Where Have All The Flowers Gone? (Radio-Info EZ Contributors of the Past)

[EZway2go]

That thread "Is there a way to hear B/EZ music on side frequencies," which was resurrected from 2005, also triggered some memories of the old Radio-Info EZ Listening board. Looking at those old posts, I couldn't help but notice how many people who used to post here no longer do so... Brian Lewis, jeff003 (the Percy Faith aficionado), elevator_opratr... (Chuck is still here, though). Some others I recall off the top of my head as I type this... Nick Gerard, Jim Hicks, Les, westlife, RMarino, Gary from Omaha, dbdigital... These are just a few of the many contributors I've enjoyed over the years. Remember oaktree, and that great discussion on "Defining Adult Standards?" Where'd everybody go?

Maybe it's like that Petula Clark song "A Sign of the Times." People just get tired and move on, I guess. But the sad truth might be it's a reflection of the direction this format has taken... and that would be a tragedy.

 

[Chuck]

That thread "Is there a way to hear B/EZ music on side frequencies," which was resurrected from 2005, also triggered some memories of the old Radio-Info EZ Listening board. Looking at those old posts, I couldn't help but notice how many people who used to post here no longer do so... Brian Lewis, jeff003 (the Percy Faith aficionado), elevator_opratr... (Chuck is still here, though). Some others I recall off the top of my head as I type this... Nick Gerard, Jim Hicks, Les, westlife, RMarino, Gary from Omaha, dbdigital... These are just a few of the many contributors I've enjoyed over the years. Remember oaktree, and that great discussion on "Defining Adult Standards?" Where'd everybody go?

Maybe it's like that Petula Clark song "A Sign of the Times." People just get tired and move on, I guess. But the sad truth might be it's a reflection of the direction this format has taken... and that would be a tragedy.

It may have something to do with the way the format has gone, but more likely, it is just the way the posts and conversation have gone. Although I do not subscribe to Arbitron, my friends tell me that last fall, we had our best book ever. Somebody must be listening.

I suspect the lack of stimulating conversation is because it is hard to have much to say when somebody posts something like "Dial Global played a song by Percy Faith this morning." Who really cares? Bottom line, you get out of it what you put into it.

 

[Darth_vader]

I think this "proprietary" (Suitspeak for "nonstandard") implementation of SMF is set up to automatically expire and purge "old" logins after X amount of inactivity. (Don't know for certain.) This may explain why you're seeing so many posts from inactive logins in the other thread.

Although "westlife" could just be an older version of "vwestlife". Fire the latter a personal message and ask him.

 

[EZway2go]

Good points, Chuck and Darth_vader. Yes, it's probably more a factor of the nature of the discussions because I've also seen it with the other boards and not just here on the EZ/Standards board. We're a specialized niche here, so I wouldn't expect as much traffic, but I can remember some extremely heavy activity elsewhere that now may garner only a couple posts a day. There's definitely been a drop-off in participation.

You know what I think it could be, too—after a while, a lot of the old regulars might just get tired of saying the same thing over and over. New people find this board all the time and what might be of interest to them has already been covered ad nauseum. After all, how many times can we say this format gets hurt by the lack of advertisers, just to give you an example. Yeah, we know it's a problem... and then, invariably, the conversation turns to those advertisers missing a golden opportunity.

Maybe technical issues have posed a problem for some. I know I had some user ID and password problems a few years ago when the website changed owners. So who knows? It's probably a combination of factors. To borrow from Bruce Hornsby, that's just the way it is.

 

[Chuck]

....after a while, a lot of the old regulars might just get tired of saying the same thing over and over. New people find this board all the time and what might be of interest to them has already been covered ad nauseum. After all, how many times can we say this format gets hurt by the lack of advertisers, just to give you an example. Yeah, we know it's a problem... and then, invariably, the conversation turns to those advertisers missing a golden opportunity..... To borrow from Bruce Hornsby, that's just the way it is.

I think that sums it up.

 

[Nick Gerard]

Hello EZway2go (and all)....

Thank you for the kind inquiry - I must say, it's nice to be remembered!

I don't post here much anymore, really just because of the passage of time. Back in the early to mid-2000's, my posts were fueled by the fact that I was actually working on-air in the format and by my own personal enthusiasm for the music.

I have, admittedly, an arch-conservative conception of a standards radio format. I worked on-air at a station that called itself "Home of the Great American Songbook." It was Sinatra, Torme, Ella, Tony, Peggy, Nat, Basie, Artie et al performing the music of the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn...you get the idea. It was not Neil Diamond, Anne Murray, the Carpenters, and David Gates and Bread.

Playing the Great American Songbook on-air was a radio rush like I'd never experienced. I really felt like I was at the apex of my career, doing what I truly loved on the radio.

The station was an echo of WNEW...which had gone off the air in the early 90s!

Back in that time, 8 - 10 years ago, I somewhat naively believed that there would always be a place for this great music on the radio. That it would never die. I used to get a lot of phone calls from listeners who shared my enthusiasm, but I closed my eyes to the fact that they were in their 60s, 70's, and 80's.

Around '05 I saw Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme in concert. Steve's performance, in particular, was breathtaking. He was in his early 70s, but could've been 45. That night, I really believed it would all go on forever.

But, the "Home of the Great American Songbook" soon changed to something more prosaic...oldies, then talk (gag me).

I consciously or unconsciously - not sure which - hung on to the hope that some nearby station would pick up the format. Of course, it didn't happen.

Now, gosh, 10 years have passed. What seemed like a viable radio niche back then is just a warm memory. I've moved my career into radio production over the past 5 years and I love it just as much as I loved playing the standards. At age 60, I am blessed to be working productively and joyfully in my lifetime craft.

So, I don't post much on the standards board because I've kinda drifted away, with some regret. Still love the music, but I pretty much get my fix from online sources like AOL Radio's "Sinatra Style" or AirstreamFM.com.

Still really like these boards and post mostly on Buffalo-Niagara Falls, my hometown board (even though I now live out of state)

Thanks again for the mention, EZ . Yes, I enjoyed those days and those robust discussions. I miss it.

Nick Gerard
aka Nick Summers or Nick Seneca, depending on the market

 

[Tim]

I'm just a bit older than Nick...and I liked some of the music he talked about...the music I call "music of my Mom & Dad".

Ironically...my favorite music is pop top 40 of the late 60's-late 70's...including David Gates and Bread, some Neil Diamond, and so forth...the very music Nick doesn't like.

Ironically...BOTH genres of music are now so passe on radio it's incredible. Thank heavens for MP3 players.

Music radio sucks any way in 2013....regardless of era. Sad, isn't it?

 

[Chuck]

Music radio sucks any way in 2013....regardless of era. Sad, isn't it?

Actually, I've heard a few new artists that can be pretty good. "Fun" and Bruno Mars come to mind, but there are quite a few others. Maybe real music will come back. I hope so.

But you are right, a lot of middle age folks like the music of the 1970's and later. I do. It seems like about 1990 or maybe a bit later, we hit a brick wall and popular music left me. About all that was left was Smooth Jazz and New Country which sounded like Three Dog Night with a fiddle and steel guitar. It seems Rap and Hip-Hop found a greater divide than when our parents first heard The Beatles or the Rolling Stones. Thankfully, a good tune is still a good tune, whenever it was written or performed.

 

[Darth_vader]

"Actually, I've heard a few new artists that can be pretty good. The Fun and Bruno Mars come to mind, but there are quite a few others."

That's my Dad's stuff.

Long explanation short, he's a 56-year old who's stuck in a state of "perpetual 'now'", so essentially he still thinks he's 16 years old and instantly falls in love with anything and everything new he hears on KINK as long as it's super-hyped, regardless of how little actual talent they have. That's why only he could love someone as grating and squawky as Adele. Part of how I know which acts to approach with caution and which to avoit outright is based on the extent to which they're embraced by him. If they're playing at the Crystal Ballroom and you hear him talk about it, you know it'll be super, super lame.

Case in point: when I was asked by him for a copy of "Demon Days" for Christmas nearly a decade ago, The Gorillas and everything associated with that act suddenly became INSTANTLY uncool.

 

[EZway2go]

Gee, if I'm not mistaken, I think the last time we heard from Nick, he was hosting a blues program.

I concur with Nick's description of what "the standards" really means. "Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra and "The Very Thought Of You" by Nat King Cole are standards. "Mandy" by Barry Manilow is not. There's a big difference. I reserve "standards" for what Nick references as the Great American Songbook. Over the years, though, I have loosened the reins on that strict definition and now accept some of the pop hitmakers into the fold such as Johnny Mathis ("A Certain Smile") or The Lettermen ("When I Fall In Love"). But I still can't bring myself to put the "standards" label on those soft AC songs from the '70s.

Speaking of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, I believe Eydie recently retired due to health issues, but Steve may still be performing. I heard that on Jim Doyne's Musical Memories out of Cedar Rapids. It's on every Sunday afternoon on WMT (an iHeartRadio station). The time varies because they carry University of Iowa basketball games, but his normal slot is 12-4 Central, and he begins every program with a Sinatra song. Check it out if you get a chance.

Case in point: when I was asked by him for a copy of "Demon Days" for Christmas nearly a decade ago, The Gorillas and everything associated with that act suddenly became INSTANTLY uncool.

Well, I just broadened my horizons. Have to admit I had never heard of that, so I looked it up... and actually played it all the way through. Not bad... believe me, I've heard far, far worse.

Ironically...my favorite music is pop top 40 of the late 60's-late 70's...including David Gates and Bread, some Neil Diamond, and so forth...the very music Nick doesn't like.

I like that period, too, but I would narrow it to the mid-'60s to early '70s... the period which I call the Golden Age of MOR radio. I have visions of all my old 45s, although a lot of my favorites never made the Top 40. Here's one for 'ya... "Kites Are Fun" by the Free Design. Betcha never heard that one.

It seems like about 1990 or maybe a bit later, we hit a brick wall and popular music left me.

That's around the time popular music left me, too (1989, I think). What did it for me was when a song called "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown made it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart—and I never heard of it. And I used to always follow pop music closely. I then started taking an interest in country, which I liked then, but not what passes for country now. That was also the time I "re-discovered" all the music we talk about on this board—the standards, instrumentals, and easy MOR hits of the '50s and '60s.

 

[Chuck]

That's around the time popular music left me, too (1989, I think). What did it for me was when a song called "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown made it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart—and I never heard of it. And I used to always follow pop music closely. I then started taking an interest in country, which I liked then, but not what passes for country now. That was also the time I "re-discovered" all the music we talk about on this board—the standards, instrumentals, and easy MOR hits of the '50s and '60s.

Yep. I now find myself with two stations to program. The new one, KDOK, is now a "Classic Hits" format. When I got it, it was "Classic Rap" - Go figure.

When I was trying to put together a play list, I'd originally planned for it to be 60's thru the 90's. Upon reviewing a ton of music, based on how it sounds, not what chart position it attained, I had a really hard time finding anything in the 90's that worked well with earlier music. Sure, there were a few songs, but really, not many, unless you wanted to include 90's New Country, which to me has always sounded like Three Dog Night with a steel guitar and fiddle added.

Since music has been a huge part of my life, I find it really sad that there is a huge body of work, that I can't relate to. I guess that happens if you live long enough.

 

[EZway2go]

Yep. I now find myself with two stations to program. The new one, KDOK, is now a "Classic Hits" format. When I got it, it was "Classic Rap" - Go figure.

When I was trying to put together a play list, I'd originally planned for it to be 60's thru the 90's. Upon reviewing a ton of music, based on how it sounds, not what chart position it attained, I had a really hard time finding anything in the 90's that worked well with earlier music. Sure, there were a few songs, but really, not many, unless you wanted to include 90's New Country, which to me has always sounded like Three Dog Night with a steel guitar and fiddle added.

Since music has been a huge part of my life, I find it really sad that there is a huge body of work, that I can't relate to. I guess that happens if you live long enough.

Classic Rap?? There really isn't such a thing, is there? We may as well have Disco Standards, too.

When I think of the '90s when it comes to pop, for some reason I think of "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes and "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba—and I really don't know why. They just epitomize the sound of the '90s to me, I guess. And you can see what a different sound they have compared to earlier decades. It's closer to the contemporary hits of today than what came before. Even the mellower songs of the decade such as "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" by Green Day and "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls have a certain quality that allow them to blend easily with what you hear on an Adult Contemporary station today. I think it's in the singing. There's a sense of anger in their voices that wasn't noticeable 25 or 30 years ago.

Mid '60s to mid/late '80s does it for me as to what should be on a Classic Hits station. Some '90s which probably wouldn't sound too out of place might include Jewel, The Cranberries, or Sixpence None the Richer; as well as Whitney Houston's biggest hit "I Will Always Love You" and that big dance hit of all dance hits, "Macarena." That's because they're either associated with an earlier time or they lack the anger element I mentioned above.

 

[Chuck]

I think you make a good point about the "anger" in a lot of recent music. I guess it is symptomatic of the many ills of our society. To me, anger has no place in music. It is supposed to be fun, relaxing, uplifting or any number of things, but having to take a course in anger management, is not one of the things I expect to be a part of music.

 

[Darth_vader]

"Here's one for ya...'Kites Are Fun' by the Free Design. Betcha never heard that one."

I have, in fact. I got my hands on a "Command Records 4-channel Sampler" that had it on the middle of side "A". (Not sure of the quad matrix format they used for that disk [probably QS.] It was put out after Command/Grand Award was sold out to ABC and the quality started going down the toilet.) Another interesting one to check out, if you can find it, is "Singers, Talkers, Swingers, Players and Doers" by the Hellers. (Command RS934SD.)

Mainstream pop generally didn't fare too well on Command, it seemed, despite there being quite a bit of it on that label in later years. I suppose Enoch was more interested in pushing easy listening than pop, even though he produced a bit of it. Weird how things just don't work out sometimes.