Kansas City Radio is a Wasteland, Part 12

It's a familiar complaint, I know. And yet, I am still full of hate. This morning I tuned into the 'alternative' station in town, KRBZ, to discover that they have a new morning show. For the past month or so, they've been running lists of ten favorite songs from their listeners, and often letting the listener who chose the songs DJ the set. I liked that approach, and certainly the listener base had a more interesting and developed taste for music than the station programmers, so it meant we got something new and different on the radio for a while. (Yes, I know that the music played on the radio is not what the programmers like, but what they're urged to play by marketing reports.)

Anyway, some time over the last week or so, they've changed format back to the 'obnoxious bigoted morning guy show with little music'. I hate this. I understand that they're trying to appear more edgy, and I support alternative stations becoming more edgy. But when you come right down to it, the rude morning DJ was edgy at the beginning of Howard Stern's reign, and somehow, I'd like to think that the definition of edge has changed just a little bit since then. (I mean, this guy is making fun of retarded kids this morning. That's not edgy, it's facile. Anyway.)

I'd also like to think that a station pursuing more edge might first look at its playlist. A quick analysis of the playlist in question would probably reveal that 3/5 of its population are songs by Coldplay, John Mayer, Snow Patrol, and other artists better suited to an adult contemporary station than 'The Alternative'. In fact, the stuff on this station only qualifies as 'alternative' because it is, in fact, different than what the other stations in town are playing, which is Motley Crue. All Motley Crue, all the time. With some Great White on the side, and Metallica at 9 p.m., by God. (Not that I mind being stuck in the 80s every now and again, but it's a profoundly different 80s that I would prefer to be stuck in.)

Blech. Another day older, another day closer to an XM subscription. Effing merge already, satellite giants. (Of course, I could opt to listen to CDs. That can happen. Of course, then, nobody in my household will want to ride with me anymore. As bad as the radio is, it does at least offer us some common ground. Left to my own devices, I apparently play things that kittenpants and triadruid can't stand.)

EDIT: And in my day, we thought of new stuff. All you kids, get off my lawn.

Kansas City Radio is a Wasteland, Part 12

It's a familiar complaint, I know. And yet, I am still full of hate. This morning I tuned into the 'alternative' station in town, KRBZ, to discover that they have a new morning show. For the past month or so, they've been running lists of ten favorite songs from their listeners, and often letting the listener who chose the songs DJ the set. I liked that approach, and certainly the listener base had a more interesting and developed taste for music than the station programmers, so it meant we got something new and different on the radio for a while. (Yes, I know that the music played on the radio is not what the programmers like, but what they're urged to play by marketing reports.)

Anyway, some time over the last week or so, they've changed format back to the 'obnoxious bigoted morning guy show with little music'. I hate this. I understand that they're trying to appear more edgy, and I support alternative stations becoming more edgy. But when you come right down to it, the rude morning DJ was edgy at the beginning of Howard Stern's reign, and somehow, I'd like to think that the definition of edge has changed just a little bit since then. (I mean, this guy is making fun of retarded kids this morning. That's not edgy, it's facile. Anyway.)

I'd also like to think that a station pursuing more edge might first look at its playlist. A quick analysis of the playlist in question would probably reveal that 3/5 of its population are songs by Coldplay, John Mayer, Snow Patrol, and other artists better suited to an adult contemporary station than 'The Alternative'. In fact, the stuff on this station only qualifies as 'alternative' because it is, in fact, different than what the other stations in town are playing, which is Motley Crue. All Motley Crue, all the time. With some Great White on the side, and Metallica at 9 p.m., by God. (Not that I mind being stuck in the 80s every now and again, but it's a profoundly different 80s that I would prefer to be stuck in.)

Blech. Another day older, another day closer to an XM subscription. Effing merge already, satellite giants. (Of course, I could opt to listen to CDs. That can happen. Of course, then, nobody in my household will want to ride with me anymore. As bad as the radio is, it does at least offer us some common ground. Left to my own devices, I apparently play things that kittenpants and triadruid can't stand.)

EDIT: And in my day, we thought of new stuff. All you kids, get off my lawn.

Why not just turn it off? (Taking it to the VURD)

I could, of course, just turn the radio off. The downside to abstaining, though, is that I would lose what little exposure to new music it grants me. I have a reasonably large and diverse music collection now, and I think I could listen to only what I currently have for a very long time without getting completely bored with it. BUT: failing to incorporate new bands into the realm of things you like is a sure cause/indicator of old fogeyhood, and I am not interested in going there, particularly.

I have Pandora, which is somewhat helpful. I have had last.fm recommended to me (I'm not using it because it's not compatible with the music player I prefer to use at home, and because it's a download, which is sort of crass at the office). I have at least 101 flavors of internet radio (which is not as bad as local radio by a long shot). And, of course, I have you guys, and many of you are much better connected to music than I am. (sepiachord, for example, is rapidly ascending to the personal lord and saviour category.)

So tell me, Vast Unpaid Research Department, what are you listening to that's worth listening to? What other resources are you using to bring new music to your ears? Who's your favorite band these days?

Why not just turn it off? (Taking it to the VURD)

I could, of course, just turn the radio off. The downside to abstaining, though, is that I would lose what little exposure to new music it grants me. I have a reasonably large and diverse music collection now, and I think I could listen to only what I currently have for a very long time without getting completely bored with it. BUT: failing to incorporate new bands into the realm of things you like is a sure cause/indicator of old fogeyhood, and I am not interested in going there, particularly.

I have Pandora, which is somewhat helpful. I have had last.fm recommended to me (I'm not using it because it's not compatible with the music player I prefer to use at home, and because it's a download, which is sort of crass at the office). I have at least 101 flavors of internet radio (which is not as bad as local radio by a long shot). And, of course, I have you guys, and many of you are much better connected to music than I am. (sepiachord, for example, is rapidly ascending to the personal lord and saviour category.)

So tell me, Vast Unpaid Research Department, what are you listening to that's worth listening to? What other resources are you using to bring new music to your ears? Who's your favorite band these days?

I haff plan. Ees gut plan becosse I get to keep mein hatt.

Everyone is, by cosmic law, entitled to a midlife crisis. I'm not going to have mine all at once, though. I am going to parcel it out, and have it for four days every year for the rest of my life. At Dragon*Con.

Also, GIP.

I haff plan. Ees gut plan becosse I get to keep mein hatt.

Everyone is, by cosmic law, entitled to a midlife crisis. I'm not going to have mine all at once, though. I am going to parcel it out, and have it for four days every year for the rest of my life. At Dragon*Con.

Also, GIP.