My Interview with 2012 Station Manager, Karin Carlson

I interviewed WBCR's very own 2012 Station Manager during Beloiter Days and this is how it went <3

How was Beloit College different in 2012?

Definitely the powerhouse… that’s new, and the Java joint is gone now too. Based on what I've heard from some younger-ish alumni, the character of the school has changed, like the people that come here are different now. A lot of things are still really similar though like WBCR still has that homemade feeling although it was a lot nicer when I was here. The podcast room now used to be our junk room and it wasn't decorated at all. There was just a ton of junk and CDs and old merchandise. The graffiti is still the same though.

What was your favorite and least favorite thing about Beloit College?

My favorite thing was that I was able to get involved in a lot of different projects that I probably wouldn't have been able to be involved with at bigger schools. Like WBCR, I probably wouldn't have done radio if I was at a bigger school. I think my least favorite was my major, which is more on me and I should've taken advantage of more of the classes, but I was the last of the communications majors before it switched to media studies so the program was pretty underdeveloped.

Did you ever have a radio show?

Yeah, every semester I had a show. I didn’t really have a consistent DJ name, I changed what I did each semester. I usually did shows with friends to varying degrees of success. It was kinda just about random stuff and whatever I wanted to play. I did a riot girl kind of show with a friend but he like never showed up because it was on Thursday at 10 pm. I think for a while I was doing themed shows with all these burned CDs like I did songs with a question mark in the title. You know things like that, nothing very thematically cohesive.

Were you involved with anything else on campus?

I was an RA for a year and a half and Kappa delta for a year and a half but then I dropped out. I did a German club kinda but that was like barely hanging on by a thread by the time I got there. WBCR was definitely my big thing. I was first promotions manager and then summer station manager and then I became station manager in my junior and senior years so that was my big thing.

What made you wanna do WBCR?

I was really into music in high school and the height of my high school days was the height of indie sleaze. I was really excited about music and in Wausau, Wisconsin, especially back then people didn't really know the music I knew and I was like very pretentious about it like you don't know who arcade fire is???? I can’t believe that! So I just wanted to be around like-minded people and radio always stood out to me on college pamphlets and brochures.

Have you ever done anything with radio or music after college

While I lived in Portland, Maine, I volunteered at the community radio station. I did event ticket giveaways and things of that nature. I am kind of involved with CHIRP radio down in Chicago and I had an internship at Wisconsin Public Radio in college a few times, but nothing I've gotten paid for.

If you were stranded on an island and you got one book, one movie, and one album, what would you take?

For a book, I think I'd want something really kind of long and arduous that I could come back to a bunch of different times. What came to mind was, and I don't really like this book but Infinite Jest. It's so long and complex that I feel like I could read it a bunch of different times but I wanna be on record that's not my favorite book. Maybe the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrnate. As far as movies go, I would say just something easy to watch. Something I wouldn’t have to think about so I could just enjoy it. I think Grease. I used to watch it a lot as a kid and I feel it would help relieve stress on a desert island. As far as albums go, I’m not really sure. I feel like I like a lot of indie music and WBCR was a way for me to stay more involved with music so I don't feel like I keep up with new releases as much. I would describe what I like as “weird girl” music.