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Post by Phil on Jun 4, 2005 20:01:24 GMT -5
First it was Music Radio WABC going all talk. Then it was WNEW-FM dropping the classic rock. Now the music is dead once again as Harry Harrison, Cousin Brucie, Bob Shannon, Bill Brown, Mickey Dolenz all find themselves jobless. WCBS-FM dropped the oldies format Friday at 5PM. Mickey Dolenz celebrated his 100th show at BB Kings in the morning and in the afternoon he was on the unemployment line. Now NYC one of the biggest radio markets around doesn't have an outlet for oldies or country. I don't like every type of music but people need a free outlet to hear them. Goodbye CBS-FM I will miss you.
I don't totally dislike the new format but I listen to radio for personalities as well. "JACK" 101.1 it 100% automated. Radios need that human touch!!
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Post by damnyankeefan7 on Jun 4, 2005 20:21:16 GMT -5
The longtime all oldies (as in 50s and 60s) FM station here in Portland recently folded too, replaced by an outfit that "plays everything", with something like a 1500 song playlist (from what I read, a growing trend in the FM market).....a Lynard Skynard tune is as likely to be followed by a Madonna or Manilow tune, as it is, say, a Who or Doobies song. I hate it.
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Post by Phil on Jun 4, 2005 20:27:16 GMT -5
Thats what it seems like to me. Do it use live DJs? Do you have an Oldies outlet?
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Post by damnyankeefan7 on Jun 4, 2005 21:15:17 GMT -5
No live DJs, and the oldies station moved to AM side of the dial.
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Post by DavidL on Jun 5, 2005 8:49:19 GMT -5
It's happening all over. Recently, WHFS, an old-time alternate (pre-grunge alt. - they were doing it in the 70's) went Latino, all of a sudden. Very distressing. And it was several years ago that the last jazz station went oldies. I like oldies, but there were already 2 or 3 at the time, and now there's no real jazz (e.g., Stanley Clarke and Miles Davis, not Kenny G) on the radio in the DC area.
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Post by damnyankeefan7 on Jun 5, 2005 16:03:24 GMT -5
Yeah David, wasn't it about a decade ago when jazz made some fairly significant inroads on FM, and now, not much.
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Post by Knuckles on Jun 6, 2005 15:11:18 GMT -5
As one who definitely does not have his fingers on the pulse of the nation, I think the days of one (or two, three) stations in a market being the face of a kind of music are gone. And don't expect the trend to stop simply because virtually everyone you speak to is unhappy about it.
As an example, I do not know anyone who has been happy about the ear-splitting soundtracks that deny baseball game attendees the privilege of decent mellow conversation during a game, but the trend has legs that refuse to fold.
We have been getting a kick out of some XM Radio stations lately. Very enjoyable stuff (aside from mlb), but oldies New York (or progressive, or hip-hop, or folk, or pop, etc.) will not all be grooving to the same tunes at the same time ever again it seems. But if you don't want a 5,000 song playlist that is most defined by its having no definition at all, you could do worse than XM.
JMO.
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Post by Metsie69 on Jun 6, 2005 17:09:52 GMT -5
I am too part of the XM nation, I do like the variety and the depth of their stations. As a matter of fact I found out about cbs on 60s on 6
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Post by Hobbes on Jun 6, 2005 20:07:31 GMT -5
Phil, I'm mourning this loss as well! Although I stopped being an avid listener as soon as "The Morning Mayor" retired but all these guys were a significant part of my childhood. I used to get ready for high school listening to Harry Harrison along with Phil Pepe with sports and Mr. G with the weather. I loved these personalities and although I love oldies it were these distinct personalities that made WCBS one of a kind. These guys were all class! R.I.P WCBS! HIT THE ROAD "JACK" format!
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Post by BernzAMatic on Jun 7, 2005 14:25:46 GMT -5
It's almost as if free radio were WANTING us to go to XM or SIRIUS? I listened in my younger days but have been out of broadcast range for 2 decades now, but the same thing is happening in the Philly market.
Sad Sad indeed! BernzAMatic
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EddieG
Season Ticket Holder
Posts: 7
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Post by EddieG on Jun 7, 2005 18:13:28 GMT -5
Luckily, here in Ohio, we still have alot of oldies and classic rock stations to choose from. Of the 10 stations programmed in my car, 4 are oldies, 3 are classic rock, 1 is country and 2 are top 40 (if they're still called that). I rarely listen to the top 40 because there's just too much rap for my liking.
I feel your pain. There was a station I listened to as a kid out of Canada that I dearly miss since they changed formats years ago. It's like losing a best friend.
EddieG
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Post by yankeefan on Jun 7, 2005 18:43:21 GMT -5
As a 'classic rock' lover I almost went into shock when WNEW FM 'died'. I followed Scott Muni to Q104 and have there even after Scottso's demise.
If you don't dig rap, top 40 or top 20 bites.
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Post by MsSojo on Jun 10, 2005 10:51:38 GMT -5
As someone who stopped listening to radio other than college stations when PIX 101 went under in 1980, but also as someone who grew up with Cousin Brucie, Harry Harrison, etc, I feel your pain. It's time to get iPods, kids, and program the music you want. I got mine for Christmas and now my favorite songs follow me everywhere. I don't even mind being stuck in rushhour traffic! You can buy some nifty software for converting those old vinyl records into MP3 files.
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Post by Phil on Jun 12, 2005 17:04:07 GMT -5
Ohhhhhhh, PIX-FM!!!!! What a great station!!! Dr. Jerry then Jim Kerr in the AM, Alan Colmes playing r n r. Frank Zappa a guest DJ. Paul McCartney declared it the best RnR sation in NY.
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Post by DavidL on Jun 12, 2005 23:51:58 GMT -5
But that means breaking out the turntable and hooking it up to the computer. CD's made from the original master tapes sound better, anyway.
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Post by MsSojo on Jun 13, 2005 9:06:55 GMT -5
Yes, DL, but many oldies are not on CD. For instance, try finding a CD of Dave Clark 5's greatest hits. Also, a lot of the indie stuff I listen to never made it to CD.
Phil, Squeeze also immotalized them on their Argy Bargy LP with the lines "PIX and rock and roll." Don't forget Meg Griffin and Joe from Chicago, the husband-wife duo who programmed PIX. Man, I LOVED that station!
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Post by DavidL on Jun 13, 2005 9:55:30 GMT -5
That's why there's BitTorrent, Sojo. ;D Although much of what I've gotten is concert bootlegs, like a Hendrix show from Gothenburg, Sweden, 1970.
There are a few things that I can't get on CD, and as they mount, the hassle of setting up the turntable in the computer room does seem more worthwhile.
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Post by Phil on Jun 13, 2005 11:12:16 GMT -5
try finding a CD of Dave Clark 5's greatest hits. Thats because Dave Clark is on a ego trip and asking more than Beatles/Stones type money for his stuff. Beware of the stuff thats out there the quality is second rate, most Japan where the copyright is over. A lot of those CD are analog recording transfered to CD. I thought we'd see the DC5 stuff come out in "Bits and Pieces" (did I say that or did Lefteroo just take over my mind?)
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Post by SueT on Jun 17, 2005 8:05:39 GMT -5
I'm mourning also. I have to say, even though my nephew works at the local Apple store, I can't afford an I-Pod. Phil, you reminded me of Jim Kerr in the morning. I used to wake up to him religiously while I lived in Manhattan. Up here in CT, the only oldies station is out of Hartford and I can't always get reception. Speaking of radio stations, we have a local Danbury AM station that carries the Yanks and the signal is so weak that at night, in the car, if I drive 7 or 8 miles north, the signal fades!!! Sometimes I can get WCBS AM and not the Danbury station!!!
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Post by yankeefan on Jun 17, 2005 8:25:46 GMT -5
Jim Kerr does the morning show on Q104.3 in New York. It is 'Classic' Rock as opposed to 'Oldies'.
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