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Recently, I wrote two posts decrying the lame state of Syracuse radio here and here.
Two folks actually involved in Syracuse radio took the time to comment on my rambling notions: Larry Hoyt of the Common Threads folk music show airing at noon on Sundays on WAER FM 88 and Adam Gold of The Funk Show airing from 5 PM to 8 PM on Saturdays, also on WAER FM 88.
Both shows are living refutations of my thesis that “Syracuse Hates Cool Radio.”
Also: check out Larry Hoyt’s new blog, NewFolkNow where he scopes out all the art, music, poetry–the entire creative scene in our fair city.
Larry Hoyt, the host of the Common Threads folk music show on WAER FM 88 , wrote a comment on my last post: Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music.
Before I launch into this diatribe, I urge everyone to tune into Larry’s show on Sundays beginning at noon on WAER FM 88. It’s great.
In his comment, Larry thought my prior post was harsh, inaccurate and painted the failures of Syracuse radio with too broad a brush. Guilty as charged, Larry. That’s blog writing for you, intemperate and wildly biased.
However, I’m unrepentant and still believe what I wrote. So I give you the Top 10 Reasons Syracuse Radio Hates Cool Music:
1) Syracuse radio hates cool music because it only lets it come out and play at odd hours. The cool shows are segregated from the regular fare and largely on the weekends. Why should I have to choose between Tom Townsley (blues) and Bill Knowlton (bluegrass) on Sunday nights?
2) Syracuse radio hates cool music because there are whole genres of cool music missing from the airwaves in Syracuse: reggae, ska, punk, power pop etc.
3) Syracuse radio hates cool music because no station will play anything off Bruce Springsteen’s album Magic–even though the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard and whose single won best rock song at the Grammys.
4) Syracuse radio hates cool music because it took an organizing effort by the CNY Friends of Folk just to get your amazing show on the air.
5) Syracuse radio hates cool music because any station could have created the exact same format that WAER is now paying to simulcast on its HD 2 station.
6) Syracuse radio hates cool music because WAER yanked the “Cool Runnin’s” reggae show off the air many years ago–the last time we got to hear old school reggae in the ‘Cuse.
7) Syracuse radio hates cool music because too many of my friends have the same opinion expressed by Nat in the comment right before yours: “I didn’t realize that you could hear good music on the radio anywhere in the world until I left CNY.”
Syracuse radio hates cool music because the only world beat show on Syracuse radio comes on after my bedtime on Sunday night–I’ve got to work on Mondays!
9) Syracuse radio hates cool music because the local “community” radio station is only on the radio in your “community” if your “community “ happens to be in DeRuyter.
10) Syracuse radio hates cool music because too many of my friend ask me to play the following Buck-o-nine song :
What Happened To My Radio?
oh no, not again, please tell i’m wrong
it’s been ten minutes since they played this song
or is it the band with the one word name
I get so confused it all sounds the same.the dj must think i’m crazy
or maybe just an idiot
last week he was spinning country
now alternative rock is the shit.just who do they think they’re fooling
with this backwards regimen
they shove it so far down your throat
it’s swallowed with an english accentwhat happened to my radio?
it used to be cool
now it just blows
Mark Bialczak posts on the Listen Up blog about a new development with WAER radio. On their new HD 2 format, WAER simulcasts Xponential, syndicated out of WXPN in Philadelphia. WXPN is the college radio station at my alma mater The University of Pennsylvania. It has been on the cutting edge of music for a long time.
Of course, this begs the question, why can’t WAER create anything of interest on its own? Criminy, they’re supposedly educating the radio industry of tomorrow, doesn’t anyone there have an ounce of creativity? Why can’t S.U.’s university-owned radio station play anything of interest?
Syracuse radio hates cool music: S.U.’s WAER plays cocktail lounge jazz, SUNY Oswego’s station plays no music–all NPR and old-time radio drama. WJPZ, allegedly owned by Syracuse U. students, plays dance crapola. Commercial radio is all knucklehead morning shows and bland corporate rock. The “community” radio station can only be heard on the radio in Madison County and our ”public” radio station is averse to playing anything but classical music (I’m in envious awe of North Country Public Radio’s eclectic mix of programming.)
Most stations consign all the interesting stuff to the Sunday evening time slot, segregating it from all the rest of their fare. Don’t make any plans for Sundays if you want to catch local music, bluegrass, blues and world beat shows. At least WAER’s HD radio program will be free, so we can listen to hip music without paying for satellite radio–where all the rest of the hip stuff has migrated. But we will have to buy new radio receivers.
I guess I’m betraying my boomer roots–there’s never been more easy access to such a wide array of music as we have now via the ‘net. But I still long for the ease of just turning on a radio and hearing some cool tunes and a DJ that actually lives in your town talking up the good stuff.
