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AM Only/Dial Global

Chuck said:
vchimpanzee said:
Football season is here. No more music on Saturday afternoons. :(
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I hate to break it to you, but that's what makes it possible to play Standards the rest of the time. 

I like to think of our station as a "music station,” but the truth is local sports makes up about 1/3 of our annual operating budget.  If someone would like to pony up so it wasn't  necessary, I'll bet quite a few stations would consider ditching sports, but I don't see that happening in the near future.   
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Fortunately, the games this station plays on Saturdays right now are mostly at night. That could change.

The owner is a play-by-play man for several teams, so he won't be giving up sports.

But when they do play music, at least from the satellite ...

For those of you stuck with Worthless Classics, I thought you might want to know what a real standards format sounds like. This was what I heard this morning, and it doesn't count what aired during the news or during commercial breaks some stations don't take.

"Friendly Persuasion" Pat Boone
???? The Carpenters
"Harbor Lights" The Platters
"Coming Around Again" Carly Simon
"It Was a Very Good Year" Frank Sinatra
"Daydream Believer" Anne Murray
"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" Tony Bennett
???? (I think I left something out)
"Volare" Dean Martin
"Don't Know Why" Norah Jones
"Alone Again, Naturally" Gilbert O'Sullivan
"Higher and Higher" Rita Coolidge
"Me and Mrs. Jones" Michael Buble
"The Look of Love" Brasil 66
"Blue Eyes" Elton John
"Girl from Ipanema" Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto
"Hawaiian Wedding Song" Andy Williams
 
The following is taken from the thread entitled "All Christmas" [vchimpanzee, 12-26-06]:
"...Yesterday Jeff Rollins...played "Hallelujah Chorus" ... The music got better when Lou Simon took over..."

My question: Do Jeff Rollins, Lou Simon, et al, get to choose what they play, or is everything pre-selected from a carefully researched and well-tested playlist?
 
I don't know, but Jeff played back a call this morning.

"I'm one of your listeners."

"I'm one of your DJs."

And she went on to say how much she liked the mix this morning (not as good as last Monday in my opinion, but pretty good).

She was once a train announcer at the Baltimore station, and Jeff said he had heard her if that was the case.
 
This is a good sign. Jeff gets lots of birthday cards from listeners. Including an audio card he played on the air. I couldn't make out what was said because my signal is so lousy. I can usually understand HIM, and as far as song lyrics go, I don't necessarily care.
 
BlueHen said:
The following is taken from the thread entitled "All Christmas" [vchimpanzee, 12-26-06]:
"...Yesterday Jeff Rollins...played "Hallelujah Chorus" ... The music got better when Lou Simon took over..."

My question: Do Jeff Rollins, Lou Simon, et al, get to choose what they play, or is everything pre-selected from a carefully researched and well-tested playlist?
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Pre-selected...Affiliates can log onto a password protected web site and print the music logs off for the next week. (At least that was the case when it was Westwood One.)

Some morning shows are local and they still go with the network music log. Other stations use this so that they don't play a song and then join the network only to have the same song play soon after.
 
Good news.

"Que Sera, Sera" was played last week. And I've been hearing other songs that don't sound like the old Westwood One standards.

This morning, Perry Como's old theme song was followed by a Sinatra performance of a song from "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". I didn't hear the specific titles (not an ideal signal), but Jeff did tell us the other details.

It's starting to sound almost like Music of Your Life.
 
Christmas music started on Thanksgiving. Casey Hayes was filling in for Jeff at the time, but this morning Jeff said this was the "official" Christmas music station. The only one certified by some organization with "North Pole" in its name.

I won't be listening that much. Because one of the first songs I heard was "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe". Actually, that's an exception to the rule because I must have heard this one while taking the tree down. So it makes me feel good. But I have zero tolerance for contemporary music, and especially new songs. I don't object to songs I never heard if they're old, though, and I heard quite a few of those today.

"Last Christmas" by George Michael is particularly offensive. This isn't merely garbage; it requires special handling. You don't just put it in a landfill, but you dispose of it in a proper container while wearing a space suit.

And I thought the Trans-Siberian orchestra had added vocalists. It turned out to be Point of Grace. Those were pretty girls when I saw them in a commercial for some Christian album which showed videos of the singers. But it's not what I want to hear. And, oh yeah, I heard Mannheim Steamroller this morning. I knew it was someone bad.

Most of what I do hear while washing dishes or making lunch is good though. Bing Crosby's "Do You Hear What I Hear", Perry Como doing something I never heard, some Ray Conniff-style group doing "Jingle Bells".
 
I'm not listening to my local Dial Global Adult Standards station (99.5 the Jewel KHUI) right now because of the 100% Christmas music, and Thanksgiving is IMHO too early for 100% Christmas music. I'm lucky that my neck of the woods has an AM competitor (KRTR 650 AM) that doesn't go 100% Christmas until December 24. KRTR 650 AM mixes some Adult Standards with lite rock oldies and Smooth Jazz as "Continuous Relaxing Easy Favorites."

Dial Global should do what Music Of Your Life does: mix regular Adult Standards music with Christmas music. That way, listeners can get in the mood for Christmas without giving up their regular music favorites. 50% regular music and 50% Christmas music is much better than 100% Christmas music.
 
I'm actually enjoying the Christmas music for the most part.

It was nearly perfect when I listened Friday.

On the other hand, Wednesday there was this awful duet "Mary Don't You Know." Jeff Rollins thought that was one of the greatest Christmas songs ever. Sorry, the lyrics are good but I hate contemporary instrumentals, especially at Christmas.

Today, Kenny G played the second song I heard. Now he did something that sounded good one day last week (because it was alto sax for a change), but his soprano sax is irritating to me--plus it's usually accompanied by garbage in the background. There was also a terrible Donna Summer song, and Hall and Oates, and I heard Jeff mention Mannheim Steamroller. Actually, the song was acoustic and sounded good.

But there's a lot of good stuff there.
 
vchimpanzee said:
I'm actually enjoying the Christmas music for the most part.
It was nearly perfect when I listened Friday.
But there's a lot of good stuff there.
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I have to thank Nick Gerard for posting that link to KHUI since I used to really enjoy the old Westwood One Christmas format before WJBR AM1290 in Wilmington DE dropped it in 2003.

So now since I've been able to listen again lately, I'm undecided on the direction Dial Global has taken. When I heard "Last Christmas" by Wham and "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney, I was afraid they sold out to sound just like every other all-Christmas station in the country. They need to maintain their differentiation, and playing songs like these only serves to keep that homogeneity we already have on the radio dial.

Fortunately, I also heard "Away In A Manger" by Celtic Woman and a really nice version of "Silent Night" by a smooth sounding male vocal group (The Osmonds, maybe... I'm not sure), so they redeemed themselves. These are the songs I like to hear... not "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm."
 
BlueHen said:
I have to thank Nick Gerard for posting that link to KHUI since I used to really enjoy the old Westwood One Christmas format before WJBR AM1290 in Wilmington DE dropped it in 2003.

So now since I've been able to listen again lately, I'm undecided on the direction Dial Global has taken. When I heard "Last Christmas" by Wham and "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney, I was afraid they sold out to sound just like every other all-Christmas station in the country. They need to maintain their differentiation, and playing songs like these only serves to keep that homogeneity we already have on the radio dial.

Fortunately, I also heard "Away In A Manger" by Celtic Woman and a really nice version of "Silent Night" by a smooth sounding male vocal group (The Osmonds, maybe... I'm not sure), so they redeemed themselves. These are the songs I like to hear... not "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm."
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I like "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Of course, I like that one the rest of the year too.

We have to call it Holiday music, not Christmas music. I heard a Hanukkah song this morning. It wasn't good. Maybe the lyrics were meaningful, but the instrumentals sounded AC.

It's a shame. They could have gotten me to listen more. Of course, I might as well write off weekends anyway due to sports and religion.
 
VChimp, that Hanukkah song wasn't "The Hanukkah Song" by Adam Sandler, was it? If Dial Global is playing THAT one, they really ARE going to pot. Funny song maybe, but it doesn't belong on DG or any standards station.
 
ChrisInMI said:
VChimp, that Hanukkah song wasn't "The Hanukkah Song" by Adam Sandler, was it? If Dial Global is playing THAT one, they really ARE going to pot. Funny song maybe, but it doesn't belong on DG or any standards station.
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No, it was AC garbage. Now I LIKE Adam Sandler's song, but it wouldn't fit that format.

They were doing pretty well this morning, but I take the position tha anything by Trans Siberian Orchestra should be buried. Deep. Where it will never be found.

I heard a woman with a pretty voice singing something. Jeff is on vacation (he worked Christmas last year, so I guess that's the plan this year too) and Bill Jones said it was Vince Gill. ::)
 
Re: Speaking of Dial Global's Bill Jones....

Christmas music is over. :-[ Except on BBN, and that's when I remember to listen at the right times.

I can't believe Jeff Rollins LIKES Mannheim Steamroller. I didn't know they did two versions of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". The other seems to have part of "Carol of the Bells" in it, and it's the same garbage this group is known for.

Friday, Dial Global sounded like a standards station SHOULD sound.

Today, almost that good. It was a paradise for fans of 70s AC, but for those who like the real standards it could have been better. I was happy.
 
Re: Speaking of Dial Global's Bill Jones....

Today, it would be hard to prove the statment that this format is getting better.

"Just A Song Before I Go" by Crosby, Stills and Nash is one of those songs that told us Worthless Classics was going downhill.

On the other hand, there was the ORIGINAL "When I Fall in Love" by Nat Cole.

But there was also "Colors of the Wind" by Vanessa Williams. In defense of Useless Classics, I've never heard them play that one. For all this talk that they've gone AC, they don't play a lot of new songs. Which is a relief, I suppose.
 
If you have been listening to "worthless classics" as chimp describes it since the new year, they have modified thier format slightley towards a MOR sound from the 60's and Including more standards, a step back towards the old "Timless Classics" format. When "Timless Favorites" was re branded and introduced last year, thier was much more of an AC /oldies, Soft/ AC from the 80's sound which I really found very Bland. If you listen closley now, you will see thier playlist has been tweeked Backwards, a bit more towards thier old sound and not as much soft AC. Anyone have any additional Insight or Info on this change?
 
Famous56guy said:
If you have been listening to "worthless classics" as chimp describes it since the new year, they have modified thier format slightley towards a MOR sound from the 60's and Including more standards, a step back towards the old "Timless Classics" format. When "Timless Favorites" was re branded and introduced last year, thier was much more of an AC /oldies, Soft/ AC from the 80's sound which I really found very Bland. If you listen closley now, you will see thier playlist has been tweeked Backwards, a bit more towards thier old sound and not as much soft AC. Anyone have any additional Insight or Info on this change?
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I haven't listened lately. They always manage to disappoint, regardless of how good they sound at any given time.

Today was pretty good on Dial Global. Even with "Colors of the Wind" there were quite a few real standards including one instrumental.
 
One day I heard "You Belong to Me". I don't know if it was Jo Stafford, but her version had what sounded sort of like a xylophone. This had even more of a big band sound.
 
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