Nothing on T.V

skymike · 06-23-2011, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by saintfan

... When I was a kid you had the radio, and playlists were varied and usually the jocks had some discretion. They would actually flip the 45 over and see what was on the "B" side, and sometimes the "B" side was good. That doesn't happen anymore. Playlists are tight and jocks are drones with deep voices. Music 'consultants' that couldn't tell you the difference between a minor chord and an umbilical cord are in charge. ...

Are you in radio, SF? You know EXACTLY what is going on, just probably not to what extent.

Playlist? There's no playlist. There's a computer. The songs are programmed in, and your option is to push the button and play the next song on the screen. Then you read what the card says. Usually something about how many minutes of music you play, and how you
play more music and fewer talk and commercials, and say a bunch of crap
nobody cares about. Then you read the sponsor. That is all you do! God forbid you say something interesting or even funny.

Then you go back to surfing the net, because you're bored out of your mind. almost as bored as your listeners. They're either too poor for satellite or IPOD, or they're stuck at work with nothing but a radio. Dont say anything interesting. Dont play anything outside the "list." (and its a short one.)

You also nailed it on consultants. The thing that is killing FM radio is consultants. You're hiring accountants to creat ART. I cant balance
a checkbook. You shouldnt try to program radio. And that is the death
of radio. Most kids now dont even know what its supposed to sound like. Radio is the new vaudeville.

There are "aircheck" sites on the net, where you can listen, just to get a feel of what it used to be. Think of Good Morning Vietnam, when it pans around to bytes of Cronauer intro-ing songs, etc. You can even find airchecks of me online, which is kinda eerie, because I didnt record them. I dont know who did, or why.

HEY STRATO, dammit, I want to go to your gig, but I have a gig of my own friday night.

saintfan · 06-23-2011, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by skymike

Are you in radio, SF? You know EXACTLY what is going on, just probably not to what extent.

Playlist? There's no playlist. There's a computer. The songs are programmed in, and your option is to push the button and play the next song on the screen. Then you read what the card says. Usually something about how many minutes of music you play, and how you
play more music and fewer talk and commercials, and say a bunch of crap
nobody cares about. Then you read the sponsor. That is all you do! God forbid you say something interesting or even funny.

Then you go back to surfing the net, because you're bored out of your mind. almost as bored as your listeners. They're either too poor for satellite or IPOD, or they're stuck at work with nothing but a radio. Dont say anything interesting. Dont play anything outside the "list." (and its a short one.)

You also nailed it on consultants. The thing that is killing FM radio is consultants. You're hiring accountants to creat ART. I cant balance
a checkbook. You shouldnt try to program radio. And that is the death
of radio. Most kids now dont even know what its supposed to sound like. Radio is the new vaudeville.

There are "aircheck" sites on the net, where you can listen, just to get a feel of what it used to be. Think of Good Morning Vietnam, when it pans around to bytes of Cronauer intro-ing songs, etc. You can even find airchecks of me online, which is kinda eerie, because I didnt record them. I dont know who did, or why.

HEY STRATO, dammit, I want to go to your gig, but I have a gig of my own friday night.

You remember Mike - I work for the enemy. I was on the air for 12 years before I took a job with Scott Studios in 1999. I was there through Dave's time (and when he bought the Maestro system), then dMarc, then Google, up to now.

You know, computers and automation systems empowered PD's and station managers to restrict the jock's freedom, but all those abilities came via requests. They weren't there by default. It's sad. PD's have always wanted to control that 'crazy overnight guy' that plays all the "B" sides. Computer's made that possible...

As for consultants, I can't tell you how frustrated I became at 'music' consultants while I was on the air. I knew the music. I made it a point to know all their was to know about the music I was playing and the people that were making it, and I knew what turned people on because I hung out at the clubs and talked to them. The dirty consultants have no clue. They'll play 8 seconds of a chorus for a random test audience and base value on that. Bull****.

Ultimately I became a 'time and temp' jock, and not by my own volition mind you. I could voice track 12 hours of programming between one country and one rock station inside 20 minutes. It was mind numbing and honestly took any enjoyment I got from being on the air completely away. I stopped listening to the music with a critical ear because the automation system and the computer network allowed the station to can half the employees and left me with twice the work load.

I still hold out hope for radio, and I'm starting to get back into digging music again. I'm finding there are a lot of talented artists around, but things are SO segmented now they just aren't getting played on radio. I'm finding them on iTunes and YouTube of all places.

You know, in the old days (aka the 70's), great music just fell in your lap. It was on the radio AND on the TV. These days, truly good music, recorded by real artists, and I mean honest to God musical artists, does exist. Mainstream media isn't interested in art tho. It's all about selling - well hell, I guess it has always been about selling really, but the selling itself has become an art form now, and that gets in the way of the music.

But it's out there my friend. It appears on the radio from time to time, it's just that it's mixed in with all that mind numbing crap that has no heart, no soul, and no emotion.

Still, think about it. Take Alan Jackson as a random example. Some of his stuff is as cookie cutter as anything could possibly be, but if you dig deep on his CD's you WILL find quality. Look for it brother, and help your kids dig for it too. That way they won't get caught up in all the GagaCyrusSpears mierda.

06-23-2011, 07:44 AM	#1
skymike E. Side Cholo Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Barrio, H-town Posts: 6,089	Originally Posted by saintfan ... When I was a kid you had the radio, and playlists were varied and usually the jocks had some discretion. They would actually flip the 45 over and see what was on the "B" side, and sometimes the "B" side was good. That doesn't happen anymore. Playlists are tight and jocks are drones with deep voices. Music 'consultants' that couldn't tell you the difference between a minor chord and an umbilical cord are in charge. ... Are you in radio, SF? You know EXACTLY what is going on, just probably not to what extent. Playlist? There's no playlist. There's a computer. The songs are programmed in, and your option is to push the button and play the next song on the screen. Then you read what the card says. Usually something about how many minutes of music you play, and how you play more music and fewer talk and commercials, and say a bunch of crap nobody cares about. Then you read the sponsor. That is all you do! God forbid you say something interesting or even funny. Then you go back to surfing the net, because you're bored out of your mind. almost as bored as your listeners. They're either too poor for satellite or IPOD, or they're stuck at work with nothing but a radio. Dont say anything interesting. Dont play anything outside the "list." (and its a short one.) You also nailed it on consultants. The thing that is killing FM radio is consultants. You're hiring accountants to creat ART. I cant balance a checkbook. You shouldnt try to program radio. And that is the death of radio. Most kids now dont even know what its supposed to sound like. Radio is the new vaudeville. There are "aircheck" sites on the net, where you can listen, just to get a feel of what it used to be. Think of Good Morning Vietnam, when it pans around to bytes of Cronauer intro-ing songs, etc. You can even find airchecks of me online, which is kinda eerie, because I didnt record them. I dont know who did, or why. HEY STRATO, dammit, I want to go to your gig, but I have a gig of my own friday night.

06-23-2011, 01:09 PM	#2
saintfan Donated Plasma Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 18,556 Blog Entries: 5	Originally Posted by skymike Are you in radio, SF? You know EXACTLY what is going on, just probably not to what extent. Playlist? There's no playlist. There's a computer. The songs are programmed in, and your option is to push the button and play the next song on the screen. Then you read what the card says. Usually something about how many minutes of music you play, and how you play more music and fewer talk and commercials, and say a bunch of crap nobody cares about. Then you read the sponsor. That is all you do! God forbid you say something interesting or even funny. Then you go back to surfing the net, because you're bored out of your mind. almost as bored as your listeners. They're either too poor for satellite or IPOD, or they're stuck at work with nothing but a radio. Dont say anything interesting. Dont play anything outside the "list." (and its a short one.) You also nailed it on consultants. The thing that is killing FM radio is consultants. You're hiring accountants to creat ART. I cant balance a checkbook. You shouldnt try to program radio. And that is the death of radio. Most kids now dont even know what its supposed to sound like. Radio is the new vaudeville. There are "aircheck" sites on the net, where you can listen, just to get a feel of what it used to be. Think of Good Morning Vietnam, when it pans around to bytes of Cronauer intro-ing songs, etc. You can even find airchecks of me online, which is kinda eerie, because I didnt record them. I dont know who did, or why. HEY STRATO, dammit, I want to go to your gig, but I have a gig of my own friday night. You remember Mike - I work for the enemy. I was on the air for 12 years before I took a job with Scott Studios in 1999. I was there through Dave's time (and when he bought the Maestro system), then dMarc, then Google, up to now. You know, computers and automation systems empowered PD's and station managers to restrict the jock's freedom, but all those abilities came via requests. They weren't there by default. It's sad. PD's have always wanted to control that 'crazy overnight guy' that plays all the "B" sides. Computer's made that possible... As for consultants, I can't tell you how frustrated I became at 'music' consultants while I was on the air. I knew the music. I made it a point to know all their was to know about the music I was playing and the people that were making it, and I knew what turned people on because I hung out at the clubs and talked to them. The dirty consultants have no clue. They'll play 8 seconds of a chorus for a random test audience and base value on that. Bull****. Ultimately I became a 'time and temp' jock, and not by my own volition mind you. I could voice track 12 hours of programming between one country and one rock station inside 20 minutes. It was mind numbing and honestly took any enjoyment I got from being on the air completely away. I stopped listening to the music with a critical ear because the automation system and the computer network allowed the station to can half the employees and left me with twice the work load. I still hold out hope for radio, and I'm starting to get back into digging music again. I'm finding there are a lot of talented artists around, but things are SO segmented now they just aren't getting played on radio. I'm finding them on iTunes and YouTube of all places. You know, in the old days (aka the 70's), great music just fell in your lap. It was on the radio AND on the TV. These days, truly good music, recorded by real artists, and I mean honest to God musical artists, does exist. Mainstream media isn't interested in art tho. It's all about selling - well hell, I guess it has always been about selling really, but the selling itself has become an art form now, and that gets in the way of the music. But it's out there my friend. It appears on the radio from time to time, it's just that it's mixed in with all that mind numbing crap that has no heart, no soul, and no emotion. Still, think about it. Take Alan Jackson as a random example. Some of his stuff is as cookie cutter as anything could possibly be, but if you dig deep on his CD's you WILL find quality. Look for it brother, and help your kids dig for it too. That way they won't get caught up in all the GagaCyrusSpears mierda.
	C'mon Man... Last edited by saintfan; 06-23-2011 at 01:14 PM..