Record Hospital is the underground rock department on the Boston-area radio station, WHRB

WHRB

WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College.-History:...

 95.3 FM. Harvard undergraduates and alums serve as the department's DJs and hold administrative positions within the department such as Music Director. "Departments" at WHRB refer to a group of members who work collaboratively on a specific area of the station's operations (i.e. Business, Classical Music, Jazz, Record Hospital, etc.) Record Hospital is usually referred to as "RH" by members of WHRB.

Overview

"Record Hospital" began in 1984 as the name of the new WHRB

WHRB

WHRB is a commercial FM radio station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It broadcasts at 95.3 MHz and is operated by students at Harvard College.-History:...

 program aired by the station's Rock Department, replacing the department's "Plastic Passions" program. It was started by a small group of dedicated DJs who were interested in broadcasting music that did not have a significant presence in mainstream radio or other media, notably Patrick Amory

Patrick Amory

- Early life :Patrick Amory was born in New York City on July 10, 1965 to literary parents. His father, the late Hugh Amory, was noted as the most "rigorous" and "methodologically sophisticated" historian of the book in early America...

 and Jim Barber. It has continued in this same vein and plays a variety of punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

, indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

, noise, psychedelic

Psychedelic music

Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...

, no wave

No Wave

No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...

, and other forms of underground or experimental music. The music played generally falls under the DIY ethic.

History

Record Hospital's predecessor program at WHRB's Rock Department (as it was then called) was Plastic Passions. The Plastic Passions show took its name from a song of the same name by The Cure

The Cure

The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...

.

Rock Comment Book

Since its inception, Record Hospital DJs have maintained a "Rock Comment Book" (RCB) to keep in touch with the rest of the department and keep up to date with the changing national music scene. These books are all kept in the department's record library and are accessible to all members. The Boston Phoenix

The Phoenix (newspaper)

The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...

 conducted an interview with current members in Spring 2008, presented a sampling of old RCBs, and described them as "Pre-Internet Message Boards."

Record Hospital Fest

The department hosts an annual fest every spring. Past performers have included Ampere

Ampere (band)

Ampere is a DIY punk band based in Amherst, Massachusetts known for their short but extremely loud and intense live shows. The band has put the importance of DIY punk ethics at the forefront of their lyrics and are known for the particular attention they bring to their vegan...

, Off Minor

Off Minor

Off Minor are a Hardcore/Emo band from New York City. They formed in 1999 with Jamie Behar, Matt Smith, and Steven Roche, all former Saetia members. However, Smith later left and was replaced by Steven's brother Kevin on bass...

, Daniel Striped Tiger

Daniel Striped Tiger

Daniel Striped Tiger is a post-hardcore band from Cambridge, Massachusetts consisting of Jason St. Claire , Sean Yeaton , John Bogan , and Daniel Madden . Founded in 2003, the band took its name from a character on the children's TV show Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Although Daniel Striped Tiger's...

, Sinaloa, Death to Tyrants, Lucky Dragons

Lucky Dragons

Lucky Dragons is an experimental music group consisting of Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara. Based in Los Angeles, California, the band are noted for their unusual sound, described as having the ability to make "'everyday sounds' become alluringly other"....

, Dreamhouse, Carlos Giffoni, Tim Hecker, The Body, Heathen Shame, Libyans, Social Circkle, Brain Killer, Tiny Hawks

Tiny Hawks

Tiny Hawks is a hardcore punk rock duo from Providence, Rhode Island, composed of Art Middleton and Gus Martin . The band formed early in 2003 and played their first show in The Bakery warehouse in Olneyville, Rhode Island in May of that year...

, and the Skaters.

In-studio Bands

Record Hospital has been known to host a number of local and touring bands in the station for live broadcasts of their sets as well as for recordings. Past bands have included Ho-Ag

Ho-Ag

Ho-Ag is an experimental "noise rock" band based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known for melding the creaky musical worlds of 50s and 60s sci-fi films, Waitsian dissonant underworld, and fast-paced math-punk, Ho-Ag has adapted through several line-up changes, guest collaborations, experimental one-off...

, Caspian

Caspian (band)

Caspian is an instrumental post-rock band from Beverly, Massachusetts. Since 2003 Caspian have released 2 full-length albums, an EP and a split 7".-Early History 2003-2004:...

, Conversions, Daniel Striped Tiger

Daniel Striped Tiger

Daniel Striped Tiger is a post-hardcore band from Cambridge, Massachusetts consisting of Jason St. Claire , Sean Yeaton , John Bogan , and Daniel Madden . Founded in 2003, the band took its name from a character on the children's TV show Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Although Daniel Striped Tiger's...

, Portraits of Past

Portraits of Past

Portraits of Past is a post-hardcore band from the San Francisco Bay Area that existed roughly from 1994-1995. The genre of music that they helped create is often described as "screamo," though that term was not used at the time the band was active...

, Trollin Withdrawal

Trollin Withdrawal

Trollin Withdrawal were a band from Boston, Massachusetts that existed between 1992 and 1995, whose lo-fi musical style had its roots in indie rock, classic rock and hip hop music...

, and Brain Killer.

Famous alumni

Alumni from the department, referred to as ghosts, have become well known as writers, journalists, music industry executives, and musicians themselves. A few of the more notable ghosts include Patrick Amory

Patrick Amory

- Early life :Patrick Amory was born in New York City on July 10, 1965 to literary parents. His father, the late Hugh Amory, was noted as the most "rigorous" and "methodologically sophisticated" historian of the book in early America...

, journalist Kelefa Sanneh

Kelefa Sanneh

Kelefa T. Sanneh is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for the New York Times, covering the rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes...

, writer Douglas Wolk

Douglas Wolk

Douglas Wolk is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, The Nation, The New Republic, Salon.com, Pitchfork Media, and The Believer...

, blogger Peter Rojas

Peter Rojas

Peter Rojas is the co-founder of technology blogs Gizmodo and Engadget, as well as the video gaming blog Joystiq . A 2006 article in New York magazine described him as "the best-compensated blogger in history".-Education:...

, writer Zach Baron, James Barber (ex-Geffen exec; former boyfriend of Courtney Love), literary critic Stephen Burt

Stephen Burt

Stephen Burt is a literary critic, poet, and a professor who teaches at Harvard University.-Elliptical Poetry:Burt received significant attention for coining the term "elliptical poetry" in a 1998 book review of Susan Wheeler's book, Smokes, in Boston Review magazine...

, members of Fat Day

Fat Day

Fat Day is a Boston-based noisecore band. Formed in Cambridge, MA in 1992 , they were associated with bands like Swirlies, Kudgel, and Trollin Withdrawal who formed the core of the Boston chimp rock scene. Fat Day released three LPs and several EPs on their own 100% Breakfast! label, as well as an...

, Eloe Omoe, Lucky Dragons, and Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musical collaborators...

(formerly in the group Pissed Officers).