EMBRACE THE
LIVE-NESS!
RIGHT
WRONG
ÒFighting to
stay freeÓ
#179...December
2013
And now, ladies and gentlemenÉ
Éin 1979 WCGY, an FM out of Lawrence, Mass., switched from running TMÕs
top 40 Stereo Rock format after five years, to basically the same format with
live DJs. To announce the change, they used the phrase ÒItÕs good to be alive.Ó
If only more radio
stations today took that as the gospel.
Is it me, or does certain
live music programming Ôoff-radioÕ sound more live than that on terrestrial
radio does when it IS live? Let me put that another way: how ÒliveÓ is breaking
in to announce something four or five times an hour Ð with the remaining
song-to-song transitions simply sweeper- or jingle-to-music Ð when most of
whatÕs announced amounts to promos for whatÕs coming up or station events, what
listeners can win, or whatÕs on the stationÕs website or social media outlets?
Granted, there is
Ôlive-nessÕ to all the above, but isnÕt there a greater opportunity to sound
Ôin the momentÕ by talking about whatÕs going on today in listenersÕ lives, or,
heaven forbid, the songs themselves? Or, in the case of the online examples, by
providing programming that urges or reinforces live participation?
To see Ð or, rather, hear
Ð the idea of radio embracing the live-ness in action, one need go no further
than the home to the show the site for which is home to Hz So Good. It would be enough that Bob RadilÕs Friday Night 60s-70s Show on Rewound
Radio has a live participation element every week, through requests and just
comments via the Oldies Message Board,
BobÕs Facebook page and the
old-fashioned phone. But that element takes on an additional element, if you
will, in a few weeks when the show goes nuclear to count down the annual Top 77
of All Time, with more hours and far greater listener involvement (you can vote
for the Top 77 - the 16th annual, by the way Ð here http://www.musicradio77.com/voting2013.html).
It makes you wonder
whether oldies-based programming on the Internet embraces that live-ness more
enthusiastically than other programming, or radio in general. YouÕll hear that
same enthusiasm during Don TandlerÕs Saturday ÒTime MachineÓ countdowns on Pop
Gold Radio, which elicit listener posts during their airtime even if,
ironically, thereÕs no need for the show to run live. Yet DonÕs delivery and
jingle-perfect re-creation of earlier eras give it a live feel lacking from so
much truly live music-based radio.
Another irony: both shows
feature a lot of talk about songs most listeners already know, while the
terrestrial programming that could use more live-ness focuses on new music
which a good percentage of passive listeners donÕt already know. Songs that
really are Ôin the moment.Õ
As radioÕs sound moves
closer to Internet-originated delivery in terms of less human interaction and
interruption, maybe itÕs worth taking a moment to consider the importance and
value of not just live-ness, but a live-ness that makes itself obvious. If more
online-only offerings start doing this better, too, what does radio have left?
NOW THIS
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Past editions of Hz So Good can be seen
at http://www.60s70s.org/HzSoGood