At WPRB we have a unique approach towards our rock programming. We believe our purpose is to create and serve a community of people who enjoy an eclectic mix of music and are open-minded about finding new and interesting sounds away from the so-called "mainstream." At the same time, WPRB has an educational mission to expose people to music that they may not have heard before and to try to give them some kind of appreciation of it. If someone walks away from listening to a WPRB radio show with their musical horizons expanded even slightly, if they have a new understanding of a genre they don't know as much about, then WPRB has succeeded.

To achieve this goal, WPRB has a free form mentality about our rock shows. You can and will hear everything: Rock, Jazz, Blues, Experimental Noise, Electronics, Drone, Avant-Garde Classical, Funk, Traditional Classical, World, Folk, Hiphop, Reggae and more. We find the juxtaposition of styles, the comparisons that come through an interesting segue, the rapid contrast of two wildly conflicting genres, to be exciting and entirely worthwhile. That is the power of free form, to create sonic combinations that reveal entirely new dimensions to music. In a sense, we deal in making one continuous, real-time mix tape that is never the same. In the end, you might hear more "rock" songs during rock programming than anything else, but be constantly aware that you could be thrown a change-up at any point.

Another consequence of our goal is to fully support independent artists, albums, and record labels. WPRB finds the mainstream of music and radio to be vacant, catering more to the needs of corporate behemoths and profit margins than musical value and experimentation. There are way too many radio stations in the country right now that play the same twenty tunes as every other station. The radio industry is just another tool of the corporations to try to sell the most records. Even part of college radio has been sucked in. Take a look at the top of the CMJ charts and you'll see the twenty records put out by major labels targeted for the "college/alternative" demographic. WPRB stands in opposition of that world view. We are more than a demographic. It is only through thinking for oneself that any worthwhile musical innovations can come to pass. WPRB tries to help out the artists and labels that don't focus on making money and make music simply for the joy of making some great noise. We may play a major label release every now and then (as they occasionally put out something worthwhile), but the vast majority of what we play will come from the tiny labels that hardly anyone has heard of that are truly pushing the envelope.

We are proud of our place in the world of independent music and work hard to maintain it.

If you want to reach our music directors, you can call them at 609-258-3655 during their office hours (Fridays 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET), or email them at music@wprb.com. (Please don't send press kits, mp3s or other large files to WPRB via email. We won't read it, won't listen to it, and definitely won't play your music if you do.) WPRB reports charts to CMJ and Dusted.