107.7 The End

[ineedabloodymary]

It's super lame how everyone always has bad things to say about The End.

Jim Keller was a great APD, but, his 'hay day' has been over for a long, long time.
That's the problem, when he was the APD people said. "I shut off my radio in 1994, and turned it back on in 2007, and it has not changed!'.


Music has changed, times have changed. I think a lot of problems with people on these boards, is that you're no longer relevant.. Sorry..it'll happen to me, some day soon, like it has happened to you. But your just bitter, and getting old. Times are changing, and you all just want to b***h, about how you're no longer in touch..

 

[Mamaknowsbreast]

Well I never thought I'd ever respond to a poster who used the term "super lame" but here goes....First off we are all aware that alt music has changed over the years and frankly it sucks. I don't think an argument can be made to dispute that. If it was really great and there were new bands out there that will one day become influences for future bands, then a station like the end who focuses on this new music would still be relevant and bring in respectable numbers. However they don't. I would say 95% of bands with songs burning up the alt charts will be nowhere to be found 3-4 years from now. They'll put out a follow-up album to their debut that had that 1 big hit, it will tank, and then they'll be forgotten soon after that. Yes it happens in many music genres, but more so than ever it is happening with the bands alt stations are playing nowadays and that's why they continue to decline.

I would agree that the majority of posters who complain about the End nowadays are older and remember how great the station used to be. Great music with great jocks that really connected with the audience. Judging by your post (I think it may have something to do with the term super lame), you're a still a spring chicken, which is exactly who the end is trying to target. I just think if most people in Seattle felt the way you did, the station wouldn't be in the situation it is in.

 

[ambandwidth]

Playing the age card seems kinda pointless - truth be told, kids don't listen to thee end!Sorry, true.

 

[ineedabloodymary]

second poster-I will agree with you, to a point. While all of radio is going 'in the toilet', you are right, the alt. category is about as confused as Boy George, for the entirety of 80's....

None of those bands that they play on The End are going to make more than 2-3 songs that are playable on air, and then fade away like the 1-2 hit wonders that they are.
But can you fault The End, for that?

Thanks to myspace music and websites like that, any little a-hole with a keyboard that makes funky sounds, can put together a song. It's not like the old days, where you used to have talent.....

Take 'Vampire Weekend' for example. The End's playing, 'A-Punk' that band was on the cover of Spin Magazine before their debut album came out..and does anyone think their any good? Do they have the staying power of say, No Doubt, Oasis, Modest Mouse, ect??

I say don't fault the station cos just about anyone can make music these days.

and third poster- kids do listen to the end. They are starting to, again.

 

[ambandwidth]

With all due respect,this is probably the weakest time in the station's history for the younger demo.They've access and know how to use so many tools to get music now,there's just no need to seek it on a station like the end.Personailty wise,who on that station can a 18 year old relate to?Carolla in his 40's,laslo gotta be at least 40,the midday robot? the girl at night, who seems like she got the gig by default?


Compelling nonetheless

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

Good Gawd this question really makes me feel my age....but I'm curious from people on this thread what artists are considered a good representation of "alternative" (or whatever would draw you to the END today). Would be curious to check that out just to get a taste of what people find attractive in music tastes for under-25 crowd.

In the older stuff, I've felt for years that it's hard to find a "hook" in many of the songs that gain some significant airplay ... and I wonder if that has become the mainstream style or just my flawed interpretation. Older stuff used to be about great hooks and what-not and I got the impression a few years ago lyrics took priority over melody.

 

[KMan]

The 11AM "Song of the Hour" on the robot's show was Right Said Fred "I'm Too Sexy."

And the End hits a new low.

 

[GenXRadio]

"Super Lame"? Come 'on! get off the nap mattress on the floor, and while you're at it go get lazlo a cup of coffee will ya?
I don't think anyone complained so much about Jim Keller getting let go because he was a terrific programming mind that was lost but rather the way ti was done and the downward spiral the station has continued on since he was axed.
It had nothing to do with anyone being old but rather how it was done and also it was the the continuing steps of Lazlo trying to get rid of anything conencted to the End from it's glory days.
It's the Jan Brady syndrome is what it is, feeling inadequate and also having to move anything out that emboldens those feelings of inadequecy oh yeah and some ego too - "I'm the boss around here" sort of thing.
Truth is lazlo isn't going to save the station but rather drive it down while trying to build his career up and within a year or 2 he'll be gone and THAT is when the End - if it's still around in it's current format will NEED a savior PD.
There's nothing on that station that is new or innovative or even extremely entertaining, there is no great radio coming out of there contrary to what lazlo's intern - I needabloodymary may seem to think.
It's a sad commentary on a once great station and unfortunately it's going to have to hit rock bottom before it canascend back up to some semblance of a successful radio station.
"Super Lame" - WTF!!!!!! what are you - 12?????
*muttering*...."Super Lame".....

It's super lame how everyone always has bad things to say about The End.

Jim Keller was a great APD, but, his 'hay day' has been over for a long, long time.
That's the problem, when he was the APD people said. "I shut off my radio in 1994, and turned it back on in 2007, and it has not changed!'.


Music has changed, times have changed. I think a lot of problems with people on these boards, is that you're no longer relevant.. Sorry..it'll happen to me, some day soon, like it has happened to you. But your just bitter, and getting old. Times are changing, and you all just want to b***h, about how you're no longer in touch..

 

[ineedabloodymary]

I love how the attack is focused more on my opening wording, rather than what I am trying to say. But I didn't expect anything more, really. I don't like people from Seattle cos you're all the same. You've got a chip on your shoulder for absolutely no reason, yet you think it belongs there.

If you read deeper into what you are saying, you are just proving my point. You're all out of touch, old, and bitter that times are changing and there is no such thing as "alternative" anymore.

Kids do listen to that station. Anyone who says that they don't, is lazy (bitter) and not actually doing their research, at all.

I love the posts where people say 'bring back the old end dj's and have marco collins direct the station again. The End tried that. NO ONE LIKES PAM WOLF. She's an old end dj.. Old, out of touch, not funny, and people born after 1985 can't relate to her.

This is the hardest thing to learn in life: When something is over, let it GO.....

Why do you think KISS and KUBE are doing so well? They understand that times are changing, and so is music, and though it's not your cup of tea, it's doing well..

Give lazlo an f'ing break. You couldn't do any better.

 

[ambandwidth]

"old, out of touch and not funny" - sounds a lot like laslo.
Listeners don't care about research, they only know if they like what they hear.

Since the numbers are dropping at alarming rates, what do you attribute it to? laslo's must hear radio?

If you're so insightful, let us know about the numbers game of which all PDs are driven by, and he continues to lose at ( and carolla, who is the lone thing keeping that station afloat - doesn't count ).
Its almost like entercomm management said "here's the icepick, now put it thru the bottom of the raft"

 

[placebo1969]

I’ve read this thread for a while and guess I’ll add my 2¢. Perhaps it’s because I just turned 39 and somewhat nostalgic, but I haven’t really like the music on The End for some time. I remember being excited when The End first started broadcasting (around August 1991?) and it immediately was added to one of my presets in addition to KISW, KXRX and KZOK. To me, those were the salad days of Seattle radio. I suppose it’s easy to say that today’s music isn’t as good as of the days of yore. I’m sure people were complaining when Soundgarden was popular. But it seems to me that a lot of the music from the late ‘80s to early ‘90s will stand the test of time much better than Panic At the Disco. I was really upset when they let Jim Keller go and dropped the Resurrection Flashback on Sunday mornings. The End could be a force again if they played more of the roots of alternative and had knowledgeable DJs.

 

[GenXRadio]

First of all you [EDIT]I am NOT from Seattle ok! DO NOT go and lump me or anyone else into any particular geographic stereotype.
Most people who have been in the business and have actually had a career - which YES does include a good portion of those who contribute to this board do not come from the city they live in.
Radio is a nomadic profession, it brought me here from the east coast, for you to assume that everyone here is a Washiongtonian or Seattleite is just laziness at it's height.
NEXT when was the last time you looked at a ratings book? KISS is doing well? Are you absolutely F'n kidding? why do you think they've shuffled management there, why are there constant rumors swirling about changes there? I'll give ya the reason - because their ratings are in the crapper much like most of their station.
Finally I will NOT give Lazlo a break, I have been in radio on the air for over 17 years, yes I have done it better and yes I can do it better and I'll tell you this, if I were running the End -which I know i'm not, but if I were I wouldn't have 3 talk geared shows in many dayparts on a station that is supposed to be a MUSIC station.
I don't care what name or category someone wants to call the ends music, the fact remains that it is a MUSIC station that besmirches it's prideful past and other music stations by calling itself one when it is so clearly FAR from being so.
Now go get Lazlo a pack of smokes up at the city market, you know it well i'm sure just up a couple of blocks on Olive & Bellevue and make it snappy!


[EDIT-inflammatory]

I love how the attack is focused more on my opening wording, rather than what I am trying to say. But I didn't expect anything more, really. I don't like people from Seattle cos you're all the same. You've got a chip on your shoulder for absolutely no reason, yet you think it belongs there.

If you read deeper into what you are saying, you are just proving my point. You're all out of touch, old, and bitter that times are changing and there is no such thing as "alternative" anymore.

Kids do listen to that station. Anyone who says that they don't, is lazy (bitter) and not actually doing their research, at all.

I love the posts where people say 'bring back the old end dj's and have marco collins direct the station again. The End tried that. NO ONE LIKES PAM WOLF. She's an old end dj.. Old, out of touch, not funny, and people born after 1985 can't relate to her.

This is the hardest thing to learn in life: When something is over, let it GO.....

Why do you think KISS and KUBE are doing so well? They understand that times are changing, and so is music, and though it's not your cup of tea, it's doing well..

Give lazlo an f'ing break. You couldn't do any better.

 

[IndigoCoyote]

It seems to me a big problem with the End is that it is in an identity crisis. You just cannot be everything to everyone. Who does the End want to appeal to? Who is the core audience? Who is being served better by the end than any other media?

Music-- You can either play Soundgarden and Candlebox or you can play Panic!, but melding them together is a mess. If you are 42 you like Alternative Oldies because it invokes your youth, where you tend to remember the fun casual sex and weird moments, not the bad times like being broke and direction less. If you like the current Alt music, then you cannot relate to your dad's music.

Talent-- You could go cutting edge/ youthful, glory days, or Lazlo. Cutting edge makes sense if you are playing the new music...put a bunch of folks on the air that like the stuff, know the artists, are excited to break new music, etc. Glory days would be fine if you were looking to re-create 1992 on 107.7; Marco is not what I have in mind, though. More like Norman B, maybe some of the KJET or KYYX gang.

Or you could put on Lazlo. For no good reason that I can ascertain. Not stunningly talented and certainly has no tie-in to the music. Not local, not funny, not really anything but a place-holder, I guess. I have no idea what audience his show is supposed to drive.

I guess what I am saying is that is you are going to have a music/ personality station, then figure out a definite direction for the music then hire the people who really fit the format.

OR, just give up...which is what I am hearing at the right end of the dial.

 

[Mamaknowsbreast]

Why do you think KISS and KUBE are doing so well? They understand that times are changing, and so is music, and though it's not your cup of tea, it's doing well..

Give lazlo an f'ing break. You couldn't do any better.

First off, last I checked KISS wasn't doing so hot. As for KUBE and why they are successful, I'll offer you two quick reasons. First their playlist is littered with acts that have had hits for years now (Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Akon etc.). Looking at the End's playlist, you just don't see that.

Secondly I offer you the difference between on-air talent. Each of their dayparts are filled with talent that have been there for a LONG time. T-man I believe over 10 years, Shellie Hart and Eric Powers I am unsure of, but I know its over 5 years. These are talents that compliment the "music" and that the audience has grown with over the years. So even though the music has changed (acts come and go), the talent hasn't and that's why they are able to hang on to their older audience. This is one of the main reasons why they are constantly a ratings winner and why the End has sunk to new levels. Compare that line-up to the End. An "all talk" syndicated show in the morning, running jockless middays because you are too cheap to pay talent, a mainly all talk PM drive show where the host cares more about the future of his own show rather than the stations, and a night girl that was interning last year. I mean come on.... Hell I believe the guy doing nights on KUBE might be new to Seattle, but unlike the intern/night girl on the end, the guy on KUBE has a radio resume that dates back to the early 90's. I mean seriously the End had a night guy in Harms (even though I wan't crazy about him) that had built a solid audience over the past 5 years. Not really sure what his numbers were like, but if they were mediocre, does Lazlo really think hiring someone with limited experience is the answer to better numbers?

Look bloodymary it seems you are passionate about how things sound over on the End these days and I respect your opinions. But the fact is the new music being played is weak, the on-air cast (including the robot) is weak, and when you add it all up, it just spells doom.

And to answer your last question yes I do think there are people out there that could do better than Lazlo. It's just a shame that most likely we won't get a chance to witness it. I just have an ickling that Entercom wanted to give the End one last chance when they went out to hire Lazlo. Now that nothing has changed numbers-wise, I think they will eventually throw in the towel.

 

[placebo1969]

On Friday morning just after 10, I heard "It's Tricky" by Run DMC. Not that I don't like the song, but what the hell it is doing on The End?

 

[BACKnUSSR]

Why do you think KISS and KUBE are doing so well? They understand that times are changing, and so is music, and though it's not your cup of tea, it's doing well..

Is it really the airstaff and station that are out of touch?? KUBE is doing well with T-Man, Shellie Hart, Eric Powers, essentially the same staff, imaging and identity they had in the mid-90's when they were also doing well. AND, they
still attract younger demos. Maybe its that "alternative" music isnt as appealing as it once was....its all a cycle anyway...

 

[ambandwidth]

nah, that isn't it.those kube people are really great on the air and have gotten to last the test of time and built an audience.thee end just cuts off the necks of anything that doesn't fly after a 4 month period(except of course the laslo show which has probably done far worse than those previously discarded talents including no name,keller,rosetti,harms).look for the next jonas bros. to break on thee end,whats really the diff between that and panic at the disco?david cassidy vs. donny osmond? ;D

 

[Mamaknowsbreast]

There is a breakdown of numbers in today's NetNews section of AllAccess.com

I knew the end was struggling, but the article says they are actually tied for 10th (with KRWM) in the 18-34 demo. Is it me or does that spell serious trouble when a station like Warm who isn't even targeting young people is close to overtaking you in the 18-34 demo?

 

[dtuba]

On Friday morning just after 10, I heard "It's Tricky" by Run DMC. Not that I don't like the song, but what the hell it is doing on The End?

Music from a black artist on an "alternative" rock station? Eee-gads, what is this world coming to? (sarcasm)

 

[machinehead]

Agreed, musically The End has every reason to be playing "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC, or De La Soul or Boogie Down Productions or P.E. in moderation with their other gold cuts. Run-DMC certainly catered in part to the same audience as the Beastie Boys, and were certainly an early rap act which had a lot of crossover into the largely white alternative audience of today, or at least of Gen X.

If The End was able to balance the music and personality instead of making their dayparts one or the other, that would be a start to getting back to what the station is all about.

As far as the grumblings that there isn't good music out there or in the alternative genre, those are weak arguments. There is good music out there, you just need to roll up your sleeves, find it, get behind it, and play it, balancing the new with a well-platooned library.