"Attention: KSWD PD Dave Beasing and Lead DJ Andy Chandley..."

[ChannelFlipper]

(If I may borrow the callout mechanism used so well by the late-great Jim Healy for so many years)

An open letter to you both:

What in the world posseses you guys to continue with this whole playing album sides on vinyl records? What is it sbout annoying snaps crackles and pops that you think adds to the presentation?

I have followed radio for my whole life and certainly remember what radio sounded like "back in the day" and have talked to people about radio my whole life too. And not once not once have I heard anyone say "You know, what is really missing from the radio that I really want to hear is the hisses and imperfections that can only come when the DJ puts the needle to the record".

I was particularly reminded of this the other day when I heard one of the DJs on the station mention that you are playing the music like the "artist intended", and then proceed to stick the needle down on a Dire Straits album side. Now anyone who knows anything about groups such as Dire Straits and Steely Dan, among others, knows that they strive for the essence of musical purity and sonic clarity, every note played to its highest potential. Knopfler wouldn't listen to his records and Becker and Fagan would never listen to Aja, or any of their records as you have presented ithem.

CDs and digital media exists for one simple reason. It is simply better than the media that came before it. If you would, take a look at the back of your Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" CD (assuming you have one) - See, it is one of the first albums to be entirely recorded in digital - way back in 1985. It is a sonic masterpiece and was intended to be enjoyed as such. You guys dropping a needle on that same record you had to fish out of bin somewhere is the equivalent of spraying grafitti on the Mona Lisa. In all honesty, there have been several occasions on "Album Sides Wednesday" and "Album Side at 8:00" when I have turned your station off and went to the rack and pulled my own CD out and listened to it myself. I don't know who you think is tuning in because you are keeping it "vinyl real" but now you know I am tuning out. After a few doses of snap, crackle and pop again today, I turned you off all day and it was a full "Album CD Day" from my own CD collection. Petty, Floyd, Eagles, Talking Heads... all core artists for the station.

One last thing before I close - are those snaps and hisses I hear really authentic, or is that just a sound effect you are using? I ask because I listened to album rock radio back in the 70's (Long Live KMET and (I guess) KLOS!)and it never sounded like that on my FM stereo, either car or home. So what gives? Were they engineering better then or are these just sound effects for the gimick?

So in closing, for love of God and the music you play and claim to respect, stick the warped records back in the attic where they belong and play the music as it was initended - as clearly as possible. If I want to hear it on vinyl, I'll go to the attic and get my parents Monkees records out. Oh wait, they threw them out 20 years ago too. You get the point.

Sincerely,

ChannelFlipper

 

[surfdude]

I respectfully disagree with ChannelFlipper. I think it's a cool promotional gimmick.
I still listen to vinyl, sometimes, and it's a different listening experience.
Perhaps their records are in poor shape, though.

 

[musicfan101]

Wow, who knew the guy on the board who works for The Sound, or just a spy for them, would ever bash them?

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Wow, who knew the guy on the board who works for The Sound, or just a spy for them, would ever bash them?

You're still a rookie here if you believe what you posted.

I agree with everything Channel Flipper posted except the part about listening to the station. I don't listen anymore.

"Brothers in Arms" is absolutely one of my all time favorite "albums" and I bought the CD back when it was released.

 

[K6JHU]

If you take an LP and digitize it, then use the software to get rid of the clicks and pops, it is absolutely amazing how good the sound quality is. A lot of that came from the day when the sound engineers really cared about the LP sounded.

BTW, it certainly appears that KSWD is adding the artifacts. Kind of like the old teletype sound in the newsroom long after they went away for bringing the news.

 

[Dick Skinner]

While I do agree with Flipper, one would think an "open letter" wouldn't be posted by an anonymous author. And I'd like to see some hour by hours on this ill-conceived feature.

 

[robnokshus06]

Personally, I enjoy and look forward to album side Wednesdays. In a sense, it IS how the artist intended their work to be heard, namely, one album side at a time. I heard an album side of Quadraphenia today. Anyone who doubts that Pete Townsend intended for Quadraphenia and Tommy to be listened to sequencially doesn't know what they are talking about. Pink Floyd recently won a court case against their record label for selling their tracks individually, claiming their works are meant to be enjoyed in their entirety.

As for the needle drop sfx, well that's what it is, a sound effect. Whether or not they are actually spinning vinyl I don't know. What I do know is that, back in the day of playing records on the radio, no self respecting DJ would be caught dead just dropping a needle onto a record. Records were always cued a quarter turn (remember cue burn?) or, if you were feeling artsy, slip cued for maximum segue action. You don't have to listen that closely to hear that it's the same needle drop sfx for each album side and that the crackles and pops fade shortly thereafter.

Again, I think it's a great feature and I commend the Sound for rolling the dice and trying something that, while not revolutionary, is by today's standards different.

 

[romer979fm]

geez...they try something different: complaints
they tighten up to mostly familiar cuts: complaints

if KSWD gave you a stack of $1000 bills,
some of youse guys would complain if he serial numbers weren't sequential!

BTW...did you see the latest PPMs? solid growth, but who needs that, right?

 

[radioresearcher]

geez...they try something different: complaints
they tighten up to mostly familiar cuts: complaints

if KSWD gave you a stack of $1000 bills,
some of youse guys would complain if he serial numbers weren't sequential!

BTW...did you see the latest PPMs? solid growth, but who needs that, right?

Broad based music, no hits, no ratings.

Tighten up, play good songs with some variety, but familiar and the ratings go up and people still complain.

They are about 0.2 behind KRTH 25-54.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Congratulations are in order to Dave Beasing and company for their latest PPM numbers. Having met many of their staff I can say they are good people! Andy is a good guy too and Meems is Super (because she's from NJ like me?). I still haven't listened to the station lately, but the last time I tuned in during an Album Sides Wednesday, the fidelity on what I heard definitely sounded like it was vinyl compared to when I heard the same cut played (from the CD) another time by the station.

And to all the naysayers out there about the low chances of success by a Southern California LA/OC market radio station in
the Adult Alternative format, I give you 100.3 The Sound KSWD and their 2.8 overall rating!

 

[calguy]

And to all the naysayers out there about the low chances of success by a Southern California LA/OC market radio station in
the Adult Alternative format, I give you 100.3 The Sound KSWD and their 2.8 overall rating!

Adult Alternative? That's what they're calling Lite Classic Rock now?

Personally, don't want to listen to surface noise and pops. So I don't really think much of this vinyl album side feature. I understand it's just a variation on an old feature, but I prefer my music to be clean...

 

[davideduardo]

Broad based music, no hits, no ratings.

Tighten up, play good songs with some variety, but familiar and the ratings go up and people still complain.

You mean they are not AAA any more? ;D

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Broad based music, no hits, no ratings.

Tighten up, play good songs with some variety, but familiar and the ratings go up and people still complain.

You mean they are not AAA any more? ;D

David did you miss my post (on page 1 of this thread) ? Of COURSE they are still AAA, just check what they list as the format on the ratings page http://www.radio-info.com/site/markets/grid/los-angeles

;D ???

 

[davideduardo]

David did you miss my post (on page 1 of this thread) ? Of COURSE they are still AAA, just check what they list as the format on the ratings page http://www.radio-info.com/site/markets/grid/los-angeles

Who is "they?"

The format descriptions on most websites come from the website administration. They can classify however they want, and that classification is not necessarily the one the station would self-identify as.

The same page you provide the link for shows KTWV as "smooth jazz" which it most definitely is not. It shows KLYY as Spanish AC, which is wrong. And it shows KRCD as Spanish oldies, which is also incorrect. Do those incorrect or outdated labels mean the stations are really what the label says, or are they really what they currently program?

Speaking of which, the KSWD Station Identification Packet (SIP) most recently submitted to Arbitron says that the format is "classic hits."

 

[SuperRadioFan]

David did you miss my post (on page 1 of this thread) ? Of COURSE they are still AAA, just check what they list as the format on the ratings page http://www.radio-info.com/site/markets/grid/los-angeles

Who is "they?"

The format descriptions on most websites come from the website administration. They can classify however they want, and that classification is not necessarily the one the station would self-identify as.

The same page you provide the link for shows KTWV as "smooth jazz" which it most definitely is not. It shows KLYY as Spanish AC, which is wrong. And it shows KRCD as Spanish oldies, which is also incorrect. Do those incorrect or outdated labels mean the stations are really what the label says, or are they really what they currently program?

Speaking of which, the KSWD Station Identification Packet (SIP) most recently submitted to Arbitron says that the format is "classic hits."

Did you not realize I was speaking/posting with tongue in cheek? haha I should have worded it "just check what is listed as the format on the ratings page."

For like forever (ever since the merge to classic rock) I have complained about the station being listed this way. So you tell me why this is so? Who is in charge of listing the format on that page? Arbitron? Radio-Info.com? KSWD?

 

[davideduardo]

For like forever (ever since the merge to classic rock) I have complained about the station being listed this way. So you tell me why this is so? Who is in charge of listing the format on that page? Arbitron? Radio-Info.com? KSWD?

It's the page/webmaster. Stations do not pay any attention to how web sources list them, and Arbitron does not monitor this.

 

[Mothership]

Actually back to the original poster's "open letter".......

If you ask Donald Fagen or Walter Becker which they prefer.....they'd say analog over digital.
As particular as they are about their sound......they DID go back to analog on their last release.

So, maybe the SOUND has is right after all.