Feel Good Friday: Give And Take
This week, something bad happened. The local FM sports radio station, 93.9 The Ticket, lost their press passes thanks to critical comments and the drive-time guy predicting that U of L would lose to Pitt (or something, hell if I know what the real reason is). As they’re in a college town, if they can’t cover the local college team, they’re kind of screwed to the station is changing formats abruptly.
Word on the street is they’re going to become an oldies station. We’ve got more than enough oldies stations here, and I kind of hate all the oldies that they play anyway (they never play the good oldies, just the crappy ones). Still, they’ve been broadcasting the national feed of ESPN Radio, so on my drive into work this morning I was listening to Mike and Mike.
When I left work, what I heard wasn’t ESPN, but it was oldies. I nearly turned the station off, but then I realized just WHAT I was hearing. It wasn’t some lamesauce, overplayed, bullshit 60’s pop oldies, it was some legitimate oldies; specifically, it was Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey from 1940. Followed by The Andrews Sisters. Followed by something else from that era.
Beautiful.
Will it stay like this? Probably not. Next week it’ll probably be another station playing the same crap that’s on every other stupid oldies station trying to capture the Baby Boomer’s dessicated dollar. But for now, it’s a breath of fresh air.
Thanks, Dugan Ryan. The UofL AD Tom Jurich supposedly took away my favorite local sports station, but you gave me this (Bob Valvano says he didn’t, but I’m not sure I totally buy that the economy was bad if the station was doing so well in the ratings), if only for a day. That kind of makes up for it. If it sticks to this format, I’ll keep listening. Also, play The Inkspots.
Tags: feel good friday, frank sinatra, Music, radio station format changes, tommy dorsey
November 21st, 2008 at 2:16 am
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November 21st, 2008 at 8:50 am
I love your song choice. Anything from the Big Band era is ok in my book. This is the first time I’ve actually ever heard Sinatra sing it though I’ve heard the Billie Holiday version many times.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am
Very cool. I hope it stays like this for you. I feel the same way about “oldies” stations–I haven’t bothered with them in years.
And now, sadly, here in Nashville the one station I’ve ever felt I could count on for non-mainstream quality is playing JOHN FREAKING MELLENCAMP every hour on the hour.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:12 am
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November 21st, 2008 at 11:18 am
LJ: I’ve never heard the Billie Holiday version, just Frank. Isn’t that weird?
Holly: I got up this morning, the station was still on my radio, and it was… lamesauce 60’s oldies. I felt so betrayed. I’m sorry to hear you’ve got an infestation of John Cougars down there. I hear they have traps you can catch them in.
November 22nd, 2008 at 4:36 am
*does her best bobbysoxer impression* OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, FRANKIE! *squeals and faints*
:D
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Oldies are cheap to keep on the air. We have lost ESPN and NPR recently here which is one reason I’m quite stabby.
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:44 am
Jade: Hahaha, I know, that’s exactly how I felt about it too. Well, it was more like, “Huh, this is weird. Why aren’t they playing sports? Oh wait a minute… is that Frank Sinatra!? WOW!”
Newscoma: Unfortunately, that’s true. They’ve not only gone oldies, they’ve gone remote-administered robo-radio, too. Which, for me, is the worst sin of all.