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90.9 With A Bullet: 20 Years of Calgary Music on CJSW

Twenty years is a long time. Sure, you might not be legal in every province or state if you’re 20 years old, but you see a lot of changes in the world. For instance, in 1985, there was no “Internet.” Or “CD.” Your choice of computer ranged between spending a few thousand on a Commodore64, a Vic20 or an Apple IIe. Cordless phones were still kinda new, gas cost about twenty-five cents a litre and the movie Red Dawn was still relevant to the Cold War era population.  

Such is the case with CJSW 90.9 FM, Calgary’s campus/community station. The world has changed since 1985, and so has the station, growing from a small tight knit group of kids into a 24/7/365 media outlet and hub of the Calgary arts and culture communities. Through it all, however, one constant has remained: when the FM switch was flicked on in 1985, it was the only place to turn to for the best in local music. Two decades later, it remains Calgary’s premier source for the sounds of the city.  

And there’s been a lot of sounds! So it made sense that as a way to celebrate both the station’s fifth-of-a-century achievement – and the past twenty years of Calgary music – that some sort of document be produced. And so it was decided that a CD should be produced, a sampler of Calgary bands that span the years CJSW has been on air. After several months of arguing over who to include, hair pulling over lost masters, and deadline setting and re-setting, this is what you hold in your hands now: 90.9 With a Bullet: 20 Years of Calgary Music. 2 Cds chock full of the music that put CJSW – and Calgary - on the map (The Will, The Golden Calgarians, Colur Me Psycho) and the music that continues to shape both today (Chad Van Gaalen, Hot Little Rocket). Dig in to a surprisingly diverse, unsurprisingly fantastic dish of the coolest of Calgary’s past 20.

CJSW Chatter (Press)

Mike Bell talks 20 years of Calgary rock in the Calgary Sun, June 17, 2005

Track List

Songs on 90.9 With A Bullet:

Disc One

1. Zoo Story: Kristara Barrington
2. Gravity Thugs: Take You Down
3. The Will: The Empty Cabinet
4. Golden Calgarians: 7 Inches to Heaven
5. Citrus Park: Take A Trip With Me
6. The Ripchords: Final Step
7. Color Me Psycho: Sacred Valley Penetration
8. Big Bang Theory: Love Letters
9. Sacred Heart Of Elvis: Wheezing Dog On Leash
10. Rabbit Has Brain: Sad Season
11. Red Autumn Fall: Revenge of The Blazer Boys
12. Pussymonster: Confessions
13. The Vindicators: Thinking of Birds
14. The Parkades: Attack Me
15. Fire Engine Red: Shank Pony

Disc Two

1. The Primrods: Barbet Lad
2. The Puritans: Welcome To Persia, Batman
3. Huevos Rancheros: Rocket To Nowhere
4. The Dudes: They’re A Comin’
5. The A-Team: I’m A Truck
6. Shecky Formé: You’ll Need A Telescope
7. Falconhawk: Safe
8. Wagbeard: Alpha
9. Reverie Sound Revue: Walking Around Waiting Downtown
10. The Minks: Square Lines
11. Vailhalen: Was It A Fix
12. Chad Van Gaalen: Day-Ja-Voo X2
13. Hot Little Rocket: Down With Safe

Mastered by Dave Horrocks at Infinite Wave. Design and layout by Ian Russell at Three Speed Press. Liner essays by Bob Anonymous, Don McSwiney, Aubrey McInnis, and Derek McEwen. Thanks to Greg Kushner, Justin Lambert, Ian Chiclo, Allen Baekeland, Mike Bell, Dave Muir, James Martin, Wes Hegg, Cam Hayden, everyone who helped in the decision-making process, all the bands, and all the band parents who dug through their basements for masters and artwork!

Airplay

90.9 With A Bullet reached #1 on CJSW in Calgary (surprise, surprise!), CJSR in Edmonton, CHUO in Ottawa, and CKXU in Lethbridge! It also spent four weeks on the national weekly campus/community radio top 50 (as complied by both Chart Magazine and !Earshot), and was #5 on the national monthly top 50 for July 2005 as compiled by !Earshot!

You can purchase the CDs online from Saved By Radio
or our distributor, Scratch Records.