Much like the station it comes from, THE BEST OF LCD: THE ART AND WRITING OF WFMU is hard to categorize. For those unfamiliar with WFMU, it’s the only freeform radio station of the nation, completely listener-supported. Edited by Dave the Spazz, this is a collection of the cream of the crop from its former on-air schedule/zine LCD, which stood for “Lowest Common Denominator.”

To say this book is cover-to-cover packed is an understatement, starting with the foreword by director Jim Jarmusch, who claims to leave the station on even when not at home. There are a plethora of comic strips that were exclusive to the zine, be it a jab at folkie Phil Ochs, or the aptly tilted “Hanging with the Low Life Scum,” which pokes fun at some of the people you would find at a record fair.

Following the foreword are two pieces by station manger Ken Freedman: an introduction describing how artists were drawn to the station and how WFMU was more like a companion to these folks, and then a brief history of freeform radio. From there, the book moves into the meat of the matter: written pieces that were well ahead of their time, especially now with blogs dedicated to some of these subjects.

The pieces are not just music-centric. There is plenty of humor thrown in – namely, four pieces by Andy Breckman, a former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE writer and creator of the show MONK, who has fun deflating his own career with such topics as using his real phone number for a sign in a Richard Pryor movie and the strange people who called it, and how he was hired to write for a certain talking-horse flick, only to have all his work thrown out.

He also has a piece of about some pitch meetings that went horribly wrong, but Breckman’s article about opening for Don McLean is one of the funniest things you’ll ever read. It’s a total character assassination, portraying the “American Pie” singer as some bizarre megalomaniac, and it’s followed by a rebuttal by McLean himself that still shows him in a bad light.

But that’s just a drop in the bucket; where else can you get a detailed history of Coyle & Sharpe, who would influence the likes of David Letterman and even – sadly – The Jerky Boys? Other highlights include an interesting interview with Gumby creator Art Clokey and an informative overview of all things “nautical exotica.” Throughout the book, there are articles of long-ago DJs covering such folks as The Mad Daddy, and plenty of other essays that will take up your time, including why reading is antisocial.

But the articles pale in the wealth of artwork throughout the book. The list of artists in the book is a who’s who of the alternative comics scene, from Peter Bagge to Chris Ware. One color insert section shows the covers they’ve used over the years, while another reprints the “Crackpots and Visionaries” playing card collection that included the likes of Willam Randolph Hearst, Raymond Scott, Rasputin and John Waters, to name a few. Similarly, some of the T-shirt designs and bumper stickers sent to listeners over the years are there, too.

Longtime fans of WFMU will now be able to scrap those moldy copies of LCD and have the best of the best in one handy volume. Even those not familiar with the station will get much enjoyment out of this read. It’s an amazing collection for your coffee table and terrific bathroom reading. –Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.