OK, so my Thursday Rant is a day late... it's not like anyone's actually reading this, right?
Today's rant is about the death of modern rock and the general demise of radio in the Washington DC area.
Almost exactly a year ago, the best modern rock station in the DC area, WHFS, flipped its format to Latin/Salsa. This left powerhouse DC101 for alt rock, and Z-104 playing a more mellow "adult alternative" format. This past Wednesday saw the death of Z-104, replaced by a classical station in order to make room for a new long-format news-talk station.
This means the loss of any alternative to DC101 for modern/alt rock, and basically NO station in the DC metro area that actually plays music without silly antics from their radio personalities. OK, even Z-104's morning crew had their share of on-air comedy and gossip segments, but they were much more tolerable (and played more music) than the crass Elliot in the Morning show, the nonsensical babbling of the Jack Diamond Morning Show, the humorless chatter of the 98 Rock morning show , or the "locker room talk" of the Sports Junkies. Heck, even the Junkies would be tolerable if they still played an occasional song like when they were on 'HFS.
Outside of the morning drive, the only real alternative to DC101 for modern rock is its sister station in Baltimore, 98 Rock (another Clear Channel station), but reception is spotty in DC and their afternoon DJs frequently act like idiots. Mix 107.3 and WINC are tolerable, but both are Adult Contemporary stations that either put me to sleep or nauseate me with some old 70's song that should be left to rest in peace. If I want to listen to 70's and 80's music, I'll put on classic rock 94.7 The Arrow, which has basically become the best alternative to DC101 after 98 Rock.
What's really a shame is that there is no longer a place to hear artists like Dave Matthews, Alanis Morisette, John Mayer, and U2 without the sleepy sounds Elton John and Jewel, the 80's pop of Madonna, or the obnoxious sounds of Jet, The Killers, The White Stripes, and others. Don't get me wrong... I like harder artists like Nine Inch Nails, Puddle of Mudd, Foo Fighters, and Green Day, but I normally prefer the lighter stuff, especially with DC traffic the way it is. And I certainly changed the station less often due to a song on Z104 (usually because it was a little TOO mellow or a song that I was completely sick of) than I do for stuff played on DC101, Mix 107.3, 98 Rock, or 94.7.
When my wife and I used to commute together, we'd go through our 400+ CD collection from A to Z. This was great, except for 1) not getting traffic and weather reports and 2) never getting to hear any new music. I'd consider getting an iPod but that has the same drawbacks, which is why I'm now seriously considering XM or Sirius satellite radio. (And then I might actually be able to get the Penn State games too!) I just hate the idea paying a monthly fee for something I'll only listen to about 45 minutes a day. But given the state of radio in the DC area these days, I may not have any other option, other than starting my own radio station (which has crossed my mind).
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3 comments:
Sing it, Marc!
The worst part from my household's point of view is the move of WGMS to 104.1 from 103.5.
103.5 has the best signal in the whole area, on a clear day you can hear it in PA.
104.1 has the worst signal in the area, we can't receive it in 2/3's of the rooms in our house.
feh.
It sounds like you really should consider one of the satellite radio companies. AOL (you know - the anti-Christ of ISPs) for broadband has its own radio, and a lot of the stations are straight from XM. If I ever get a job where I'm in the car more than an hour a day, I'd be all over XM.
If you ever take any long road trips, you will be so happy to have XM. It's well worth it to us for our trips up and down the East Coast!
And it has SO much more choice than the airwaves.
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