Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself that the purpose of that classic rock station in NYC (and all commercial radio stations) is to make money. Music is secondary, if not even lower, on the list of priorities.
I am tired of the DJs talking over the intro to songs (called ‘the ramp’ in the industry), giving station promos, event promos, telling some stupid story, giving the weather, the name of the group/name of the song, etc.
(1) I already know what station is (I tuned it in deliberately-duh),
(2) I will probably recognize the song in the first second or two and then instantly correlate who did it, because,
(a) that’s why they are considered classic, and
(b) they play the same 200 songs incessantly…EVERYBODY knows the title and artist!
Newsflash: A cut starts when it starts—not at the first vocal or at that first lead guitar chord. The game of talking right up to that point—known as ‘hitting the post’—is disgusting and sacrilegious.
A cut begins when it begins and ends when it ends—period.
Stop cutting off fade-outs just so the DJ has extra time to repeat what they said over the intro or to have more time for the next commercial!
None of this happened back in the day on ‘BCN in Boston. Never.
That’s a big part of the reason I listen to classical when I listen to music radio. No one ever talks over the string intro until the horns enter in Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. They don’t talk over any of it. Ever.
Back in the 70s the classic rock station that spoke to me was New York’s WNEW 102.7. (God knows what happened to them. Now what they play is all pop.) At around midnight on came Allison Steele, “The Night Bird.” She had a smokey (sadly, she later died of lung cancer), lusty voice that literally and figuratively spoke to me. At 17, I wanted to be her. (At 57, I still want to be her.)
Her voice was soothing, and the music transporting. And yes. She did not trample on the opening or closing of the songs she played. Let’s bring that back.
[Publications from the time report her vocal quality was partially due “to smoking little cigars” but she died from stomach cancer.-Ed.]