7/9/98 Misc. column; as seen in The Stranger
Airing It Out
AFTER YEARS OF SEEING favorite radio stations die from low ratings,
what should happen but I get my very own one-week Arbitron diary. For $2 cash,
I was to faithfully record every station I heard, whether at home, in car, at
work, or blaring out the neighbors' apt. at 2 a.m.
To carefully choose which stations deserved my temporarily-important
endorsement, I kept the dial moving all week. Herewith, selected results: -
KXPA-AM (1540): The first big find of my search: Spanish-language music all
day! (Except in some early-evening and weekend hours, when they've got
programming in other languages.) It's on the onetime "Rock of the '80s"
frequency where I first heard (among countless other 1979-81 alterna-greats)
Wall of Voodoo's "(I'm On A) Mexican Radio."
- KGY-FM (96.9): The second find: From Olympia, it's Real Country! The
classics, plus those few recent Nashville hits that don't sound too wimpy
alongside the classics.
- KMPS-FM (94.1): "Hot Country" is formerly-country music for people who live
in the former countryside, drivin' SUVs from the new subdivision to the new
strip mall and imagining they've gotten back to the land. It's also less
popular than it was last year. A Media Inc. article claims it's due to a
glut of mediocre new acts, and also claims "country listeners don't want to
hear failed rock 'n' roll garage bands that have turned to playing `hot'
country." The normally-astute Media Inc.'s wrong: Those garage-rockers
all want to be the next Hank Snow, not the next Billy Ray Cyrus.
- KKDZ-AM (1250): The former KidStar, now Radio Disney and airing in 24 U.S.
cities, still plays a mix of novelty oldies, children's-CD tracks, contests,
and phoned-in jokes. The main differences: More Disney-movie songs, and the
Disney marketing muscle.
- KIRO-AM (710): The grande dame of Northwest news-talk plows along at or
near the top of the Arbitrons year after year. To indigenous Seattleites, the
voices of Dave Ross and Bill Yeend are as familiar as Dave Niehaus's "Fly
away!" News listeners like a voice of stability telling them about global
chaos.
- KIXI-AM (880): The Little Nostalgia Station That Could is now Seattle's #3
AM station (ahead of the higher-budgeted KJR, KOMO, and KNWX). Proof that
there's occasionally justice in the world, even in the Arbitron world.
- KBKS-FM (106.1): "The Kiss 106 Music Mix" is essentially the MTV playlist
with fewer black acts, or the KNDD playlist without all the Pearl Jam copy
bands. An adequate office choice if your cubicle-mates are too square to
appreciate KIXI.
- KUBE-FM (93.3): Black music played for (and by) white people; currently
Seattle's #1 station. Its success means tuff luck for those who've pleaded for
it to play some local hip-hop.
- KYIZ-AM (1620): Not much local hip-hop on the black-owned "Z Twins"
stations either. But at least they've got DJs who insert some heart into their
soul.
- KVI-AM (570): Times columnist Michele Malkin, noting KVI's
steady ratings drop in recent years, said it needed a dose of Viagra. I'd say
its problems weren't due to medical deficiencies (or, alas, to shifting
political tastes) but simply to the laws of entertainment. Rush
Limbaugh's "unguested confrontation" schtick has about run its course as an
audience attractor; as he goes, so go the scores of Limbaugh-clone hosts around
the country. Stations built around Limbaugh wannabes will stay in their ratings
funk 'til the next talker fad (Dr. Laura clones? Personal-finance advice?)
heats up. Until then, expect hosts to keep spending ten minutes reading one
newspaper story, acting angry about it, and goading listeners to call in.
It's also an opportunity for those who've been yearning for a real progressive
community station. There's several low-rated, probably unprofitable
conserva-talk stations in the 1200-1600 AM neighborhood (plus new frequencies
now being allocated in the 1600-1700 range). The progs should get together, hit
up some friendly moneybags in the music and tech bizzes, and buy one of
these.
(Who's on your button-dial? Share your picks at
clark@speakeasy.org. Responses will be posted at Misc. World in two weeks.)
|
2001 COLUMNS
2000 COLUMNS
1999 COLUMNS
1999 COLUMNS
1998 COLUMNS
1997 COLUMNS
1996 COLUMNS
1995 COLUMNS
1986-94 COLUMNS
ESSAYS
FICTION
X-WORDS
'THE BIG BOOK OF MISC.'
THE BOOK 'LOSER'
MISCmedia, THE MAGAZINE
FUTURE PROJECTS
CYBER STUFF
THINGS I LIKE
'MISC. TALK'
DISCUSSION FORUM
CLARK'S CULTURE CORRAL:
BOOKS, MUSIC, MOVIES REVIEWED AND SOLD
(Support MISC. Media; make your Amazon.com purchases thru this link.)
|
