current's listeners first heard during a broadcast from South by Southwest in 2007? And what about Mumford and Sons, whom The Current decided to add to its rotation, only to launch a magnificent career? And let's not forget the fresh-faced, bespectacled young man called Jeremy who handed Mary Lucia a demo in a brown paper bag.
Meanwhile, other artists have shown promise, only to fade from the spotlight. And others … well, whatever happened to She Wants Revenge? (The answer to that: Who cares?)
And in adhering to our mission of being a positive force in the community, we've invited you, the audience, to join us all along the way. Perhaps you were at the first Policy and a Pint, held in August 2005, when Steve Seel welcomed Justice Alan Page to discuss the workings of the Supreme Court. Maybe you came to our first session in the Forum at MPR, held in May 2006, when Gomez came in and played some songs and chatted with Mary Lucia. Perhaps you've danced in the kids' disco at Rock the Cradle with your little ones, or voted on songs under consideration at one of our Public Music Meetings.
Wow — a lot can happen in a decade.
Here at The Current, each passing week, each passing month rushes by so quickly, it's hard to stop sometimes to consider all that has taken place.
That's why we've created this timeline, to lay out all those years and those milestones in an engaging format. Although it isn't absolutely comprehensive, as you browse the timeline, we hope it brings back all kinds of great memories … while inspiring hope and anticipation for a whole lot more to come.