Re: USA today on KEXP AND Entertainment Weekly
> > > > >
> > > > Oh good. Somebody's bashing KEXP here. This is great.
> If
> >
> > > you
> > > > like "anything goes" FM, or any old record, then KEXP
> is
> >
> > > > your place. I prefer the good old days, those days
> gone
> > by
> > >
> > > > before Paul Allen seized control. Yeah, that's KCMU,
> > baby
> > > > and KCMU was the radio station for the Associated
> > Students
> > >
> > > > of University of Washington(ASUW)and had studio's next
>
> > > door
> > > > to KUOW on CAMPUS, and UW DJ's. PSA's were about
> campus
> > > > activities and the local scene. Now it's "world wide"
> > and
> > > > "podcasts" are the "in" thing. And you know who still
> > owns
> > >
> > > > the station? The University of Washington Board of
> > > Regents.
> > > > They should be ashamed of themselves. And they should
> > > bring
> > > > that radio station back to Campus, as far as I am
> > > concerned.
> > > >
> > >
> > > The above is an interesting post.
> > >
> > > In 1981 I was invited as a "guest star" on KCMU by Mike
> > > Stein (AKA Damien) - this event was heavily promoted on
> > the
> > > air prior to my "appearance" for reasons I can't (or
> don't
> >
> > > want to) recall.
> > >
> > > Immediately after being introduced, the conversation
> went
> > > something like this:
> > >
> > > SR: "What's that on the wall?
> > > MS: "That's a Format Wheel"
> > > SR: "What is a Format Wheel doing at KCMU, a radio
> station
> >
> > > owned by the University of Washington - aren't you
> > supposed
> > > to be setting an example to celebrate intellectual
> > > curiosity, to support and applaud diversity?"
> > >
> > > I'm sure I rambled on...but I'll spare you.
> > >
> > > Rather than the expected evening of frivolity and
> musical
> > > merriment, I asked that the phone lines be opened so we
> > > could discuss the presence of a Format Wheel at KCMU.
> > > (Thankfully Mike and I have remained friends over the
> > > years.)
> > >
> > > It wasn't long after that event when the "powers" at
> KCMU
> > > opened their hearts and reached out beyond their limited
> –
> >
> > > albeit spunky – playlist of Talking Heads, Devo and the
> > > like. (All of which I liked, I just didn't like the
> > > limitation.)
> > >
> > > So here we are, almost 25 years later and...what's this?
>
> > > FMSteve (no relation) has a valid point: What Hath
> Regents
> >
> > > Wrought?
> > >
> > > To lose/ignore connectivity with the local community
> (i.e.
> >
> > > UW happenings) is to deny reality (where oh where has my
>
> > > Husky gone...) and likewise deny listeners around the
> > globe
> > > true LOCAL flavor.
> > >
> > > Look, it's not just the music, just like it's not just
> the
> >
> > > water...
> > >
> > > Everyone LOVES Paul Allen, right? (Okay, I can't speak
> for
> >
> > > his family or the forgotten high school chums who
> probably
> >
> > > haven't forgotten him in the least. And I can't talk
> about
> >
> > > his personal hygiene, I don't think I ever met him
> unless
> > he
> > > was that dude who was always hanging 'round the Sleaze
> > > District in a trench coat. I hope that wasn't him,
> ewww.)
> >
> > >
> > > But how can you not love a guy who lives out Atlas
> > Shrugged?
> >
> > ROTFLMAO!!
> > >
> > >
> > > Still, it's not just the money either - although it
> helps
> > a
> > > lot.
> > >
> > > (Even though KEXP doesn't need to, they should now be
> > > saying: "K-E-X-P, Seattle...and thanks Paul, we couldn't
>
> > be
> > > here wihout you!" at the top of every hour.)
> > >
> > > That musical art can (pick one or more) move, excite,
> > > provoke, comfort, inspire, (add your descriptive here)
> is,
> >
> > > of course, wonderful.
> > >
> > > Yet shouldn't a Radio Station, licensed to a community,
> be
> >
> > > more than a jukebox podcast? (Yes, this goes for the
> > > mega-mondo commercial consolidated too.)
> > >
> > > A great example of a fabulous college station
> "broadcast"
> > -
> > > IMHO - is KAOS in Olympia:
http://www.kaosradio.org/
> >
> > I agree with you on KAOS. Somehow in the talk over KEXP,
> > they got lost in the shuffle (and they probably liked it
> > that way.) KAOS is probably what KEXP would sound like if
> it
> > were still at Kane Hall under the call letters KCMU.
> >
> > Another great overlooked indie NW station is KUGS,
> > Bellingham. Unfortunately, there is no streaming audio for
>
> > KUGS, which ended when the RIAA screamed for more money
> from
> > webcasters in 2001. They are awaiting a power boost to 700
>
> > watts, though given the terrain between Skagit and Whatcom
>
> > County, still won't be much of an overall improvement
> south
> > of Bellingham...
> >
> >
http://www.kugs.org
> >
> >
> > >
> > > A great example of a fabulous "webcast" - one w/o
> pretence
> >
> > > or, for that matter, specific direction (this gives
> > > "shuffle" new meaning) is:
>
http://hype.non-standard.net/
> >
> > > (just click on "listen")
> >
> > This is VERY interesting...although the stream must be
> > pretty crowded. Even the podcast wouldn't download.
>
>
> Haven't tried the podcast on this site yet, but their "cull
> the blogs" approach is always facinating and even - gasp -
> educational, albeit (or would that be "thankfully") not in
> the traditional sense.
>
>
> > >
> > > I'm sure there are plenty more.
> > >
> > > Nevertheless, you really have to cheer on the folks at
> > KEXP
> > > for their entrepreneurship and - especially - for
> > > successfully arriving where they need to be. For the
> > moment.
> > >
> > >
> > > Let's hope the folks at KEXP will take a look around
> and,
> > > using the same pioneering spirit that got them truly
> > "indie"
> > > (read: "in the black") they will also create new and
> > > innovative ways to embrace and promote "a sense of
> > > community" - one the reaches into the vast resources of
> > > their surroundings. (No, not the strip bar). (And no,
> not
> > > just airing local bands either.)
> > >
> > > Now that there truly is no need for a Format Wheel of
> any
> > > kind, lets see if they can use their creative energy to
> > > reflect who they are rather than simply dictate what's
> > > "cooool boy...stay cooool, boy..."
> > >
> > > Because...
> > >
> > > "When you're a Jet (City) you're a Jet (City) all the
> > > way..."
> >
> > I don't see a hip-appeal dictatorship at KEXP itself. I
> > think that's just mostly the listeners and local/national
> > scribes that give it that status. They do the same thing
> to
> > KAOS, although KEXP does get the most national ink because
>
> > of it's technological breakthroughs these days. My wife
> said
> > it perfectly a minute ago: In most of the world, you can
> > hear KEXP on anything but a radio.
>
>
> I love your wife. (Please pass this site on to her for me
> with warm regards:
http://hober.com/)
I love her too. And I'll pass it on....
>
>
> >
> > I will say this, when KEXP moved out of Kane Hall and onto
>
> > Dexter Ave and Paul Allen's payroll, it was no longer a
> > "U-Dub" station, in spite of the license still being held
> by
> > the U. But over the years, as the station upped power from
>
> > 10 to 182, then 404, 720 and now 3,300 watts, changed dial
>
> > position from 90.5 to 90.3 and calls from KCMU to KEXP it
> > became a full blown Seattle station whether we liked it or
>
> > not and they do serve Seattle well, if not it's womb at
> Kane
> > Hall. But the Regents wouldn't have acted if most of the
> > listeners didn't want it. In fact, if you'll remember in
> the
> > '90s, there were some disgruntled KCMU listeners who took
> > opposition to the changes in direction (they were playing
> > fewer hardcore indie punk bands) found by the the power
> > increases to KCMU-which the listeners, the staff and
> Regents
> > agreed to, and formed CURSE (an acronym for Censorship
> > Undermines Radio Station Ethics.) CURSE disbanded in a few
>
> > years after a settlement.
>
>
> Don't know anything about this page in history - what did
> they do with the "winnings" after the lawyers took their
> cut, of course? Just curious. (Were they good witches or bad
> witches?)
You know, I only heard there was a settlement of some kind. All I know is CURSE is no longer around and if someone remembers-or better yet, a CURSE organizer, please let us in on how that went down. I don't know the whole CURSE story, but I did go to a benefit concert for it with a friend who played in an Oly band (one of many) that had trouble getting exposure on KCMU at that time. I guess they were moving away from any association with the raging Seattle scene of the early '90s the KCMU call letters are indelibley linked to and trying to retain their indie, non-commercial image at a time when their two almost house bands a few years earlier, Soundgarden had their Top Ten smash "Black Hole Sun" and Mudhoney (of all bands) had a deal with Reprise.
I'm sure a lot of people came to Seattle in the early '90s, high on MTV fueled delusions of grunge chic and tuned their radios to the much publicized KCMU and went straight into shock when not "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana, but "How Fortunate The Man With None" Dead Can Dance was being played. But you could already hear Nirvana on KUBE at this time. They hit the big time. Now let's go find some new music. That sounds cruel to seemingly abandon the very people you helped make famous, but most of the bands themselves don't necessarily feel that way (you'd be surprised at how many Seattle bands mentioned KCMU in the credits of their albums.) KCMU helped them get where they are and it's time to get some new indie heroes. That's just Indie Rock 101. Belinda Carlisle started out in Indie Rock (in her pre-Go-Gos punk band, The Germs), So did Danny Elfman and even Sarah McLachlan. Some bands like Fugazi stay indie while others like The Offspring take their major label deals and run to major radio stardom, which creates yet another opening in the ever changing world of college/indie/modern rock radio for new talent. And the cycle continues....
>
>
> > The webcasts were originally a way to compensate for a
> less
> > than desirable FM signal when it was still KCMU (they were
>
> > already getting worldwide poplularity even then that
> > expanded further into KEXP.) With all this global
> technology
> > (and Paul Allen) at their disposal, it was inevitable
> > somewhere down the line they were going to make use of it.
>
> > And sometimes, we all forget the lines between radio and
> > computers today are blurring. And that's what a lot of
> radio
> > is today, every station has a web site, podcasts are
> popping
> > up everywhere. But radio can go anywhere within a given
> > signal and for now, computers can go anywhere in the
> world,
> > but only so far from an AC outlet and/or a Wi-Fi area at
> > best. but that's changing too (they already make
> > AM/FM/Internet Radio tuners.)
> >
> >
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1618811,00.asp
>
>
> THAT's very exciting!
>
>
> >
> > And almost every station has a web site and/or streaming
> > audio. But I understand the concern for losing a local
> > identity because that is what makes listening to radio on
> > the internet soo fascinating, to get a feel for life
> > elsewhere, and hear some great tunes.
> >
> > But KEXP still brings that (although I admit, a Husky game
>
> > or two would be nice now and then. Heeeyyy...what's KUOW
> > doing lately?..)
>
>
> I guess this is the point of contention. What defines "local
> flavor?" - another site I enjoy is
>
http://www.live-radio.net/info.shtml which brings a world of
> local stations to your desktop (listening to a station in
> The Congo makes me smile).
I already have it in my browser Favorites. Today I'm listening to WAVK, Marathon. FL (for a station facing a possible natural destruction within 24 hours, they're sure playing a lot of John Mayer right now-they must be real troopers down there...and I'm just talking about playing John Mayer.)
Musically, this station is almost a dead ringer for KPLZ these days, it's that one-size-fits-all brand of Hot AC/'80s/'90s you hear all over the place these days. But I don't hear much from the jock (who after nearly two hours of listening, still hasn't identified himself.) Other than a "We're keepin' a Wilma Watch!" blurb every 15 minutes, he's short on details. Like how the traffic on those bridges is currently as they're evacuating folks out of town. That's local flavor that's missing. Or who still has plywood to sell and on which island, what's happening around the community at that moment. From what I'm hearing now, I'm envisioning the whole city of Marathon doing a line dance to "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" Shania Twain as a deadly hurricane approaches.
Hey, check out this Bollywood/Pop from Mauritius
Top FM 104.0 FM
http://www.servihoo.com/channels/media/radios/TopFM/WebcastingPopup_windows.htm
>
>
> >
> > I do think the students at the U-Dub NEED their own ON-AIR
>
> > campus station (the only current student offering is
> > RainyDawg radio,
http://www.rainydawg.org/ , an online
> > station.) I think The U can get another station on the air
>
> > for these people. An LPFM could bring RainyDawg to the
> > U-District masses...
> >
>
> I'll check it out (thanks!)
>
>
> > One thing I like about KEXP is the jocks can express their
>
> > own personalities in a way you just can't find on the
> > conglomerate stations. That's a step in the right
> direction
> > for radio as a whole.....
> >
>
> Expressing their own personalities? On the radio?? How
> radical.
It's true. I always wondered if these AC jocks ever came home to their families and said to them at the dinner table. "Thanks honey, now at 7:20 tomorrow morning Jeremy, you have dishes to put in the dishwasher. Amber stay tuned after school because I'm giving away free driver's ed lessons. That's right. I'm giving away one free driver's ed lesson for a lucky young girl. All she has to do is call 555-KRUD at 3:20 pm during Dad's bottom hour music sweep and reveal Dad's secret credit card cash number! And honey, you got two hours of love songs with Dad to relax and unwind to at the end of the day. Now with time saver traffic, here's our dog, Mittens...."
>
>
> > It's true, it's not just the music and it's not just KEXP.
>
> > But KEXP does get props for helping to bring back the idea
>
> > of creative radio to the masses in recent days. It's radio
>
> > that still wanders and explores, but it's still in
> > Seattle....
> >
>
> No question there. But now that they are on "solid" ground
> and have a sliver of the world's attention, what are they
> going to do with it all?
>
> They - unlike most (Paul Allen being an exception) - have
> the opportunity to do something extraordinary/meaningful.
> Promoting more cartoon-colored Rock Bands? (Isn't "three
> guitars in front and a drummer in back" a bit, ummm, dated?)
> Support more overpaid sports figures? (Like, yawnnnnnnnnn.)
>
> Wachagonnado?
>
Well, it's hard for me personally to answer that since I'm not with KEXP (but I tune in a lot) and I don't have access to Paul Allen's checkbook. But you make good points. I understand how Paul Allen's kind of money has that corrupting factor for anyone, to say nothing of a public radio station. And there are some people who feel the same way. But there should always be ideas and communication flowing from the local listeners on what music is played. As long as there is that, then KEXP is upholding it's end of the deal.
It's a brave new world of radio that's dawning and I'm sure mistakes will be made by everyone and yes, even KEXP - nobody's perfect, even me (but I'll do in a fix.) But all we can do is hope for a brighter future for radio listeners everywhere. It's getting there, albeit painfully slow.
Today's radio listener is a lot different now than during the '80s. They got options today that people in the '80s would have KILLED for-if they could figure any of it out.
But I notice a lot of radio today still has a lot of the worn out '80s radio cliches ("The Best Mix", "Continuous Hit Music" and the infamous "10 In A Row" or "50 Minute Music Sweep", etc.) I hear the same things over and over-even in the age of iPods. Today, it's not a HUGE factor of how much music a station plays, but what kind.
Tastes these days are so splintered (You can just as easily find a Snoop Dogg CD in same wallet as a Garth Brooks CD and a Black Sabbath CD.) JACK had the right idea of putting a huge variety of pop music on, but that seems to be narrowing on some JACK stations (or maybe I'm just too familiar with the format. That annoying JACK voice over is soooo DONE and where's the DJs-at least at the Seattle JACK.)
The scope of pop music is HUGE.....and I'm already getting tired of the tight playlist this hurricane doomed station is playing (I already heard "Behind These Hazel Eyes" Kelly Clarkson and "I'm Feeling You" Santana w/ Michelle Branch TWICE already in the last three hours. C'MON YOU GUYS!! What's the local 411?! Nobody wants to DIE on a "Work Escape Weekend" to a Bon Jovi soundtrack!....)
<P ID="signature">______________
"Most rock journalism is people who cannot write interviewing people who cannot talk" - Frank Zappa
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