Every spring for the past seven years on Transmission, Jake Rudh has hosted a special '60s sunshine pop program. Though the weather in Minnesota isn't very springlike yet, maybe putting some sunny vibes over those airwaves will help. We'll certainly take anything we can at this point! Jake invites you to tune in this Thursday night and take a trip back to a time when kitchens were avocado green, carpet was shaggy, and music was feel-good.

Second-wave 2 Tone ska pioneers the English Beat are coming to Minneapolis to play the Dakota on April 8 and 10. To celebrate, Transmission is hosting an hourlong feature this Thursday. We're going to hear plenty of favorites by the Beat, of course, but we'll also dive deep into some of the contemporaries as well: the Specials, the Selecter, Madness, the list goes on. So whether you grew up with these bands or are just curious about the scene, join Jake for 60 minutes of skankin' fun.

Transmission celebrates its 17th anniversary this Saturday night at First Avenue by presenting a night of all '80s and all genres within the 1980s. To help get us in the right mood, that's exactly what we'll be focusing on this week on the program. From pop and New Wave, to R&B and hip hop, if it came out in the decade of excess, you very well might hear it this Thursday night on Transmission.

This week, Jake Rudh covers artists in the classic-alternative world scheduled to play the Twin Cities in the months ahead. With the B-52s' Cindy Wilson and the Wedding Present both playing the Turf Club next week alone, that's proof enough right there that there's plenty to cover.

Synthpop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark make a rare Twin Cities appearance in support of their latest album, "The Punishment of Luxury," and play First Avenue this Sunday, March 18. Transmission's DJ Jake Rudh will open that show at 7 p.m. and set the atmosphere with both sound & vision. Jake also presents an hour-long feature on the band tonight at 10 p.m., diving into their history and covering everything from deep cuts and chart-topping hits to main influences and current material.

This week on the program, Jake Rudh features side projects within the classic alternative world. Some would even call them supergroups. If you dig bands like the Cure, the Smiths, Talking Heads, the Police, and XTC, then you'll most likely dig the creative routes some of their members took outside of those groups. We're going to hear those and many more this week on Transmission.

This week on the show, we look back at a program that happily lived on MTV every Sunday night from 1986 through the late 90s: "120 Minutes" brought us some of the songs and bands we wouldn't be able to check out anywhere else but maybe on college radio and a few alt-rock stations around the country. And for many of us, it was a not-to-miss program each and every Sunday. And if you're like Jake Rudh, you had the VCR set to "record": R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Pixies, the Smiths, Talking Heads ... we're going to hear all those and much more

This week, Jake Rudh explores 30 years of the U.K. rock scene, from the 60s to the 90s. We'll hear the Who, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Stone Roses, Oasis and more.

This week on the program, we look back to the year 1987. Some call it the best year ever for college and modern rock, and with major releases from bands like the Cure, Depeche Mode, R.E.M. and the Smiths, it's easy to see why. We're going to hear all of those bands and much more, this week on Transmission.

It was recently announced that The Cars would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, and that's as good a reason as any to celebrate this influential Boston band for an hour on the program this week. We're going to make stops at each of the records through the years, and even tinker under the hood a bit with deep cuts and solo records. The show's called Transmission, so you know a feature on The Cars is going to be good.