It seems it takes forever to get to vacation time and then it’s over way too quickly.
While vacationing in S. Fla, I expected to drive around a lot and so local radio listening was in the itinerary. My expectation was to hear cookie-cutter programming that one can hear in virtually every large and mid-size market. But with some exceptions, I was wrong.
South Florida is a unique place and overall I think radio tries to complement the area as best as it can as stations nowadays have so little latitude. One day, while in Lauderhill, I met a friend at a local NY style deli. The guy behind the counter was reading the riot act to an old and grumpy customer and Love 94 was playing in the background. It was ironic that with the yelling, a jazzy instrumental of “Peace on Earth” was playing. I knew I was home.
But Love 94 actually turned out to be the radio station I listened to the most during my visit. They are really quite good in my opinion. And I’m not a jazz lover at all. The jingles/sweepers were true to what I remember even decades earlier. They have a unique sound and even when they went all Christmas, the music was different than anything else on the dial. I can see why they are doing well. I liked what I heard. Here’s a perfect example of how a radio station can complement the geography.
For AC, thumbs up go to Lite 101.5 WLYF. They do manage to get some personality in between the music sets. WLYF sounds more upbeat than I remember them in the past. Coast is typical of how Cox Radio operates. The music takes center stage and there is very little participation from the talent. There were a lot of great music moments on Coast but I’m sure I would listen to WLYF more if I lived in South Florida. Coast represents that cookie-cutter approach to programming that I quite frankly can’t stand.
What can I say about Majic102.7 (WMXJ) that I haven’t said already on this board? They are still my favorite S. Fla radio station and I suspect they will always be as long as they do oldies of some form or another. The A to Z feature of the 60s/70s they are doing is a great holiday treat. They’ve done this before but there have been some interesting additions this time around. There are also songs that have been omitted that one would think would be a shoe-in for playing.
Kudos to Mindy Lang for all her efforts in the special programming. I caught Mindy a number of times on the air and she sounded very enthusiastic. There are so many markets that don’t have anything like a Majic 102.7 and personality-driven radio. I still hope they can keep that going for years to come.
And finally, we come to Y-100. As I was trying to figure out what to say about the station, it made me think of how we have impressions that stick in our minds as to how things once were. If you ever watch an old rerun on Nick at Nite or TV Land and then see what the star looks like today, it tends to make you sad. I will be the first to admit, I know virtually nothing about todays hit music so I was more interested in the overall personality of Y-100. I tuned in a few times and heard what I would call “young voices” but I didn’t think they were in the same league as the talent who graced the microphones of Y-100 in the late 70s and early 80s. But I guess, just like what happens when we see an aging star but have memories of how they once looked; the same can be said for a station like Y-100. Times change and personal taste changes. I guess I’ll just leave it at that.
It was good getting back to my old haunts and overall South Florida radio is still better than what I hear in lots of places I visit and certainly better than where I live now.
I hope you all have a great 2007! And thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts. ;D
John
While vacationing in S. Fla, I expected to drive around a lot and so local radio listening was in the itinerary. My expectation was to hear cookie-cutter programming that one can hear in virtually every large and mid-size market. But with some exceptions, I was wrong.
South Florida is a unique place and overall I think radio tries to complement the area as best as it can as stations nowadays have so little latitude. One day, while in Lauderhill, I met a friend at a local NY style deli. The guy behind the counter was reading the riot act to an old and grumpy customer and Love 94 was playing in the background. It was ironic that with the yelling, a jazzy instrumental of “Peace on Earth” was playing. I knew I was home.
But Love 94 actually turned out to be the radio station I listened to the most during my visit. They are really quite good in my opinion. And I’m not a jazz lover at all. The jingles/sweepers were true to what I remember even decades earlier. They have a unique sound and even when they went all Christmas, the music was different than anything else on the dial. I can see why they are doing well. I liked what I heard. Here’s a perfect example of how a radio station can complement the geography.
For AC, thumbs up go to Lite 101.5 WLYF. They do manage to get some personality in between the music sets. WLYF sounds more upbeat than I remember them in the past. Coast is typical of how Cox Radio operates. The music takes center stage and there is very little participation from the talent. There were a lot of great music moments on Coast but I’m sure I would listen to WLYF more if I lived in South Florida. Coast represents that cookie-cutter approach to programming that I quite frankly can’t stand.
What can I say about Majic102.7 (WMXJ) that I haven’t said already on this board? They are still my favorite S. Fla radio station and I suspect they will always be as long as they do oldies of some form or another. The A to Z feature of the 60s/70s they are doing is a great holiday treat. They’ve done this before but there have been some interesting additions this time around. There are also songs that have been omitted that one would think would be a shoe-in for playing.
Kudos to Mindy Lang for all her efforts in the special programming. I caught Mindy a number of times on the air and she sounded very enthusiastic. There are so many markets that don’t have anything like a Majic 102.7 and personality-driven radio. I still hope they can keep that going for years to come.
And finally, we come to Y-100. As I was trying to figure out what to say about the station, it made me think of how we have impressions that stick in our minds as to how things once were. If you ever watch an old rerun on Nick at Nite or TV Land and then see what the star looks like today, it tends to make you sad. I will be the first to admit, I know virtually nothing about todays hit music so I was more interested in the overall personality of Y-100. I tuned in a few times and heard what I would call “young voices” but I didn’t think they were in the same league as the talent who graced the microphones of Y-100 in the late 70s and early 80s. But I guess, just like what happens when we see an aging star but have memories of how they once looked; the same can be said for a station like Y-100. Times change and personal taste changes. I guess I’ll just leave it at that.
It was good getting back to my old haunts and overall South Florida radio is still better than what I hear in lots of places I visit and certainly better than where I live now.
I hope you all have a great 2007! And thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts. ;D
John
