Today I read online that Jim Ladd was "let go" from KLOS 95.5 radio in LA. Jim Ladd has been a DJ for as long as I can remember - a DJ along the lines of Wolfman Jack or Casey Kasem (if you're old enough to remember them) - a DJ who played what he wanted to play, no matter what. He didn't use set lists. He didn't have a programming manager, he just played music.
Music today has become something that's corporate owned, and corporate run. I love 100.7 KSLX, the local classic rock station, but I can't tell you the crap I get from one of my best friends (who, by the way, owns a record store here in town) about how KSLX only plays the top one or two songs from all of the bands they play and you NEVER hear anything deep or different.
While they do have my heart, and my ears, I do have to agree with him.
I propose a radio takeover. One night a week, one hour a night, one weekend day, something - let's play something besides the norm. Let's hear "Even the Losers", or "Shine on You Crazy Diamond", or "Heart of Stone" or "I Saw Her Standing There" or "DJ" or "Destroyer"...the same old bands, yes, but something different. There's more than one song on those old LPs, you know. I'll even come in and play it myself, just give me the chance. I'll even bring my own LPS, how's that?
The airwaves are a little less diverse in LA today, but
maybe we can take a little step for all radiokind.
* yes, those are my albums.
maybe we can take a little step for all radiokind.
* yes, those are my albums.
5 comments:
As we discussed regarding the "other" radio station here in town, they do have guest DJ's in the form of listeners who get to go on the air for an hour and play what they want. So it is happening already. At least here.
The response from management would probably be three words: "expensive licensing nightmare."
Music the way you want it still exists for you to enjoy today. It, however, exists in a pay model.
Except for NPR, I have totally abandoned over the sir radio for my soul's need.
It's called Sirius/XM.
I cannot imagine driving today and not having it. It's akin to having cable in your automobile.
Because of satellite radio, not only can I listen to any baseball game on, football game on, hockey or NBA, genre and sub genre of music that I please....but, here in NYC, there are occasions I can board my car and listen to University of Arizona football or basketball games WITH local Tucson radio ads.
For me, it's a technological and self-fullfilling miracle for me for about 140 bucks per year.
*!*
Dad, I think that sounds good. I would totally love that.
Erik - I know. Everything is so corporation anymore. All the radio stations are owned by the same companies. There's one in town that a guy bought, and he plays all his own music, with no commercials and no DJs. It's wildly varied on what you will hear but I love it. The only problem is sometimes it's on, sometimes it's not.
Anon: We used to have Sirius/XM through DirecTv. I wish they would have kept it because I *loved* it. There were so many channels you could listen to that didn't play the same old thing.
Speaking as a DJ (really!) your tale holds no surprises for me. I trained for radio, but early on got a distaste for the industry. It seemed quite ego-driven, and it appeared that only a select few made good money at it. I've run a mobile service for 25 years now and, as with radio, the face of the industry has changed dramatically.
I quite enjoyed Alice Cooper at Night, but haven't heard him in ages. Around these parts, we had a veteran personality in Norm Edwards who used to spin on CKXL which recently took on a new persona, XL-103, acquiring Don and Joanne - both veterans in their own right - and it's amazing how local radio flavour can change, simply by using other local personalities.
Post a Comment