KCOU memories: Concerts, countdowns, and a TV show parody

Expanding on my last two days of posts, here are five other memories I have of KCOU 88.1 FM:

• Big Star, a respected power pop band that elicited positive press but relatively modest record sales during its initial run in the '70s, reunited after not playing together for 18 years, and played at KCOU's Springfest in 1993.  Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies joined original members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens for a great finale to Springfest.  "Back Of A Car" and "I Am The Cosmos" were among the highlights captured on the CD, "Columbia: Live At Missouri University."  Thanks to Jeff and Mike for making this happen.  How many other college students have sparked a band of Big Star's stature to get back together?
• Big Wheel performed "Down The Line" at Springfest in '93; the song's chorus, "Somewhere, down the line, we'll all meet and listen to the songs we used to listen to," describes what I'd like to believe a KCOU reunion--or, really, any other enjoyable reunion would be like.
• The Starkweathers turned in a strong in-studio performance in December 1992, capping it off with a cool romp through "Deck The Halls."  Spirited fiddling, complete with "Take it on down!" shouts, made it a memorable performance.
• I wonder how "Columbia 65201," DJ Matt's inspiration as a radio parody of "Beverly Hills 90210," would have panned out if it had seen the light of day.  I'd been cast as the father in the parody and was one of the writers.  After the first writing session, however, the project was scrapped.  Although "...90210" was never one of my favorite shows, "...65201" would have been an interesting change of pace for the station if it had aired.
• The annual top 88.1 songs countdown, as voted on by listeners and DJs, always made for interesting listening each November.  Because KCOU played such a vast array of music, and voters were asked to simply list eight songs, I always suspected that it was possible for a song with just two or three votes to make it into the lower rungs of the countdown.  Nevertheless, I was pleased that two of my choices, "Give It Up" by Hothouse Flowers and XTC's "King For A Day," made it into the 1992 countdown.  Per tradition, just one-tenth of the song that finished at 88.1 was played each year.  This was a shame in '92, as the song at 88.1 was a good Beatles cover, Overwhelming Colorfast's version of "She Said She Said."

Thank you to the KCOU staffers, the artists and bands who made the station what it was, and everyone who listened to and liked what KCOU did from 1991 to 1993.  Thank you for making those two years so enjoyable.  I'm thankful that I got to know so many interesting people and that we gave air time to so many artists who needed and deserved it.  As KCOU has shown for many years, a good noncommercial radio station is a valuable resource for any community.