hfs & the globe & infinity & cbs & wpgc

[Marty666]

Ok, im sure most of you know how CBS owns infinity broadcasting and they didnt give a shit about 30 years of alternative music history in the DC area when they just switched whfs into a spanish pop station in the middle of the night after years  of bending hfs into a corporate whore.
 as hfs continued to suck more and more, i started listening more to 94.7 the arrow. so now recently, 94.7 the arrow was changed from classic rock into "the globe" and they play more alternative music mixed in with the classic rock.
 they also have former hfs dj's like weasal now in the morning. which is ok.
 then today, as i was looking at an envelope i got from the globe, i noticed the return address.
 its the same one for wpgc, el sol (99.1 now) and other infinity broadcasting stations.
 so did infinity just buy the arrow, or did they own it all along?
 this globe business is ok i guess, but i dont know if i can trust them now that i know they are part of the same evil empire that destroyed the money making HFS just so they could make even more money by pandering to the spanish speaking pop audience.
 
 infinity broadcasting and cbs radio are complete and utter bastards.

[azaghal1981]

It was actually changed over to the Spanish format at noon.
 
 And it was about time something new was done; HFS was begging to be put out of its misery.
 
 I think reggaeton's become sort of a guilty pleasure of mine.  
 
 "Classic rock" is the worst radio format ever next to smooth jazz so it's nice to see that station change too. Although I don't know how much adult-contempo-alternarock is than "classic rock."

[Marty666]

some of us dont get out of bed until 3 or 4 pm, that makes noon the middle of the night.

[azaghal1981]

Fair enough.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

I agree, HFS should've been killed off ten years before it actually was.
 
 As for the Globe... on one hand it's increased the odds of turning on the radio in the car and hearing something good, so that is a good thing.
 
 But it's also disturbing to realize that it is basically the new Classic Rock format for our generation.

[Marty666]

well the reason hfs sucked in its last years was because of cbs. they took all control of the playlist away from the djs, and even told the program director what to put in there.
 you have to go back to the days of will robinson when hfs last let their dj's actually pick the songs they would play.
 in the last years of hfs, the djs were simply announcers not allowed to think. and its all because of cbs. this leads me to believe that all this hype about the globe is just bullshit.

[beetsnotbeats]

Originally posted by Marty666:
  you have to go back to the days of will robinson when hfs last let their dj's actually pick the songs they would play.
 

<img src="http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060421/060421_lostinspace_vmed_3p.widec.jpg" alt=" - " />
 
 WHFS was MOR back then.
 
 The station started going downhill around 1987. That direction accelerated in '89 when Jake sold the station.

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by azaghal1981:
  I think reggaeton's become sort of a guilty pleasure of mine.  

what you have before you, ladies and gents, is a broken man - a shell of what he once was.  with the loss of all respect for a colleague that he held dear, sweetcell finds himself wandering aimlessly into the night in hopes that somewhere, someone will show him a new light...
 
 "say it ain't so, azaghal, say it ain't so..."

[azaghal1981]

Unfortunately, it's true. It's so irritating yet I kinda like it. The synth lines are so cheesy, they're hilarious. That same beat in every reggaeton song gets to be pretty damn infectious although it's so simple. The screaming in spanish that's supposed to be passed off as rapping is a riot too.
 
 
 It's...It's fucking great.  

[sweetcell]

oh wait, now i get it - you're listening to it ironically!  *PHEW* you sneaky hipster, you!
 
 faith is restored!

[anarchist]

the key to radio is not to go right of 91.1 (wfmu in jersey city)   in dc you got wpfw + wmuc 88.1  there also is wcpr in mt pleasant but i think they are around 95.  in balt you got wtmd 89.7, the morgan state u station + whatever that philly station is simulcast in balt.  don't listen to commercial radio!!!

[azaghal1981]

I can surprisingly get TMD out here in Germantown. It's not super clear or anything but it comes in.
 
 
 Ever hear the recordings of Jeff Mangum's WFMU show? Quite possibly some of the most fucked up material to ever be broadcast on fm radio.
 
  Here's the archive containing all the episodes

[Jaguar]

Lately, I've been enjoying Alex Courtright's show on WRNR (103.1FM) on my drive to work. Mind you, in a happy our local radio is improving kind of way. He really does a nice job playing a smattering of current Mainstream Indie with a nice mix of anything else from the past. I'm reluctant to call it Classic Rock only because it's not necessarily the music that was from a small playlist from traditional Classic Rock stations which tended to lean more towards the Hard or Metal side of Rock. His selections are much broader than that. In fact, he'll sometimes play some really nice surprises from the likes of Big Pink, Billy Holliday, Big Momma Thorton, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, very early Bob Dylan and early Jeff Beck. All is placed in a way that it works perfectly with the current music.
 
 Rob Timm has the drive home time which is more like HFS Lite to my ears. What I mean by that is his show tends to sound like somewhat later HFS without the raging hormones of 14 year old boys that they eventually catered to. Can't say I'm too thrilled with his show though as there is just way too much Red Hot Chili Shits, Green Day and the like for my taste. But if you liked HFS '90s style, you may like it.
 
 I do like how they seem to understand that they need to try to play something for a very broad range of demographics and still try to please the bosses and the advertisers. With that in mind and knowing it's a major improvement from what we've had for a long time, I'm kind of happy. No, it's not my ideal station by far but when I feel like only fooling with the radio while driving, at least I now have something to listen to.
 
 Regarding WTMD (89.7FM), I've noticed that they have changed up a bit too. Guess they are all reading the same Arbitron ratings or something because they seem to be almost matching RNR almost to the point of both stations playing the same songs at the same time which can be frustrating when you are trying to change away from some song you can't stand. On the bright side, I now have 2 stations to tune into instead of selecting between fooling with CDs or silence. I still say that RNR has the tiniest bit more of a Rock edge while TMD still tries a little harder to please the Dave Matthews Band, Jam band and Folk fans.

[lbcardoni]

Originally posted by Marty666:
 
 so did infinity just buy the arrow, or did they own it all along?
 

CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting) did own WARW "The Arrow" before it switched to the Globe.  The sales and promotions offices were housed in the same building as WLZL (formerly WHFS), WPGC AM and WPGC FM.  The programming offices and studios are in Rockville.  
 
 As beets noted, Infintiy bought the station long before they flipped it to El Zol.
 
 As far as DJs having control over what they play and program directors being told what songs they should/can play, that is common for MOST commercial radio stations.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

One can't ask much of radio.  All I ask is that occasionally, when I'm driving and I forgot to bring some good CDs, I can turn on the radio and I might here a good or at least tolerable song.  In this regard, I am grateful for the Globe -- even if it's not a great station, it has improved those odds considerably.