Harrison Ford is on the loose! Tommy Lee Jones is in hot pursuit.

[cc333]

I just came up with an idea!

I had a friend over today, and I showed him my station (quickly, because he had to get home). He really liked the idea, and offered to help produce some imaging and such for it.

As for formatting, what I want is an amalgamation of lots of things, but nominally, it would kind of be similar to something like MOYL 20 years ago (present day MOYL is... different and carries music that is, well, 20 years newer, and consequently dropped some of the oldest stuff, so it's basically 60s/70s/80s with a smattering of 90s now; before it was 50s/60s/70s, with a smattering of 30s, 40s and 80s).

So, I'm thinking basically it would be soft AC/Standards blend inspired in part by MOYL.

Would you care to collaborate on programming it?

c

 

[radiofan2023]

Would you care to collaborate on programming it?

Well, since you’re asking….no.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Me either. I have enough to do with my paying clients.

 

[cc333]

Fair enough.

c

 

[cc333]

I should probably clarify that it wasn't my intent to take advantage of either @K.M. Richards or @radiofan2023 by asking for them to come in for free and waste their valuable time on a hobby station. I can see how it could come across that way, though, because the way I wrote it was too general.

Actually, my message was meant mainly for @vchimpanzee (yes, I know). The reason why was since he has many ideas and opinions about how Standards stations should be formatted, I thought that, if he's interested on a sort of informal, volunteer basis, I would offer him the opportunity to put some of those ideas and opinions into practice while giving me an opportunity to practice programming (what spurred me on was the fact that his "ideal" standards playlist, which he was kind enough to share with me, is remarkably similar to mine).

I enjoy reading and participating in this forum, and I don't want any hard feelings, so I apologize if there were any misunderstandings....

c

 

[radiofan2023]

No hard feelings. Have you ever heard of Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox? You might like them:

 

[cc333]

No hard feelings.

OK

Have you ever heard of Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox? You might like them:

No, I haven't. I'll look into it. Thanks!

c

 

[vchimpanzee]

Unless this is "We play everything" (and it's not radio because I heard an old man say this isn't radio because I haven't heard any commercials) what could this possibly be?

"Cake by the Ocean" followed by "Hello It's Me".

I also heard the man say there was a time when everyone listened to AM. No one listened to FM. It was longhair music like classical and big band.

 

[cc333]

I also heard the man say there was a time when everyone listened to AM. No one listened to FM. It was longhair music like classical and big band.

There are people here who know much more than I do (@davideduardo ), but in the general-est of terms, my understanding is that before the very late 60s or early to mid 70s (earlier or later depending on the market), there wasn't really much in the way of Top 40 on FM; It was mostly true that most of what was on FM back then was some combination of classical, Beautiful Music (called "Good Music" early on) and other traditional formats.

For a time though (early 60s?), I believe that many AMs who had a sister FM did simulcast their AM signal, until the FCC changed the rules, after which the practice mostly stopped until more recently. How recent, I can't say.

c

 

[K.M. Richards]

There are people here who know much more than I do (@davideduardo ), but in the general-est of terms, my understanding is that before the very late 60s or early to mid 70s (earlier or later depending on the market), there wasn't really much in the way of Top 40 on FM; It was mostly true that most of what was on FM back then was some combination of classical, Beautiful Music (called "Good Music" early on) and other traditional formats.

For a time though (early 60s?), I believe that many AMs who had a sister FM did simulcast their AM signal, until the FCC changed the rules, after which the practice mostly stopped until more recently. How recent, I can't say.

c

While I don't know what claim Chimp made to draw that response (because I am ignoring the simian) you're pretty much correct. There are a couple of facts that laid the groundwork for that, the first being -- as I said somewhere on RD recently -- in its earliest days, FM's audience was entirely hi-fi aficionados and so there was indeed a lot of Classical. And many early FM licensees were AM stations hedging their bets that the new band would be important someday, and engaged in simulcasts. That did come to an end by FCC mandate in the 1970s.

"Good music" and "beautiful music" were actually two different things. The former was pretty much traditional middle-of-the road and tended to have more vocals than the second. There were a lot of FMs that played mostly instrumentals, using a technology called "simplex" that would mute special receivers during commercial breaks, which were then provided to stores -- and in a few cases transit companies -- as background music. The FCC eventually put a stop to that on the basis that it was contrary to the public interest.

Beautiful Music as a format concept came about in the 1960s, and from the start was based on uninterrupted quarter-hour music segments. As I said previously, the earliest such stations were totally instrumentals, with vocals (usually one per segment) added to the mix in the 1970s.

What top-40 formats existed on FM early on were simulcasts of a co-owned AM; for daytimers, being able to continue after sunset to whatever audience was available was better than nothing. Progressive rock actually got a toehold on FM before top-40.

What all of this has to do with the original subject ("trainwreck" segues) is beyond me.

 

[cc333]

While I don't know what claim Chimp made to draw that response (because I am ignoring the simian) you're pretty much correct.

Good! It means I'm learning!

And many early FM licensees were AM stations hedging their bets that the new band would be important someday, and engaged in simulcasts.

They hedged correctly.

That did come to an end by FCC mandate in the 1970s.

Interesting. I thought that had happened earlier.

"Good music" and "beautiful music" were actually two different things. The former was pretty much traditional middle-of-the road and tended to have more vocals than the second. There were a lot of FMs that played mostly instrumentals, using a technology called "simplex" that would mute special receivers during commercial breaks, which were then provided to stores -- and in a few cases transit companies -- as background music. The FCC eventually put a stop to that on the basis that it was contrary to the public interest.

I see. I based my assumptions on KABL 960, which has been referred to both over the years. It was, indeed, one of the prototypical "good music" stations pioneered by Gordon McLandon, but I've seen it referred to almost interchangeably as beautiful music too, which is kind of confusing.

For example, see this quote form Wikipedia (for what it's worth):

McLendon was one of the originators of the "beautiful music" format on his KABL in Oakland, California, in 1959

Beautiful Music as a format concept came about in the 1960s, and from the start was based on uninterrupted quarter-hour music segments. As I said previously, the earliest such stations were totally instrumentals, with vocals (usually one per segment) added to the mix in the 1970s.

Maybe I'm confused about KABL? Was it "technically" BM all along, and not "good music"?

I feel like I'm splitting hairs at this point....

What top-40 formats existed on FM early on were simulcasts of a co-owned AM; for daytimers, being able to continue after sunset to whatever audience was available was better than nothing. Progressive rock actually got a toehold on FM before top-40.

That does seem like it would be a boon for them, especially in the winter months when local sunset could be as early as 5 PM in some places.

What all of this has to do with the original subject ("trainwreck" segues) is beyond me.

Same. Given the title of this thread (the relevance of which I struggle to fathom, but maybe that was the point?), what the original subject is or was can pretty much be whatever we want, I think.

c

 

[vchimpanzee]

What all of this has to do with the original subject ("trainwreck" segues) is beyond me.

All I'm saying is the old man was sitting with what I believe was his wife and wondering if that was radio because he hadn't heard any commercials. What I heard were the words "cake by the ocean" followed by the song "Hello It's Me". I didn't ask anyone where the music was coming from but it was definitely strange.

 

[K.M. Richards]

For example, see this quote form Wikipedia (for what it's worth):

Remember, Wikipedia can be edited by practically anyone. All it takes is one person unfamiliar with the timeline to use a descriptor that was not actually in use at that point in the timeline, and voilá! ... an error that everyone believes is fact.

I am basing my use of the terms "beautiful music" and "good music" on when they were being used in the industry, per Broadcasting. But, as I also said, they were very closely related as formats.

Maybe I'm confused about KABL? Was it "technically" BM all along, and not "good music"?

Gordon McLendon did what would be called the precursor of BM. KABL was a very low-key "good music" station and McLendon may well have used the word "beautiful" on the air during liners and/or in outside advertising, but that didn't become a format descriptor until years later.

I do remember him using the word in print ads when he flipped XETRA from news and KOST from all-advertising to music, so the term may have started to catch on in the late 1960s.

I feel like I'm splitting hairs at this point....

I think the problem is that BM developed as a format out of the "good music" format, which was so open to interpretation by station owners that it became a catch-all term, so BM practically had to come up with a separate format identifier.

Given the title of this thread (the relevance of which I struggle to fathom, but maybe that was the point?), what the original subject is or was can pretty much be whatever we want, I think.

This is one of those extremely rare occasions where I understand what the Chimp means. (Call Ripley's.)

"The Fugitive" -- the movie treatment of the classic TV series -- begins when Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes when the train carrying him to prison derails, and he is then pursued by Lt. Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), and Chimp is correctly identifying that as a "trainwreck". Carry that over to what RD is supposed to be about, and we should be discussing music segues that can be -- and are -- called by that word.

It makes sense, even if it is a little oblique.

 

[cc333]

Remember, Wikipedia can be edited by practically anyone. All it takes is one person unfamiliar with the timeline to use a descriptor that was not actually in use at that point in the timeline, and voilá! ... an error that everyone believes is fact.

I agree. I'm not sure of the correctness of much of anything I read on the Internet anymore, outside of forums like this one, of course. Who better to ask about something like this than someone who's done the thing being asked about?

I am basing my use of the terms "beautiful music" and "good music" on when they were being used in the industry, per Broadcasting. But, as I also said, they were very closely related as formats.

Yes. It's a rather subtle difference, for sure.

Gordon McLendon did what would be called the precursor of BM. KABL was a very low-key "good music" station and McLendon may well have used the word "beautiful" on the air during liners and/or in outside advertising, but that didn't become a format descriptor until years later.

I do remember him using the word in print ads when he flipped XETRA from news and KOST from all-advertising to music, so the term may have started to catch on in the late 1960s.

I listened to an aircheck of the format flip, and it seems very different than what later became BM, with a big reverb on the announcer's voice and all kinds of harps and strings. Hardly low key by modern standards, but I guess it was by the standards of the time.

I think the problem is that BM developed as a format out of the "good music" format, which was so open to interpretation by station owners that it became a catch-all term, so BM practically had to come up with a separate format identifier.

Even nowadays, "beautiful music" without any qualifiers is remarkably vague and open to interpretation (for example, someone might find something as loud and crass as heavy metal "beautiful music," which would be remarkably strange, but good for them).

This is one of those extremely rare occasions where I understand what the Chimp means. (Call Ripley's.)

Wow!

"The Fugitive" -- the movie treatment of the classic TV series -- begins when Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes when the train carrying him to prison derails, and he is then pursued by Lt. Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), and Chimp is correctly identifying that as a "trainwreck". Carry that over to what RD is supposed to be about, and we should be discussing music segues that can be -- and are -- called by that word.

It makes sense, even if it is a little oblique.

I agree.

c