Let's face it: Radio in Las Vegas blows. Our sea of commercial, corporate radio isn't even broken up by a decent college station, despite the presence of a large university in the middle of town. We've got one community station (Power 88, KCEP 88.1 FM) that's great if you like hip-hop and R&B, but most other genres are represented only by the most mainstream of playlists.
Except, that is, on Sunday nights, when no one is listening, and consequently, stations don't mind playing music that hasn't been focus-group-tested to death. Here, then, is a guide to the highlights of Sunday night radio, some shows locally produced, others syndicated. (And yes, we know you can hear Jeff Foxworthy count down the week's top country songs on KWNR, and we'd prefer to forget about it.)
Cool Bobby B's Doo-Wop Stop
8 p.m.-midnight, KQOL 93.1-FM
Nationally-syndicated show featuring lesser-known doo-wop of the '50s and '60s. Cool Bobby B himself will host a doo-wop convention in Vegas this summer.
The Homegrown Show
10 p.m.-midnight, KOMP 92.3-FM
Laurie Steele has been hosting the only radio show devoted solely to local Las Vegas music for more than five years now. Regularly featuring in-studio guests and the best variety of local talent.
It Hurts When I Pee
10 p.m.-midnight, KXTE 107.5-FM
Homie and Hambone host what is billed as a "new music show," but is actually a free-form program with new music from typical X-treme Radio artists, underground and unsigned bands, local music, and whatever odd stuff the always amusing pair happen to dig up.
Little Steven's Underground Garage
10 p.m.-midnight, KKLZ 96.3-FM
E Street Band guitarist and Sopranos star Steven van Zandt spins contemporary garage rock; old-school, Nuggets-style garage; and plenty of Beatles. One recent show featured nothing but different versions of "Louie, Louie."
The Lyons Den
10 p.m-2 a.m., KUNV 91.5-FM
Perhaps the only true rock 'n' roll show left on the one-time bastion of college rock. Featuring George Lyons of the Las Vegas Jam Band Society and lots of long jams, plus a healthy helping of classic and modern rock.
Strictly Dusty's '80s
7 p.m.-midnight, KSTJ 102.7-FM
For people who actually love the '80s, and not just what shows up on VH1. Street, who DJ'd at LA's influential KROQ in the early days of alternative rock, plays exactly what she played back then: from Sigue Sigue Sputnik to The Police, with none of the cheesy hits you hear on the station during the day.