By Robert Gillis

Since Tuesday, I have been listening to 107.3 WAAF most of this week as the DJs past and present say good-bye and share memories.

Tuesday the announcement came down that the station is off the air as of tonight, sold. New format starts tomorrow.

Yeah, there’s satellite — but the end of another longstanding terrestrial statios like WAAF is a loss to Boston and another list of casualties of independent station like WCOZ, WFNX, WBCN, etc. Not many left besides WZLX and WHJY.

Radio stations and formats come and go in a flash in every market, but some have longevity and develop and incredible following, and more importantly play the sounds other stations won’t, and introduce the audience to new music and bands. And the DJs are crazy fun. Mistress Carrie is so damned COOL. And I remember Opie and Anthony OFTEN crossed the line by miles but man they were funny and other afternoon shows were like, “How does the FCC allow that?”

WAAF has been in Boston for 50 years and the latest victim of the homogenization and standardization of terrestrial radio. It was probably inevitable. But it’s a shame. You can listen on iheart to stations in cities across America and they all sound the same.

WAAF signs off at midnight tonight; “AAF” always felt like a guilty pleasure, with a more adult format and often raunchy “don’t listen with your kids in the car” DJs but always fun. They’d played Motley or ACDC and I crank the volume.

Thanks to all at WAAF for the memories, laughs and music that you can’t believe *I* listen to sometimes