WSIE 88.7 FM
- I Can't Stand The Rain-Ann Peebles (Strong vocals paired with a strong instrumental backdrop. It's compelling to hear WSIE expand its format to include such gems as this R&B hit...)
- Virago-Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (...and this cross-categorical guitar piece that would be at home on a smooth jazz or new age station.)
- Chuck E.'s In Love-Rickie Lee Jones (Name another hit song that sounds remotely like this. Jones made a huge splash with her self-titled debut album, and this tune, in particular. Her voice, and the instrumental arrangements, don't fit squarely in any one category, making it a gem that holds up. Also recommended: "After Hours.")
- My Favorite Mistake-Sheryl Crow (One of Crow's best hits, right from the opening guitar pluck. One of her strongest guitar riffs, and some of her best lyrics.)
- Don't Stop The Music-Yarbrough & Peoples (An assured, sly hook from 35 years ago can still cement itself in the listener's mind. If you listened to KMJM for any length of time in the early '80s, you heard this.)
- Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From The New World" (New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein, conductor) (Admittedly, this is a safe choice, as it's one of the most well-known symphonies. Few pieces use brass, woodwinds, and strings so tenderly during slow movements and all of these sections, plus percussion, so forcefully in dynamic movements. The final movement's nod to the previous movements is a tribute to the piece itself.)
