Kansas City Radio is a Wasteland, Part 12

[featherynscale]

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.

Comments

[rfunk.livejournal.com]

I'm scared of the satellite merger. A duopoly is bad enough, but I really don't think the world needs another media monopoly. Some sort of technology share/merge would be be nice, so there could be true competition between them.

Sounds like the household needs to come up with mix CDs that everyone can agree on.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I'd prefer that there be competition, too. I'm just being practical about it -- if there's going to be a merger, I'm not going to buy a service before that goes through, only to find that in the new world, I'd need to buy a new reciever, or something.

[chainwoman.livejournal.com]

Interesting that you think this guy is edgy. I feel like I'm listening to fucking cuddle. Granted it's due to the tone of Dick Dale's voice and his co-host. Irregardless, write the station. I sure in the hell did. When it comes to my morning music I want to jam all the way to work and forget where I am headed or I want to laugh my ass off so I can also forget where I am headed. And I miss f-u fridays.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I don't think he's edgy. I think he represents the station trying to be edgy and failing in a profound and miserable way.

I do think he's irritating, though, which is not the same thing.

And seriously, no more F-U Fridays? I liked F-U Fridays. (That was about the only bit of schtick from the previous administration over there that I liked, but I did like them.)

radio wasteland

[rio-luna.livejournal.com]

aaron has his aalrm tuned to KBCO, mwhich is the adult contemp/alternatiev what the hell ever.

so some mornings we hear Beck and Tori Amos and that's lovely. And some mornigns we hear Dire Straits and Annie Lennox and Van Morrison and that's okay. But some mornings we hear pablum puked up by people who cannot RAWK. and we always hear the damn music quiz whihc is just stupid. did you know that Donna Jean Godchaux, drunken back-up screecher from the Dead, sang DooWops with Elvis? I did, but that doesn't mean I actually CARE. And at 7:06am I care even less.

are the college stations any good??

Re: radio wasteland

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

The college station is NPR, I think. All talk and some classical music. We totally lack anything like the college/community rock station. This blows, because those are always the best and most interesting.

[chayam.livejournal.com]

I loved the MyList mornings. They made driving to work almost a pleasure.

I've tried listening to the new morning show twice now. I don't like it, but then, I hate morning shows pretty passionately. I don't understand the point of them at all and have yet to hear a good one.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Those were the best thing they ever had on that station, hands down. I mean, I like 90s at Noon (I almost typed Welcome to the 90s, which was the program I listened to late late at night when I was in high school in Florida -- same music, but coming at it from the other side), and I like the occasional "We're going to play a bunch of crap that we never play" weekends, but the MyList mornings were consistently good. Every once in a while, you'd get somebody just being a jackass on the radio, but you get that any time anybody calls in, right?

[lexpendragon.livejournal.com]

I agree whole heartedly. The new guy is pretty idiotic, and the MyList, while it was 90% stuff that was popular back in the 90s to the alternative crowd, it was that same 90% that rarely got played, and was what I listened to, so I enjoyed it immensely.

I'm not sure how many more weeks I could have listened to the Pixies' "Where is my mind" every morning, but it was definitely a few more.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I think I could probably listen to the Pixies every morning for quite some time, actually.

[lexpendragon.livejournal.com]

A hell of a lot longer than the current guy, that's for sure.

[brandy22kc.livejournal.com]

I think since lazo went to seattle they station has gone downhill and really sux much now they used to have really great music till he left mind you i didn't really like him but it was nice to have great music and the new moring show YUK i've been boycotting the station and using cd's for my long morning drive

[crookedface.livejournal.com]

The quest for Radion That Doesn't Suck is eternal. When it happens, it happens only temporarily. Lazer in Lawrence didn't suck for bit, was sold, and then turned into a Top 40/adult contemporary sucking hole.

The college station in Lawrence wasn't too bad, though I've no idea if it's webcasting.

The last truly good alternative programming I heard was at college--when I was the Alternative Director. I had some DJs who understood that "alternative" wasn't a commercial niche provided by music labels, that it involved picking good tunes from stylists of every sort. It helped to have a couple of guys who spent hours each weekend traveling to music stores and live shows to find good stuff for us; my major accomplishment involved encouraging them, I think, by pointing out that I wanted a nice eclectic mix of tunes our listeners couldn't get anywhere else--and getting people hooked on new bands.

That began me on the road to Fogeydom, though. Too many hours of listening to all the new stuff that arrived at the station's door, and too many hours listening to new releases at music stores. So much new stuff and so little good new stuff! Still, I'm probably one of very few folk who can sing along to some bands that never released more than an EP....