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The New CBS-FM

B

BossJock1947

Big Disapointment.

The DJ on after 7 is just awful. Bill Lee marginal. The music? I'll give it a 5

The Audio is just average. The sweeper voice kinda dull.

The New CBS-FM doesn't come close to the OLD CBS-FM. Bland very bland.
 
BossJock1947 said:
Big Disapointment.

The DJ on after 7 is just awful. Bill Lee marginal. The music? I'll give it a 5

The Audio is just average. The sweeper voice kinda dull.

The New CBS-FM doesn't come close to the OLD CBS-FM. Bland very bland.
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Don't give up the ship, "Jack" is on HD-2 and CBS-FM traditional format is back, I always love the station, but it's back to stay. They're playing the songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's, just like WBPM's "Classic Hits 92.9" in the Hudson Valley, same thing. Great to hear it on 101.1.
 
The TRUE golden oldies that they used to run on thier HD2 stream (www.wcbsfm.com) is gone and that (IMO) was a big mistake..... That was the smallest part of thier original format that still lived! (Before the change to Jack)
 
I gave it a listen for a time this afternoon. I thought it was OK listening to Bill Lee. Their version of the Billy Joel song mentioning many of the artists they'll play was kinda dumb (set to "We Didn't Start The Fire"). How long is the station going to run commercial free?
 
I guess the new CBS-FM had the best jingles like the way it sounded for the last years when it was an oldies station. I love the classic "Do It Again" package used for CBS-FM and guess what, WKLI's "Magic 100.9" in Albany does the same thing with the CBS-FM resings as well. Other stations also using the "Do It Again" jingles.
 
The Dude said:
The TRUE golden oldies that they used to run on thier HD2 stream (www.wcbsfm.com) is gone and that (IMO) was a big mistake..... That was the smallest part of thier original format that still lived! (Before the change to Jack)
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Fact is, it's hard to get advertisers for such old songs. Hence why they were running on HD2 commercial-free.

Who knows, maybe CBS will bring the "golden oldies" back on an HD3 channel... How would that sound? All Doo-Wop on 101.1 HD3?
 
I'll be very honest - I like it! Sounds slick, jocks actually get to talk and the retro jingle packages give made me smile. Been listening now for 2 days straight, and while the liners are a bit repetitive, the music mix is actually pretty good. I know there's not much 50's or early 60's happening, and the playlist is a little in the middle, but overall the presentation is fantastic and is much better then Jack! Very glad to have it back - give it some time and this move will prove to be a killer. Better variety then another 80's/90's mix of crap. Nice to hear DJ's on 101.1 as well.

As an aside, I'm 25, not really even in the demo, but while I was out last night (in the Lower East Side at a few "hipster" bars) many of the kids that were out, uber street wear and all, were talking about the switch and how cool they thought it was. One girl, with 12" liberty spikes, a ramones shirt and chains, was talking about how she was having a rooftop bbq with her friends and couldn't wait to have the "cool summertime music" playing on saturday. She even bought a "boombox" from the salvation army just to play the station. "Like, the kind that takes 20 batteries." So hey, you never know. Apparently, even the IPOD generation was listening.
 
Music is pretty good to me. I like the Jingles Except for 1 thing. Do almost all of them have to say "on with the show" That line is starting to get old.
 
I like CBS-FM also! I'm way out of the target but am loving every minute of it. Heard 'Turn Down Day' by the Cyrkle - been a long time since I've heard that one!
 
I've never really been a fan of the oldies. I am more into the new stuff, My Chemical Romance, Razorlight, the Killers etc... and my station of choice is BBC Radio 1 on Sirius.

But I am enjoying CBS-FM, especially the presentation and the way that the DJ's talk up the songs. It really has a New York hometown feel to it, and that is the part that I enjoy the most.
 
htowler said:
Music is pretty good to me. I like the Jingles Except for 1 thing. Do almost all of them have to say "on with the show" That line is starting to get old.
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I think it's only temporary in a "we're back, hope you'll forgive us, let's pretend the last two years never happened" sorta way. Heard like three or four of them this morning in the 5 AM hour alone (which sounded suspectfully automated, btw).
 
I don't care what y'all say. I think the return of CBS FM is a shuning beacon in the depressing world of radio that things can change for the better.

So what if the jocks are only so-so? It's only their first day - and it beats the crud outta the Jack station voice.

I know it's not as gold as you may like, but the fact is WCBS is trying to discover "the new Oldies" so the format can stay alive. For now, I'm satisfied. It's a great station. Come out west and listen to what they call "oldies" out here and then you may see how great 'CBS truely is.
 
Their idea of oldies? An AOR track in the first hour back and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" in the morning show.

If this keeps up there could be a Country 101 sooner than later. ;D
 
BossJock1947 said:
Big Disapointment.

The DJ on after 7 is just awful.
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Agreed 100%. What do you expect from a guy who only knows "Boogie Oogie Oogie" and not much else?

>>Bill Lee marginal.<<
Have to disagree there. I've waited 20 years to hear Lee talk up "real" music, so please excuse the fact that he might sound just a bit rusty.
 
I’ve listened for about six total hours over four sessions online... Overall—a BIG THUMBS-UP! In a few more weeks, I’ll hit the “big 5-0” [at least a few more years until I enter the dreaded “D.E. demo”] ::) What has been even more dreadful is “Jack”, which the morphed “Greatest Hits” format has thankfully sidetracked over to its rightful position on HD-2 for the emasculated jukebox that it is. I enjoy the late 60s thru mid-80s, and like CBS-FM’s approach – I can’t believe I just found a compliment for CBS – THAT’S A FIRST!

For many years, I have hoped that Oldies stations would see the benefit in surrendering their over-dependence on the “Safe-300” from the 60s and reach out to emerging demos which could preserve the pre-modern music format. The constant argument for “more variety” [and a deeper playlist] is more safely achieved by expanding the horizontal timeline as opposed to gambling on the vertical depth of a more era-restricted playlist [not that I don’t personally enjoy down-chart songs – but a valuable radio concern depends on way-more than my person].

As another poster [henry] noted... CBS-FM is a beacon in the depressing world of radio. I agree fully with that – and his characterization of their music as “the new oldies”. I liked those “new oldies” then... I’m loving them with 101.1’s jingles and PERSONALITIES now! :)
 
There was no way they would bring it back as it was before. If they thought that was the best strategy, they wouldn't have abandoned it in the first place.

It's OK. Nothing extraordinary. Maybe it's hard for me to get excited about hearing songs I've been listening to for the past umpteen years. They'll probbaly keep plugging the "we're back" angle until they are satisfied that everybody knows it. Remember, the average listener is not a radio geek. They don't sit around transfixed for hours like we do. So I am sure that there are a lot of people who still don't know about the switch.
 
Yep, stations tend to keep plugging things like "we're back" or "the new..." or "the all new..." for a while, sometimes for years. That said, I would actually say that the station is similar now to what it was when they took it off the air, in terms of music. The 80's existed on CBS-FM even before the flip, and there were even sappy ballads like "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston. The reality is that it's not a spectacular station, but in the reality of radio today, it's about as good as it'll get for oldies/classic hits in such a major market where the big guns don't take risks (or, rather, what they think are risks). For the poster who mentioned surrendering the "safe 300," all I'll say is that the current CBS-FM is just as safe as it was before. That said, I like the way it sounds so far and I love the jocks. It was nice to hear the likes of Bob Shannon, Broadway Bill Lee and Dan Taylor back on the air again. But it all comes with an understanding of how things work in the radio landscape today. These guys understand it. Why can't some people here do the same?

As for all the hatred for Jack, other than the fact that it was jock-less, or almost jock-less (there was Amy Scott and Delphine Blue), the hatred some people hold towards the station is amazing. I understand a lot of it came from the way the format change originally went down, but it all reeks of immaturity to me. The station was definitely far more interesting, musically, than most commercial stations out there. And for all the smarmy, pre-recorded liners the "Jack guy" said, I will say that they had much more personality and creativity than the saccharine sweet, bland liner card readers you hear on stations like Fresh or Lite FM for that matter.
 
Don't forget ... KTU is still "the New KTU" even though it's 11 years old. Hopefully in 2018 CBS will quit saying "let's go on with the show." ;D
 
neo11 said:
That said, I would actually say that the station is similar now to what it was when they took it off the air, in terms of music.
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You got that right. Had CBS-FM been relaunched with 101 hours jockless/commercial-free, added DJs gradually and built a credible website it could have been truly born again. Instead it is the same radio station as 5-10-15 years ago. Even those stations with the longest-lasting formats are not the same as 5-10-15 years ago.

neo11 said:
I like the way it sounds so far and I love the jocks. It was nice to hear the likes of Bob Shannon, Broadway Bill Lee and Dan Taylor back on the air again.
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I'm glad you like the all-male airstaff. The old CBS-FM never had a woman with a regular airshift, only as fill-ins. CBS-FM and its PDs didn't want women behind the mic. The ratings proved it.

The stations that have been #1 in market #1 have women with regular airshifts: Hot 97, 98.7 Kiss FM, Z100, KTU, New York's 106.7.

neo11 said:
And for all the smarmy, pre-recorded liners the "Jack guy" said, I will say that they had much more personality and creativity than the saccharine sweet, bland liner card readers you hear on stations like Fresh or Lite FM for that matter.
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Valerie Smaldone has been with WLTW from the day it signed on in 1984. You don't last as long as she has without having some personality.

Which would you rather have, DJs with a natural approach or Dan Ingram/Cousin Brucie/Casey Kasem wannabes?
 
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