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Pure Rock FM89: The Radio Voice of North Central College

Featured Posts

Alternage Presents: The Most Influential Punk Albums – The Clash

It’s mid-February of 2017, and the music wing of my high school is fraught with pacing theatre kids waiting perilously for their spring musical audition slots. Some are sussing out the competition, eyes wandering and hands wringing, others are facing a wall while reciting their minute-long monologues, but one thing ...

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Calling All Local Bands and Musicians

Countless musicians and bands from the Chicagoland area have made an impact in the world of music, but none of them started off as famous. Everyone starts somewhere, and we’re here to help. WONC has a long-standing tradition of featuring music from the Chicagoland area, and we want you to ...

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Try Our Exclusive Coffee Roasts

Need a pick-me-up? We have our own coffee roasts! We worked with the North Central College Coffee Lab to create two delicious roasts to pair with our music. You’ll also support WONC with your purchase and help us continue to play the best music on your radio! To keep you ...

Crossroads

The Crossroads Artist Highlight: HARDY

By: Sam Corbett After a three-month-long hiatus from being off-air, The Crossroads duo came back in a big way to begin March 2023. Zane and I reviewed HARDY’s much-anticipated album, the mockingbird & THE CROW. We hyped it up so much on air, only to be forced to wait nearly ...

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Meg’s Movie Corner: Cocaine Bear

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR COCAINE BEAR (2023) Going into seeing Cocaine Bear, 2023’s new horror-comedy, this was what I was expecting: Some cocaine gets lost in a forest, a bear finds said cocaine, gets high, and goes on a rampage chasing and killing people. What I got was ...

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Featured Local Artist: Dust Biters

Dust Biters is a 4-piece aggressive post-hardcore band that blends influences from the early 2000’s post-hardcore/screamo era with visceral punk and technical rock n’ roll. Their music features a unique take on heavy music, upbeat melodies, and catchy vocal stylings. The band members seek to appeal to fans of all ...

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Watch the Between the Lines Podcast

Every week, the BTL crew drops a new episode of the Between the Lines Podcast. Hosted by Jake Salzbrunn and Myron Lewis, the Between the Lines podcast features analysis of North Central College sports, Chicago sports, and national sports. Every week, they’ll run down the latest stories and feature guests. ...

MUSIC

Featured Local Artist: Evil I

In the winter of 1983, Evil I, a local hardcore punk band consisting of Craig G. (guitar), Craig S. (drums), Dave (bass), and Carol (vocals) entered a basement studio in Elgin, IL to record a …

Artist Highlight: Billy Cobb

DIY is a scene and style in music that’s all about doing it yourself, including writing, recording, mixing, and promoting. It’s been around since the inception of music and has become more prominent in in …

Featured Local Artist: Det Metra

Connor (bass/guitar/vocals), Kelly (guitar/vocals), Dave (bass/guitar/vocals), Dom (drums), and Mike (vocals) are Det Metra, a 5-piece indie/garage rock/self-described “hippie punk” band based in Chicago. After playing in a variety of bands in the Chicagoland area …

Featured Local Artist: The Last Generation

The Last Generation is a 4-piece band that puts a modern spin on classic rock; they take inspiration from classic and hard rock from the 70s and early 80s with a bit of 90s grunge …

A Little Birdie Told Me: Dylan Gardner

by Jordan MarkWe're throwing ourselves back into another edition of A Little Birdie Told Me, a series where we highlight artists we play on FM89. For this round, we’re going to look at Dylan Gardner.Not …

Featured Local Artist: LangstonCo

LangstonCo is the brainchild of Jay Langston, founder and former lead guitarist of nationally-touring bands Echovalve and We the Fierce, as well as a “hired gun” for 90s powerhouse Local H. Based out of Chicago, …

A Little Birdie Told Me: Emery

by Jordan Mark It’s time for another round of A Little Birdie Told Me. In this edition, we’ll take a closer look at the band Emery. After relocating to Seattle, Emery signed to the nearby Tooth & …

WONC Sports

Bruner’s Beat: NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

by Evan BrunerFew sporting events can match the intrigue and excitement of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. The unpredictability and intensity make for one of the most entertaining spectacles in all of sports. 2023 has …

Bruner’s Beat: What Jon Jones’ Return Means for the UFC

by Evan Bruner The word “perfect” is often overused in sports. Very rarely does an individual team or athlete deliver a performance without a single identifiable flaw. Jon Jones, though, has proven to be an outlier …

Bruner’s Beat: Breaking Down The Bears’ Trade With the Panthers

by Evan Bruner The Chicago Bears officially traded away their first overall pick in the upcoming draft on Friday afternoon to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the ninth overall pick, the No. 61 pick, a …

Previewing The World Baseball Classic

By: Devin Braden When March rolls around every year, it marks the return of Major League Baseball and the five-month drought without America’s pastime ends. Excitement always runs high for those of us in Chicago as …

Everything To Know About MLB’s Rule Changes

By: Sam Fretto These last 2 offseasons for Major League Baseball have been a rollercoaster for fans, including a lockout which fortunately didn’t affect the MLB schedule aside from needing to make up a week's worth …

Bruner’s Beat: Is the XFL Built to Last?

by Evan BrunerThere are few things Americans enjoy more than watching football. Every Saturday and Sunday throughout the fall, millions of fans turn on the TV to watch their favorite teams play. Even events that …

Recapping SB LVII In The Eyes Of A Chiefs Fan

by Matt Crossland For the third time in franchise history and the second time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions. I never thought I would say those words this season, considering …

Specialty Shows

The Crossroads Artist Highlight: HARDY

Alternage Presents: The Most Influential Punk Albums – The Sex Pistols

Welcome to the first ever edition of Alternage Presents: Influential Punk Albums. This will be a series where I look back on punk albums, old and new, get into the history of each band, dive …

Evil I: A History of Punk in Chicago’s Western Suburbs 40 Years in the Making

by Austin Paulson The walls of Brauer House, a bar and venue in Lombard, IL, are plastered with old concert posters of legendary musicians of punk’s past. The names and images take up nearly every inch …

The Crossroads Artist Highlight: Brothers Osborne

By Zane Trumann While we usually reserve these features for new artists here at The Crossroads, both Sam and I made the executive decision to change that with Brothers Osborne’s newest single, “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ …

The Crossroads Artist Highlight: Jessta James

By Zane Trumann After a couple of weeks of theme nights, Sam and I were looking to take The Crossroads back to its roots and get back into featuring up-and-coming artists. We were lucky enough with …

Local Chaos: Celebrating 25 Years on WONC

by Austin Paulson The spirit of Local Chaos is linked directly with the music written and performed within our incredible community. As fans first, we find that there’s nothing more important than promoting and uplifting the …

The Crossroads Artist Highlight: Donny van Slee

By Sam Corbett Three shows down, three artist features for The Crossroads. This week, we travel to the heartland - Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee. Donny Van Slee, originally from rural Florida, can be seen all over town …

Reviews

YOU Season 4 Review and Why We Side With Serial Killers

Hello, YOU! The first half of season 4 of You dropped on Netflix February 9th, and wow, do I have some things to say!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3COY_HrMngcFor starters, I’ve always been a fan of this show. Despite the …

Meg’s Movie Corner: M3GAN

SPOILERS AHEAD! As a Megan myself, people have been wondering what I think of the new sci-fi horror film M3GAN. It’s funny – I’ve been seeing her name so much lately that writing my own name …

Kaleidoscope: It’s Not What You Watch, It’s How You Watch It

Netflix’s new heist drama series, Kaleidoscope, dropped on the streaming platform on January 1st. Created by Eric Garcia and stacked with a cast including Giancarlo Esposito, Rufus Sewell, and Tati Gabrielle, fans were eager to …

My Problem with Netflix’s Wednesday

by Meg KordikNetflix’s hit show Wednesday came out of the gate swinging when it was released last November. In its first week on the platform, Wednesday accumulated 341.23 million hours of streaming, surpassing the previous …

Meg’s Movie Corner: Examining the Movie Musical Genre

While I love to review movies, there’s one genre that seems to miss more than hit, so instead of reviewing just one movie, I thought I’d look at the entire genre of movie musicals. There …

Meg’s Movie Corner: Spirited

Spirited, the 2022 Apple TV+ film starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, was released this November, and it isn't being talked about nearly enough as it should be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzeTlbxhHW4CAUTION: Spoilers ahead! This film, which doubles as a …

Meg’s Movie Corner: Do Revenge

SPOILERS AHEAD! After finishing Netflix's new teen high school comedy, Do Revenge, I’m left with one question: how many plot twists can a movie possibly have? Because, WOW, this movie had the most plot twists I've ever seen …