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Now TWC's gone

A

AC Tones

Yet another sign of the times. :( Smooth Jazz on TWC is gone for good. TWC has showcased this genre well it seems since the beginning of time. I recall one of their original themes in the early 80s was the beginning of Dave Grusin's "Friends and Strangers." Recently they played cuts from Mark Barrios and Jay Soto's outstanding new CDs. Given TWC's nationwide following, this is another tremendous blow. The freefall continues...

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/07/03/weatherchannel0703.html

Chris
 
AC Tones said:
Yet another sign of the times. :( Smooth Jazz on TWC is gone for good. TWC has showcased this genre well it seems since the beginning of time. I recall one of their original themes in the early 80s was the beginning of Dave Grusin's "Friends and Strangers." Recently they played cuts from Mark Barrios and Jay Soto's outstanding new CDs. Given TWC's nationwide following, this is another tremendous blow. The freefall continues...

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/07/03/weatherchannel0703.html

Chris
Click to expand...

How bizarre! Is history repeating itself? I remember back in the early 80's, when I first began watching TWC, they would offer all sorts of strange rock music duirng the local on the 8's; one time I recall they were offering INXS. ::) I always thought that the rock fare was an odd music choice for the local on the 8's and wondered why they didn't offer something less obtrusive without all the vocals, as that was really disruptive when trying to read the forecast. When the rock music was replaced with the jazz, I thought it sounded so much better. It's interesting to note in that article that their new exec VP refers to the smooth jazz music being offered by TWC as "elevator music". It's sounds very reminiscent of the way the beautiful music format was referred to as "elevator music" and "muzak" many years ago. Now it appears that smooth jazz is acquiring this unfair (and erroneous) label, I might add.


[EDIT-unauthorized promotion]
 
I too remember in the early '80s TWC using soft rock music during the local forecasts. I remember hearing Stephen Bishop "It Might Be You (Theme from Tootsie)" and Kim Carnes "Bette Davis Eyes" and I believe a Christopher Cross song too. I think those kinds of songs fit in just as well as the smooth jazz, but I can't picture a Rolling Stones song on there, like the article says!
 
I hear you, PTW. I didn't appreciate the "elevator music" comment either. Amazing how not too long ago TWC's various artists CDs were drawing rave reviews. I don't think I am alone in saying that I would tune in during "The Local on the 8s" segment just to hear the music. No more. The Rolling Stones??? ???

If you guys are looking for some great archives of old TWC playlists (and I mean "old," dating back to 1986), check out http://www.twcclassics.com/ Since I have had my station up and running, I have frequently used this website as a resource to make sure I have not overlooked any classic tunes that would work with my existing playlist. While the lists are not complete, the site owner has done a great job compiling most of the best music TWC has ever rolled out. Some classic OOP, hard-to-find NAC material.

Chris
 
This will be very interesting to watch it play out because anyone who has ever worked in commerical radio knows that you don't put popular songs or hits underneath things like this because all they do is distract from and hide the original message. There are a few exceptions on TV but the vast majority of popular music that works in this kind of situation is for the most part from up and coming artists and those songs turn into hits instead of the other way around. People who may like the new direction will also be upset because they will only get short snippets of the songs and not the whole thing. This will probably cause more confusion than they even think is possible. Maybe if they had looked at more effective instrumentals with stronger hooks instead of hiring someone who thinks he's too hip for the room and has a bias for this type of music. Let's see what his definition of acceptable music will be and let's see if they play the instrumental parts from those hits. "Can't You Hear Me Knockin" by the Stones is half instrumental with wonderful sax work but when you put that under a forecast, you could care less about the weather because you're groovin to Mick and the Boys and then you get cranked because they cut the tune off. Good luck to TWC! Another smart programming move led by the clueless.
 
LOL Hilarious. You can't help but laugh at something this dumb. Might as well laugh. What's left other than crying? This format really is in trouble if the Weather Channel is even too embarrassed to play it. Shame on the Weather Channel. I'll be boycotting them for good now. Anyone with half an interest in weather never watches them anyway with their NBC-owned stars and glitz and lack of scientific weather information.

To anyone that lives somewhere in east-central Pennsylvania, your cable company may get a channel called "The AccuWeather Channel" programmed by local TV outlet WFMZ. They still play smooth jazz and it's a great mix too 24/7.
 
Wow, this really blows. There selection of music was really good and popular to the point where they started releasing CD samplers. I really concerned about the genre. I think I'll be boycotting them right along with you Interstate 78. I'm really getting tired and frustrated with these people calling it "boring" and "elevator music", to me that's insult to not only the music, but the artist, producers, station owners, and listeners of the genre. :mad:

Soon they'll probably get bored of rock and start playing Beyonce and Fergie over and over again, and say they are trying to "attract a younger demographic". I swear these folks are so clueless, REALLY clueless, and this is coming from a 25 year old, lol. ::)
 
Josh and others before, y'all are dead on. I listen to WLOQ in Orlando quite often seeing as there is no local smooth jazz outlet. This is coming from a 20-year old!
 
JoshB and kg4qwr, you are EXACTLY the kind of listeners we, i.e., as in everyone who puts "our" kind of music on the air, need to market and cultivate. It is so refreshing to see young guys like yourselves embrace this music, and we can only hope there are more of you guys out there. I think there are...we just have to find them and hook them. So tell your buddies and the young ladies :-* ;D that there is great stuff out there, and not to buy into the "elevator music" labels which seem to be the flavor of the day.

I am not completely sold on the analogy drawn between contemporary jazz and easy listening (vis-a-vis the evolution of their demise on radio). While there are similarities, there are distinct and very important differences, not the least of which include the fact contemporary jazz has always and will continue to attract listeners of both genders, across races, and a broad age group. The same really can't be said for the easy listening music that was prominent on FM stations throughout the 60s and early 70s. Not to beat a dead horse that has been beaten beyond submission on this board, but the format IS viable and people WILL listen. Finding the younger listeners and making them believe in the product enough to stay around is the challenge, as well as rekindling the fire amongst those base listeners who left us long ago. I wish I could solve that complex equation, but I only went as far as Calculus II in college :D!!!

Chris
 
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