Radio's Death Spiral Continues As Pulse 87 Signs Off For Good

by BILLY GRAY · November 6, 2009

    Remember that rush you'd feel when driving with the radio on and you'd hear four, five, holy crap six kickass songs in a row? Thanks to iPods, Clear Channel and niche satellite stations, the spontaneous thrills of FM radio seem close to joining local newspapers and scripted network TV in the media graveyard. Radio will suffer another sad casualty tonight when local dance station Pulse 87 leaves the airways.

    Pulse (87.7 FM) had only been around for 20 months. But its contemporary dance music programming offered metro New York audiences a break from the Top 40 dreck that increasingly monopolizes the airwaves. The station was also instrumental in jump starting the career of hometown loony tune Lady Gaga. And While its closure certainly leaves a void, there are plenty of venues around the city where its music lives on. You can start tonight at Greenpoint's Club Exit, where a farewell party kicks off at 10pm.