ALT UNIVERSE TOP 40

We are thrilled that The SWLing Post has published a short feature on our show, announcing our addition to the WRMI schedule!  THANK YOU TROY REIDEL for making the announcement on such an esteemed website!  This is what they said:

New Program: ALT UNIVERSE TOP 40

Written and produced by Indie Rock veteran John McMullan of The Trend, Alt Universe Top 40 is a genre-hopping weekly radio countdown that combines real-life chart achievements with “good-hearted adjustments that time and taste demand.”

With each hour-long show, the listener learns a few tidbits about familiar songs, and is gently introduced to music that SHOULD be familiar. In John’s world, The Beatles are still the “toppermost of the poppermost,” but, not far behind the Fab Four are deserving underground rock acts such as Good Question, Fools Face, and a number of other bands that turned in amazing records that were not exactly commercially successful.

Each show begins with a song that, at some point, was perched at number forty on one of the three major American charts, or in England or Australia. As the countdown continues, the musical selections include a song that should have made the Top 20, but did not; a single that charted at #11 in real life; a “should have been” Top 10; a Number 9, number 9, number 9…; something that is “modern and great” and should have reached number 8; a Little Slice of Heaven at Number 7; and the rest of the countdown filled out with bonus hits, a 3 from “Way Downtown,” and a Hall of Perfection Track.

Having designed the program specifically for Shortwave, McMullan draws inspiration from a variety of sources. He composed the opening fanfare and vocal jingles throughout the show by changing the lyrics to the chorus of the Trend classic he wrote in 1982, “Mama Thought You Were a Nice Girl.” The stories are usually trivia for chart nerds, but, with his music days never too far from his mind, McMullan throws in personal memories from time to time. There are AM hits, FM album hits, and jazz & blues selections that are only heard these days on public radio. Give Alt Universe Top 40 a listen, and you will certainly, as he says each week, “Keep on smiling through the static!”

You can hear Alt Universe Top 40 Saturdays at 10 pm Eastern Time (currently 0200 UTC Sunday) on 9455 kHz, and Sundays at 9 pm Eastern Time (currently 0100 UTC Monday) on 9395 kHz.

We are absolutely THRILLED to now be broadcast to North America through the transmitters of WRMI, Radio Miami International!  Every Saturday night at 10:00p.m. Eastern/9:00p.m. Central, be sure to listen for us on 9455 kHz if you are anywhere in North America!  On Sunday nights, we will be broadcast on 9395 kHz at 9:00p.m. Eastern/8:00p.m. Central!  And, our times for Channel 292 to Europe are still the same!  11:00 UTC on Saturdays (simulcast on 6070 kHz and 7440 kHz) with a repeat the following Tuesday at 10:00 UTC on 6070 kHz!  Keep making those good-hearted adjustments that time and taste demand, and KEEP ON SMILING THROUGH THE STATIC!!!

A couple of weeks ago, my incredibly talented daughter Marie took the show over, and, according to all the feedback I have received, basically made it her own!  One very loyal listener sent us the message, "MORE MARIE AND LESS JOHN T.!"  Others were less direct, but the message was certainly received on this end!  After checking reception reports and Mixcloud statistics, it appears that Marie's show was heard by an audience of approximately FIVE TIMES our normal group!!  I am happy to report that she will sit in for me from time to time, whenever she can!  We intend to share the duties from here, and while I will still be doing most of the shows, you will never be TOO far away from another amazing guest hosting stint by MARIE!!!  Cheers,  JTMc

Here is some exciting news!  On March 18, 2020, Shortwave Radio Station CHANNEL 292 will run back to back episodes of ALT UNIVERSE TOP 40 for 12 non-stop hours on their 6070 kHz frequency!  That's right!  TWELVE shows in a row!  So, if you need to catch up on one you have missed, be sure to tune in!  Stay tuned for more information about this MARATHON!!

Based upon the craziness of my schedule these past couple of weeks, tomorrow's show will be a repeat of the September 21, 2019 show.  We will be back with an all-new episode (EPISODE 40, if you can believe that) NEXT Saturday!  Thank you for listening, and keep on smiling through the static!!

Be sure to check out our Mixcloud profile (which can be accessed on our "LINKS" page) for our new feature:  OVER-THE-AIR 

AIRCHECKS!  Whenever the reception is moderate to good, we will post as many airchecks of the show as we can.  We only 

began doing so after we discovered that Mixcloud's "Digital Identifier" could track most musical selections even through

some shortwave static.  Now that the rights holders will be compensated properly through Mixcloud, we will continue to

post airchecks for the shortwave purists out there!

Here is an update to our schedule for the remainder of 2019.  Tomorrow's broadcast on 7440 kHz will be a repeat of Episode 19 from July 15.  Our next new episode will be December 7.  Thanks for listening, and keep on smiling through the static!!

November 23: Repeat of Episode 19

November 30: Repeat of Episode 7

December 07: Episode 35 (new)

December 14: Episode 36 (new Christmas show)

December 21: Repeat of Christmas show

December 28: Episode 37 (new End of Year show)

Here is the Alt Universe Top 40 broadcast schedule for the rest of 2019 on 7440 kHz Shortwave:

November 09: Episode 34 (new)

November 16: Repeat of Episode 11

November 23: Episode 35 (new)

November 30: Repeat of Episode 7

December 07: Repeat of Episode 20

December 14: Episode 36 (new Christmas show)

December 21: Repeat of Christmas show

December 28: Episode 37 (new End of Year show)

Thanks, everyone, for listening! It has been a blast doing these shows!

Well, for those of you who haven't seen the photos on Facebook, I broke my left elbow playing tennis several weeks ago.  While I am extremely lucky that my injuries weren't worse, I am having trouble with everything that involves the use of my left hand and fingers.  Using the computer is terribly slow for me, and the act of hosting the show has been impossible until now.  While I may not be perfect on the board yet, I am broadcasting an all new show this Saturday, September 7, 2019 at 11UTC!  As I say every week, I have to keep on smiling through the static!   Cheers,  JTMc 

Since all the shortwave broadcasts are in mono, each Mixcloud version of each show also is posted with a mono version!