John Cusack, Jason Reitman, more guest DJ for KCRW

Ahhh, radio. There once was a time when you informed us, made us smarter and introduced us to new music. However, times change, leaves fall and once-great mediums devolve into vapid versions of their former selves, dominated by crappy '90s alternative rock stations and yelly AM blowhards like Neil Boortz and Michael Savage.

But amid the tedious inanity of radio there are those stations that solider on, bringing us quality programming at the low-low price of $0. We're talking about, of course, public radio stations like Santa Monica, Calif.'s KCRW. Famous for shows like Good Food and the impeccable Morning Becomes Eclectic, KCRW is easily one of the most ambitious stations in the country. Case in point: KCRW's newest addition, the Guest DJ Project.

In 10-minute segments, KCRW DJs interview a variety of actors, writers, directors and other people richer and prettier than all of us about the music that inspires them. Already, celebrities like Conan O'Brien, John Cusack, Saffron Burrows and Jason Reitman have waxed poetic about The Clash, Steve Winwood, The Beatles and Ray Davies, amongst others. The feature is available on the station's online music channel, and shorter versions of the interviews will appear on your radio dial sometime in the near future. Future guests include Digg Founder Kevin Rose, actor Danny Devito, comic artist Tim Sale and actor Jason Schwartzman, with more on their way.

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