Trying 2 get back WILD-FM

[rapking]

Hi all, I went to Slade's last Thursday and we were told by Coach, Willie May, the deal is not a done deal yet. WILD needs us, our friends, family, and community to email the FCC and let them know what WILD means to us and we want them to stay. The more people we can get to do this the louder our voice, the better our chances are to be heard. Also, there will be a rally @ City Hall plaza on October 9, 2006. Most of WILD's past and present staff will be there with more information and possible proposals. Bring as many people as you can and tell as many people as you can, they need us to turn out by the thousands. Come on Boston, Let them know we are here

 

[Varulven]

You've got my vote. I tuned in to the new WAAF over on the Expressway near the Globe on Monday night and the reception was no great shakes - it's a drag to have 107.3 and 97.7 invaded by this pedestrian "album rock" and/or "Modern Rock" station.

 

[Brooklyndon]

two questions, and I'm not calling you out I'm sure you'll answer them correctly, but perhaps after some internet searching...

#1. Do you really plan to be the lone grain of salt at city hall plaza on 9 October.

#2 can you name three songs (or even hooks) heard on WILD this summer?

and for extra credit, what, pray tell, makes WAAF so "pedestrian" (i don't even know what that means, i'm assuming vulgar but I'd like some clarification).

 

[Varulven]

1)They get my vote - doesn't mean I'm going to stand at City Hall Plaza - but they get my vote.


2)
Well, you might not like that I enjoy the sounds of Marvin Gaye from that station (WILD played a number of different genres) OR after hearing a magnificent song on a Sunday morning that I purchased The Very Best Of Walter Hawkins off of eBay (keep in mind, I get most CDs free - no, not 25 copies, just one) - purchased the disc for the song GOIN' UP YONDER which I heard on WILD. Walter Hawkins is a member of the great Hawkins family, Edwin Hawkins Singers (y'know, "Lay Down, Candles In The Rain" by Melanie; "Oh Happy Day") - when a station inspires me to go out of my way to buy a record, yeah, i say it is pretty substantial.

oh yeah - the entire Walter Hawkins 2 disc set is great.

When was the last time you heard a song so essential on a radio station you had to have it right away?


WAAF hasn't excited me with a song since the band IN THE PINK was in rotation with their great stuff. And that was many moons ago - like 1993...


3)Pedestrian..."vulgar" - oh my God, please, go to dictionary.com - it is hardly a vulgar term. Pedestrian!
Ever use a crosswalk? Safe - no risks - very "pedestrian"...and you think that's..."vulgar"...

What makes WAAF Pedestrian? Corporate suits with their consultants and polls. Yawwwwwwwwn


(OK, I can't stand it - have to give "Brooklyndon" the dictionary definition:

PEDESTRIAN
4. lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction, etc.; commonplace; prosaic or dull: a pedestrian commencement speech.


Yeah, I guess it is pretty vulgar when someone gets an "award" for something so "commonplace".

 

[Brooklyndon]

vulgar is latin for folky...commonplace. vulgar has two definitions...thanks for the clarification.


Ahm, you should go to the rally if you wanna vote for bringing wild back. it's called voting with your feet. it might make a nice article. As I've made clear before I was dismayed that wild ignored the souther suburbs and for that reason I have little interest in its return. I like th emusic not the culture, and honestly think its demographic suicide to have an urban station in whitebread boston.


and for buying a cd i heard justin timberlakes new song "My love" and I plan to buy the album tomorrow.

 

[Varulven]

when people use the word vulgar in regards to AAF one would say they lean towards the indecent.

AAF is hardly high art. Which is why pedestrian was the kinder, gentler term for the boring schlock they dish out.

and as I stated when using vulgar in that context:

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty vulgar when someone gets an "award" for something so "commonplace".

Vulgar has about 7 definitions - all somewhat related.

 

[Phillip_J_Fry]

When was the last time you heard a song so essential on a radio station you had to have it right away?


WAAF hasn't excited me with a song since the band IN THE PINK was in rotation with their great stuff. And that was many moons ago - like 1993...

see thats your problem. because you don't like ANYTHING WAAF would play you assume that NOBODY else likes thier music.

Im sure there are plenty of people that go out and buy the music they hear on waaf and stations like it.

if you like sitting around on the weekends tearing up over the the sounds of Marvin Gaye whatever, thats you. but don't think thats the only music the moves people. to each his own.

that said im not a huge fan of waaf but it's not the music its the DJs that drive me away.

They get my vote - doesn't mean I'm going to stand at City Hall Plaza - but they get my vote.

typical, the station means so much to you but it's not worth your time. other then a hateful rant on a website.

 

[Varulven]

[EDIT]

That being said, I'm being critical while you are being hateful. Big difference. Please stop deflecting.

I sign my name, you do not.


Also, let's see - were you at the Mass Hip Hop award show? The Billboard Hip-Hop conference? I didn't think so. You want to discuss Bluegrass, Jazz and Hip-Hop with me? I think you wouldn't last 30 seconds in a debate.

Since WILD played some great Marvin Gaye music - with yours truly endorsing that aspect of their playlist, who is the one being supportive and who is the one being spiteful/hateful (that's a rhetorical question).


Since people around the world utilize my reviews of jazz, hip-hop, country, reggae, punk, alternative, etc. etc. when considering buying product in the major chains it tends to indicate that I have a more open mind than some people.

Having produced Buddy Guy and having produced Unnatural Axe and hundreds of artists in between over a thirty year period I think it is OK for me to listen to Marvin Gaye and have an objective opinion that WAAF does NOT play rock & roll music that we want to hear. It is corporate SCHLOCK!

Then again, I've produced a highly successful show on a 50,000 watt station. Have you?

[EDIT]

Howard went Satellite. When he (as Major Tom) comes back to ground control radio it will be on his terms.

It will sound a heckuva lot better than WAAF.



[EDIT=ad hominem comments]

 

[odomski]

Rapking says: WILD needs us, our friends, family, and community to email the FCC and let them know what WILD means to us and we want them to stay.

I say: Do you really think the FCC gives a crap about a few people in the Boston area pissing and moaning that a radio format geared for the African-American audience went away? They have bigger fish to fry. Go ahead...e-mail the FCC and piss and moan. I'm sure your e-mails will go in the "trash" folder of their e-mail account without being read. If you want to complain to someone, e-mail the Corporate Stiff Necks at Entercom. Entercom bought WILD-FM. Entercom changed the format. They are the ones you should address your concerns with...not the FCC. The FCC doesn't care.

 

[raccoonradio]

Yes you might be better off petitioning a station owner/station group to change a format and tell them
you think it could succeed, there's a need for it, etc. I do know that at least during the daytime there
was some smooth jazz and "old school" mixed in on WILD-FM and, while I probably wouldn't listen for
an extended period of time, it was mildly interesting to me (when I tuned in just before the format change), And there is a need for a black-oriented station (besides WJMN) in town, though station owners
need to be convinced it can work.

But commercial radio being what it is, "selling" the idea of such a station in a city whose black population
is less than that of many other cities might not get you anywhere. (At least that fact came up in local
newspaper articles)...It might, who knows, but be aware that the reason there's a lot of pop/rock stations in town is that these companies are convinced such formats make
money. And while it is sad that WILD (AM) changed from black talk and some gospel to all gospel, and WILD-FM
became a repeater of WAAF, also remember that it was a black-owned company who decided to sell because they didn't want to compete in the Boston radio market anymore. (Blame Radio One.) If contacting the FCC or some companies gets you
anywhere, more power to you, but in a time when radio consultants and advertisers rule, it won't be easy
to bring back WILD (AM) or FM...

That being said, remember that 1090 and 1510 are both said to be up for sale and maybe someone could
come along and buy one or the other and place the format there...

 

[raccoonradio]

>>Entercom changed the format. They are the ones you should address your concerns with...not the FCC. The FCC doesn't care.

Very true. Though:

Maybe times are different now, but wasn't there a case when WCOP dropped the country format and some
country fans went to the FCC and demanded it be brought back somehow, and WCOP's then-owners
(Plough) wound up buying time on what was then WDLW-1330, putting on country. (First weekends, then
full time.) I don't know if a court forced them to do so--or the FCC, or something. But that was so, so
long ago...(late 70s). I don't know if that kind of thing could happen today.

That said, yes, the FCC probably would not care, so concerns should be expressed to either Entercom
or some other owner/group owner--tell them you think there's an audience for R&B/rap/old school/reggae/
blues, etc. If that doesn't work the only other hope is tuning in to shows on college or public radio...

Government can make rules (FCC) affecting broadcasting, but should they have the power to force
radio stations what to air? It's private enterprise (I know, on the PUBLIC airwaves). Though isn't it the
case in Canada that the CRTC butts in and demands that certain formats be done/audiences be served?
Thought I heard that somewhere, but that's the Great White North and not here...

 

[chitchatjf]

1090 and 1510 are AM.

What Boston needs is an FM Rhythum station that plays mo0re then just hip hop.

 

[raccoonradio]

Well, good luck in getting it on FM, but I don't know what stations would be willing to change their format to
urban, or would be willing to sell to an ownership group who will. There are smooth jazz fans in Boston and
country fans in LA and NYC who would love to hear their type of music on terrestrial radio, but consultants/
station owners/advertisers seem to feel that there aren't enough to justify a station with that respective format.
This is why some people are fleeing to satellite radio or mp3 players. (but even sat-radio may not be the
answer. I'm reading that Sirius is dropping WSM's classic country and Grand Ole Opry...apparently feeling not enough people are out there to enjoy it..even though some people say they got Sirius just so they could hear
the station.

(I think Sirius does still have a classic country station but no Opry)

Radio is indeed a biz and if none of the station owners in Boston wish to air what WILD-FM was doing there may not be much one can do. Indeed, go to the FCC if you must but don't hold your breath. The rules changes that allow multiple station ownership have benefitted many large station groups, and we know
who they are; while it should be OK for an owner to own more than one AM/FM in town, sometimes you
wonder if the now-high ownership limits are TOO high. But again, do we make sure everyone in town gets to hear what they want, BY LAW, or do we let the market decide? I usually side with the "let the market
decide" view, though I do acknowledge that significant numbers of listeners are being bypassed. (In which
case it's up to those being denied their format to take their case to the station owners.)

It's a slippery slope: yes, stations "own" a certain frequency, and yet the airwaves themselves are public.
While the black population of Boston is said to be considerably lower than that of other cities (the
example I heard was 6 per cent here, 25 per cent in Wash DC), it's still a lot of potential listeners who
don't have their format any more. Is it up to the FCC to stipulate that this audience be satisfied? Does
that also mean that the FCC should step in and force _one_ station in NYC and LA to run country
music, because currently no station in that city does?

Again, best of luck in your quest, and maybe college/public radio can fill the gap with some rap/R&B/
ballad/classic soul programming. (As more people buy mp3 players and subscribe to satellite radio
to get the music terrestrial radio isn't providing...)

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

not gonna happen

This is not an FCC matter. Radio One made a business decision, in their own best interest: to sell the station and cash out. Format changes happen all of the time. Deal with it.

 

[raccoonradio]

>>Radio One made a business decision

And, since they're a black-owned company, nobody can cry racism here. They felt they couldn't compete
in Boston...if someone else wants to give it a try, they're welcome to.

What's interesting is how up in Canada, their version of the FCC apparently does have the power to control
formats. A discussion about oldies station CKDO 1580 in Oshawa said something like it's "illegal" (against
CRTC regulations) to have a pure oldies station on FM *(!). But that's Canada and not here..not unless
the FCC changes their rules, which would be doubtful

*--see post by Yeziknowradio on Canada board: "All Oldies, with the odd exception, is still illegal on FM in Canada, so as long as the CRTC keeps that rule in place"

 

[Eli Polonsky]

1090 and 1510 are AM.

What Boston needs is an FM Rhythum station that plays mo0re then just hip hop.

I agree, but an AM one would be better than nothing. However, 1090 is a daytime-only dog that will always have to sign off a half hour after sunset, and 1510 is a sink-hole of high overhead and expenses that no one wants to touch.

 

[Jacko]

It's not the FCC's job to regulate formats in a market, it only regulates how many stations a company owns. If the FCC did regulate formats, WCBS-FM in New York would've gone back to Oldies.

Jacko

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Hi all, I went to Slade's last Thursday and we were told by Coach, Willie May, the deal is not a done deal yet.

And Willie May is...who, again? How exactly does he know the deal is not done yet?

WILD needs us, our friends, family, and community to email the FCC and let them know what WILD means to us and we want them to stay. The more people we can get to do this the louder our voice, the better our chances are to be heard. Also, there will be a rally @ City Hall plaza on October 9, 2006. Most of WILD's past and present staff will be there with more information and possible proposals. Bring as many people as you can and tell as many people as you can, they need us to turn out by the thousands. Come on Boston, Let them know we are here.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy your version of p**sing in the wind. If the FCC even bothers to reply, they will tell you what they tell everyone else with the same complaint: The FCC does NOT involve itself in programming decisions, and said programming decisions do NOT affect FCC approval of a station sale.

 

[JustinT]

Hi all, I went to Slade's last Thursday and we were told by Coach, Willie May, the deal is not a done deal yet.

And Willie May is...who, again? How exactly does he know the deal is not done yet?

"Coach" Willie May was the longtime morning person on WILD 1090; he was bumped to doing local sports updates when Tom Joyner was added to 1090. I believe he stayed doing local updates on Joyner when TJ moved to 97.7, not sure if he is still doing updates on the gospel-and-Joyner 1090.

How does he know? I believe he is one of the few Radio One staffers remaining at Marina Bay, if he hasn't been let go already.

 

[ciao99]

1090 and 1510 are AM.

What Boston needs is an FM Rhythum station that plays mo0re then just hip hop.

Can I get an Amen?