All this week KSWD (the Sound) has been promoting their dive into the Vault weekend in which they will be breaking out the old records and start spinning some cuts that don't get any airplay any more. So I get off work last night (Friday) a little after 6:00 and I anxiously tune to 100.3 to hear some great forgotten gems only to hear them playing..."I've Seen All Good People" by Yes. Good thing they're diving deep, otherwise they may not have made it past "Roundabout". So I dejectedly flip the channel to KCSN who is playing Carol King's "Been to Canaan". Wow, a deep cut* that truly hasn't been played for awhile! And hearing Carol's sweet voice on the radio is definitely a respite for sore ears. And KCSN doesn't even have to unlock a vault somewhere to find it.
So after awhile I turn back to KSWD to give them another chance, only to hear them playing Billy Idol's "Flesh For Fantasy". I guess that passes for a deep vault cut these days, after all it's not "White Wedding", but hardly the kind I had in mind, so I flip back to KCSN and (wow again) they're playing the great Leon Russell's "Back to the Island" from the mid-seventies. Now that is what I am talking about - a great song by a great artist that I haven't heard in years. Enjoyed it to pieces. I gave up on the Sound for the rest of the night and listened to some tasty stuff on the World Cafe for the rest of the ride home.
On my way into the office today I try the Sound one more time, only to hear them playing "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes, and now it becomes clear to me that this isn't the vault weekend I had in mind, instead it sounds like some sort of bad actual on-air test to figure out which songs Jack is playing that the Sound isn't which the PD should consider adding to move the needle on their ratings, which have flat-lined over the last several months (in spite of the huge opportunity they had to convert KLOS listeners this year when Mark and Brian left). Granted my sample is rather small and I am sure they are playing something closer to true gems over the weekend, perhaps once or twice an hour, but considering how short the actual on-air regular playlist is, you would think there would be plenty of interesting stuff to find in the vault - particularly one they actively promoted.
Last side note since I am on the topic of the Sound. Please ditch the morning show of Larry and Sherry. They have been together for several months and each day sounds like it is their first, as they struggle to find something relevant to say about the day's current events while trying ever-so-hard not to interfere with the music. Either have a show or play the music (I prefer the latter) but the interaction between these two can be painful to listen to sometimes. Yesterday's bit where they used tape of some singer making his picks for all four NFL games this week and making their remarks between each splice of tape airing his picks, and then agreeing with his picks afterward with nothing else to say on their own was a great example of this. Better to play "Lay Down Sally" again than to muddle through that.
*"Been to Canaan" is not a "deep cut" in the truest sense of the word, I believe it was a single and it is definitely on her greatest hits album, however it was a lesser hit and is not played very often, so it is a deep cut as I, and I think most programmers, would define the term.
So after awhile I turn back to KSWD to give them another chance, only to hear them playing Billy Idol's "Flesh For Fantasy". I guess that passes for a deep vault cut these days, after all it's not "White Wedding", but hardly the kind I had in mind, so I flip back to KCSN and (wow again) they're playing the great Leon Russell's "Back to the Island" from the mid-seventies. Now that is what I am talking about - a great song by a great artist that I haven't heard in years. Enjoyed it to pieces. I gave up on the Sound for the rest of the night and listened to some tasty stuff on the World Cafe for the rest of the ride home.
On my way into the office today I try the Sound one more time, only to hear them playing "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes, and now it becomes clear to me that this isn't the vault weekend I had in mind, instead it sounds like some sort of bad actual on-air test to figure out which songs Jack is playing that the Sound isn't which the PD should consider adding to move the needle on their ratings, which have flat-lined over the last several months (in spite of the huge opportunity they had to convert KLOS listeners this year when Mark and Brian left). Granted my sample is rather small and I am sure they are playing something closer to true gems over the weekend, perhaps once or twice an hour, but considering how short the actual on-air regular playlist is, you would think there would be plenty of interesting stuff to find in the vault - particularly one they actively promoted.
Last side note since I am on the topic of the Sound. Please ditch the morning show of Larry and Sherry. They have been together for several months and each day sounds like it is their first, as they struggle to find something relevant to say about the day's current events while trying ever-so-hard not to interfere with the music. Either have a show or play the music (I prefer the latter) but the interaction between these two can be painful to listen to sometimes. Yesterday's bit where they used tape of some singer making his picks for all four NFL games this week and making their remarks between each splice of tape airing his picks, and then agreeing with his picks afterward with nothing else to say on their own was a great example of this. Better to play "Lay Down Sally" again than to muddle through that.
*"Been to Canaan" is not a "deep cut" in the truest sense of the word, I believe it was a single and it is definitely on her greatest hits album, however it was a lesser hit and is not played very often, so it is a deep cut as I, and I think most programmers, would define the term.
How do you hurl yourself off a canyon?