Done with WJRR

[DIZ Guy]

It is truly amazing how awful Orlando radio and WJRR have become over the past couple years.

I started listenening to WJRR in April of 1993 when they first came on the air, and they were pretty good. Ron & Ron were great in the morning, and the music was good, and the jocks sounded professional and actually KNEW about the music that they were playing. Fast forward to the late 90's, Ron & Ron disappear, and WJRR becomes a more "active" rock station instead of the "hard rock alternative" format that they had in the mid 90's. This was not entirely bad, because they were still playing a cool Pink Floyd cut or Zeppelin cut every now and then, but they were also playing a hell of a lot of Limp Bizcit, which was very annoying.

Then.....the trouble begins. In early 2002, WJRR becomes "Real Rock 101.1" and it just seems like that the whole attitude of the station changes. By mid 2006, I started to hear a lot of personal opinions by the jocks on WJRR which made these guys sound totally horrible. My first terrifying audio experience with this situation occured on a Saturday night. I was listening to WJRR and the jock , who is no longer on the air, said that it was not to cool to like The Who.....

Pete Townsend has more talent in his little toe than ANY new group that is played on WJRR...

What an absolutely stupid thing to say.

Later on I heard those "heavy Metal" dudes on that late Saturday night show say that Metallica were better than The Police...

That comment was so awful that I wish that I recorded it to play for people....it kind of reminded me of the time that Scott Stapp tried to compare Creed to Led Zeppelin...

Then.....Buckethead....wow.....pretty terrible....that is all that I have to say about that...

Why the hell were Pat & taco fired????????......

Pat Lynch kicked ass and actually knew about music and was a damn good jock..

Well, in conclusion to why I will not listen to WJRR anymore, I was listening to "Hard On Saturday Night", over the weekend. They just got done playing "Can't Find My way Home" from The House Of Lords, a pretty cool cover of an old Blind Faith tune that was originally done in 1969. Blind Faith was an absolutely fantastic group that was made up of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood, and Rick Grech. They were the first ever supergroup, kind of like Audioslave, or Velvet Revolver, that were made up of former members of Cream and Traffic....

The jocks had mentioned that it was a cover tune , but had NO IDEA WHATSOEVER who it was originally done by......


I will never listen again.....thank god for KSHE 95 St. Louis.....

 

[scottsvb5]

First off, your knowledge of music history is good, but what you are complaining about is stupid. First off, people listen to radio for the music and not the DJs knowing every single tune and its history. Do you know every single tune ever done? If so, get out there and get a life.

Im happy Jrr does Hard on Sat nights. I guess you like that music also or you wouldnt of been listening. 2nd Metallica is a better band than the "police" by far............. police? ewwwwwwww boring!! Your opinion vs mine. Also if you like Pink Floyd and Zepplin than just go to any city and they will have them playing Zep and Pink floyd every 2 hours like 102.5 classic rock does..and you know what? Thats very boring. I like Zep but not wanting to hear it all the time. Over played for years day in day out. Tired of it. But again.. my opinion.

I listen to JRR mostly cause of Hard on Sat nights, cause thats my kind of music along with todays Avenged Sevenfold, Alterbridge, Disturbed, Godsmack etc etc the music your talking about is played all the time, in every city throughout the world, classic rock where the same songs are played over and over and over and over again.....

 

[KOL]

Well, both assessments are strong and make great points. I believe a personality should have AT LEAST A LITTLE knowledge of music, including some history. Not just some punk on minimum wage spewing opinions on bands he probably doesn’t even know about as well as reading liner cards. All bands have their influence from other musicians / groups and mocking them is disrespectful.

Also, Classic Rock is experiencing major overkill in the limited bands and the songs that are played… 102.5 The Bone (great example) and 96.5 WHTQ. This could simply be rectified by changing up the play list but that would seem to be too easy. I’m sure there is some brilliant reason which I would LOVE to hear. On the flip side it would be nice to hear the hard rock other than Saturday night. Simply balance “the best new music with the killer classics”, but switch out the classics periodically to avoid listeners from going insane.

DIZ Guy, I grew up in O-Town in the 70’s then Tampa since 1980 so I know what you mean all too well. I also enjoy listening to KSHE since it reminds me of the old Rock 100 and 95 YNF with talented jocks and a great play list (current and classic). You might also want to try 97 Rock – WGRF Buffalo (www.97rock.com) for a fantastic variety of Classic Rock with many different themes throughout the year to keep it "fresh"… hey 102.5 - take notes.

 

[youreallcrazy]

Well, both assessments are strong and make great points. I believe a personality should have AT LEAST A LITTLE knowledge of music, including some history. Not just some punk on minimum wage spewing opinions on bands he probably doesn’t even know about as well as reading liner cards. All bands have their influence from other musicians / groups and mocking them is disrespectful.

AHHHHHHHHHHH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH!!!!!! IMHO, its people like YOU guys who are ruinging "today's radio" for what it is...DIZ guy...KOL...im not sure of your ages...im not sure of your musical likes...and quite frankly, i dont care...how about you old guys and your old ways pass the reigns to a younger generation of programmers and promoters, who know how to program to the younger audience...do i like Metallica? yes...do i like the police, yes...but is it my, or anyone elses job to tell someone that they are WRONG for thinking the way they do? DIZ guy, i know the guys who do the saturday night show...none of them are teens...none of them are on minimum wage, and none of them are punks...well...actually...let me take that back...maybe they ARE punks, to you, but, to a whole audience of like minded people to them, they ARE NOT punks...their listeners probably agree with them and their opinions of Metallica vs the Police...and ya know what!...thats fine with them, me, and the audience...

the work i do is in a format of music WAY beyond my time...you know why the work im doing works? because its an older format of music that I program...get that...a 26 year old "punk kid" who knows what the hell hes doing programming music from the 60s and 70s...and why is that so special? because people who are like me, who grew up listening to the select tunes played on oldies radio in the 80s and 90s rubbed off on me, and i am able to present it to an audience that IS my age...wanna figure out why oldies stations, and AC stations and numerous old stale formats are crashing, because the audience is getting younger, and the programmers are getting OLD OLD OLD!...and why is that?

because of guys who are too old for the format they are programming and listening to, and are trying to strangle-hold radio stations to "preserve heritage", TOTALLY forgetting that the very thing that preserved heratige on these stations, was being cutting edge and new...how do you expect something to be successful if FOSSILS are running radio stations...

its 2008...wanna hear the secret of success in radio in 2008?...

start thinking like its 2008...STOP thinking like its 2007...or any of the 2006 years before that...

and one last note...in a survey that was never done, 78.3574% of men 18-34 (JRR's target) agreed that Metallica was far better than the Police...actually, i take that back...

that was a survey done by 1 18-34 year old man...me...now tell me im a punk kid, DIZguy...

 

[youreallcrazy]

a btw for any of my JRR friends/former co-workers...

i am not referring to any of you when i say "fossils"...i can truly say, that, although i don't understand alot of the changes happening to the station, ALL of you, whom i worked with, and for...were VERY in tune with the times...all of us in our own ways...

 

[KOL]

Hello?!! Are you reading these posts? I have no problem with new music whatsoever, but do have a problem with how it's being present, or not, as the case may be. I also don't have a problem with "young" people that are fortunate enough to to be in an industry that seems to be in disarray, and are able to perform well and be passionate about their work - more power to them. I KNOW that orders come down from the top that make NO sense, but must be complied or else you're history thereby having no real control. I also realize the demographic factor and won't go into that tired argument.

I do have a problem with A "punk" (my comment) spewing personal opinions regarding bands that have established themselves well and are revered by many who are young and old. I don't care if he likes them or not, just play the music and be professional about it - that's all. Also I'm sure playing music on a Saturday night in market #34 does NOT enable one to make all that much money, especially at a CC station.

Btw, I'm 10 years older than you and grew up on oldies too. I know there are alot more that were made than what we are hearing these days. I merely suggested adding more new music and MAYBE throwing in some different classics (depending on who you're targeting). Oh... finally, I'm glad you are "so in tune" in 2008 that ideas cannot be posted on this board to help revitalize this dying medium. DIZ Guy, me, or any other guy cannot make it any worse than it already is. How's JRR doing right now, circling the drain?

So ENOUGH, ENOUGH, ENOUGH!!!

 

[scottsvb5]

There is good new music out there that is being played..but music stations are stuck in the 90s with todays. How many times are they going to play Smashing Punk,GreenDay,Pearl Jam,Soundgarden,Nirvana,311, etc etc etc.. now I do feel they should play them..but not as much as they do. Play more 80s-early 90s metal instead, so every generation will be able to want to listen to the rock radio station in any city that does this.

 

[itsnotthathard]

There is good new music out there that is being played..but music stations are stuck in the 90s

Amen. Anyone who disagrees with this is out of touch. This goes especially for Active Rock and Alternative formats. The number one complaint from EVERYONE I have ever talked to who listens to any of the alternative stations I have worked for has been "I love the new stuff you play, but I wish you guys wouldn't play so much sound garden, pearl jam, and nirvana etc... These 50 and 60 year old PD's who are programming for a demographic 15-20 years younger than them are out of touch. Time to throw in the towel. Your stations are failing, you didn't become that major morning show host and/or VO talent that you always wanted to be. The only reason you have your job is because you are a "Yes" man. Listen to the people in your target demo, and stop shouting "research" this and "research" that. We've all seen your research, it's literally BS spread out all over a sheet of paper, because it never leads to those huge ratings you promise your staff. Program from the gut, and give your market a product to listen to that they can't get anywhere else.

I'll be waiting for the old washed up radio guys who now work as managers at Rent-A-Center or resident DJ's at Chucky Cheese to reply with their PMS like anger replies.

 

[indydood]

There is good new music out there that is being played..but music stations are stuck in the 90s

Amen. Anyone who disagrees with this is out of touch. This goes especially for Active Rock and Alternative formats. The number one complaint from EVERYONE I have ever talked to who listens to any of the alternative stations I have worked for has been "I love the new stuff you play, but I wish you guys wouldn't play so much sound garden, pearl jam, and nirvana etc... These 50 and 60 year old PD's who are programming for a demographic 15-20 years younger than them are out of touch. Time to throw in the towel. Your stations are failing, you didn't become that major morning show host and/or VO talent that you always wanted to be. The only reason you have your job is because you are a "Yes" man. Listen to the people in your target demo, and stop shouting "research" this and "research" that. We've all seen your research, it's literally BS spread out all over a sheet of paper, because it never leads to those huge ratings you promise your staff. Program from the gut, and give your market a product to listen to that they can't get anywhere else.

I'll be waiting for the old washed up radio guys who now work as managers at Rent-A-Center or resident DJ's at Chucky Cheese to reply with their PMS like anger replies.

lol Spoken like a true, frustrated board-op who was never good enuff to make it.

 

[youreallcrazy]

I'll be waiting for the old washed up radio guys who now work as managers at Rent-A-Center or resident DJ's at Chucky Cheese to reply with their PMS like anger replies.

lol Spoken like a true, frustrated board-op who was never good enuff to make it.

hahaha, there ya go "itsnotthathard"..."indydood" is your first PMS'er...and im sure there will be many more to come...everything you said is exactly on target...and before anyone (diz guy...sorry im really going after you all the time) complains about young people not appreciating the music...i loved Pearl Jam...i loved Nirvana...i love(d) Green Day...i enjoyed all the alternative music...but its a sad truth that after Classic Rock stations get to the inevitable point of eating up all the 80's hair metal and such, that the Alternative music of the early 90's is the next to be called "classic rock"...ready for a scary fact...Smells Like Teen Spirit is 17 years old...

17 f-ing years old!...by the time its 20 years old, your TARGET listeners will be younger than the song!...get out of it!...start playing music that just kicks ass...bands with awesome CDs...bands that were AWESOME when they "came out"...and they would have come to town a string of shows over a year, and EVERY show, the bands got more and more support...never got played on the station...why?...they "didnt test well"...pathetic...

if you need to go to research to determine the music you need to be playing...youre out of touch with your audience, and out of touch with current culture of the music...

 

[whippingboy1]

Well....I'm done listeneng to WDBO. Officer Jim gave an errent traffic report this morning, and if he's not going to do any research before he gives a report then he can go back to crimeline. 8)

 

[cachi]

Am going to keep this simple..if you do not enjoy the way the dj and the station is playing there music...Us a MP3 player..You get to hear what you want and you can avoided different of pov...

 

[skrape980]

Well....I'm done listeneng to WDBO. Officer Jim gave an errent traffic report this morning, and if he's not going to do any research before he gives a report then he can go back to crimeline. 8)

That bastard!

 

[Fortner1073]

The only issue I have with WJRR is their horrible audio quality. :
Kill the ground loop, get a decent EQ curve, easy with the clipper and I think Orlando will have something that will really make you want to turn it up and rock out. The record companies have already hypermegaprocessed the music for you, trust me. Sounds like a bunch of clamped down midrange mush.

 

[bobjlv]

In all of my years in broadcasting from country to rock to whatever, I've learned that being positive about whatever the hell you play is what keeps a happy listener. Listeners already realize that they'll hear a song they may not care for, but the fastest way to lose a listener is to be negative about the song you just played on the station he/she just tuned in to listen to that song you may think sucks. No surprise why more stations go to voicetracking. If you don't like the music you are playing, and it bothers you that much, then maybe you should find another occupation. Any good station will "test" their music and go after that particular demo. As those songs tests bad, they'll eventually be yanked by any competent programmer who wants to maintain his/her demos. It's all about ratings and money and it will never be about anything else.