"RADIO DEAD" IS ALIVE AND WELL


Finally, it seems someone has come up with a creative moment. It's called "Radio Dead".
This little jewel of creativity has been "hatched" on an online station...not terrestrial.
After all, as I've been writing about lately, Radio as we knew it, is on life support itself.
A bit ironic I'd say. I started thinking when I noticed this news item online the other day:


The past few months have been desperately sad for the music industry with the loss of the likes of Motörhead’s Lemmy, David Bowie and The Eagles’ Glenn Frey.
To ‘celebrate’ their lives, one man has set up a radio station that only plays hits by dead musicians. The criteria to be played on the online-only station, called Radio Dead, is for one member of the group to be deceased. According to Sky News, former Capital and Virgin Radio DJ Steve Penk is behind the ‘joyous’ station.
"The immediate perception of this radio station, before listening to it, might be that it's in bad taste, but the reality is a joyous radio station celebrating the music of so many brilliant artists who are sadly no longer with us," he said.
"I want listeners to enjoy and remember the incredible music these artists have left behind, it's a great, positive listen.”

I think Steve Penk has really come up with a winner here. Possibilities are endless for sales.
Flower shops, funeral homes, cemetery plots, limousine services, crematories etc.
Of course, promotional ideas would be easy, such as:  "K-DED -more than a passing fancy",
"K-DED, Number one..and Done!", "K-DED, a thing of the past", "Playing the ghosts with the
most..we're K-DED", or.."K-DED home of the ground bound sounds". You get the idea.
One thing for sure, there will always be plenty of "new" expired artists to "debut" on the station's
playlist...which we'll call: "The TombDex Top 40". Think of the requests you could take off of
the "K-DED Graveline". Well, I've heard of-and worked-worse formats.
I say this here, in case some terrestrial station wants to take a chance on this macabre venture.
It would be a musical history lesson 24 hours a day! On what other station could you actually
hear "Mr. Dieingly Sad" by The Critters?  I rest(in peace)my case. That's my RadiOpinion...
what's yours?  - Gary Allyn

                       IS THE FCC INVITING AM/PM MADNESS?   

 

Congratulations FCC, you're now entering the realm of many other U.S. government

agencies who have created a problem you don't know how to solve. Yes, from that same

U.S. Government who gave us the "brilliance" of the IRS, EPA, the Affordable Care

Act, the VA, the Department of Education, The Postal System...you, the "Futile"

Communications Commission has taken on the problem of AM Radio Revitalization.

Keep in mind, that the commissioners are political appointees, and this may forewarn

you into thinking that this "problem" is another doomed to failure. As if Deregulation

in the 1990's wasn't enough to help destroy Radio, now this Federal agency wants to

further Radio's demolition through so-called revitalization. It's only taken 40-50 years

to figure out that this was necessary through a Sargasso Sea of static and interference.

Obviously, as Government is want to do, it's a complicated and conviluted contrivance

of lower power for some, higher power for others, and it's the end of Class 1-A or clear

channel stations all together. As I read it, most all stations(even daytimers) will be able

to stay on the air at night, thus creating more clutter when they will now be allowed to

interfere with once clear-unobstructed clear channel frequencies. This will now inhibit

emergency notice broadcasts to be heard by millions in the "hinterlands" as before.

There are many flaws to the FCC's approach to solving this AM interference situation,

but creating more of the same hardly seems the right one to this old disc spinner. As of

now, there are several petitions on the internet to try and keep the Class 1-A 50kw

stations from being compromised....WLW in Cincinnati being one. One must read the

proposed "fixes" that is proposed by our Federal Friends in Washington, then only hope

you can make any sense of it**. It's worth a try. I'm reminded these Federal guys are to

work for us...it's time to let them know we're here and would like some accountability.

Otherwise, start looking for that last nail for the FCC to put in Radio's AM coffin!

That's my RadiOpinion...what's yours?

** Read more about:   http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c1d5a224-cc4f-4791-9e71-40293616d5e2

                                          "TIME HAS COME TODAY"

TIME. IT'S THE MERCILESS PREDATOR OF US ALL....OF MOST THINGS IN 

LIFE. TIME. IT'S MADE UP GENERALLY OF DECADES, YEARS,MONTHS, DAYS, 

HOURS, MINUTES, SECONDS, AND THE INFINITE. IT'S THAT LAST ONE-INFINITE- 

THAT HAS US MOST PUZZLED I SUPPOSE. DURING MY DECADES IN RADIO,

I HEARD AND PLAYED LOTS OF SONGS ABOUT TIME: "As Time Goes By", Time

In A Bottle", Time After Time", Just In Time", "Time Has Come Today" ON and ON.

THE PASSING OF RADIO GREATS CHARLIE TUNA, JOHN ROOK and; RON JACOBS

GOT ME TO THINK ABOUT TIME, TIME THAT RAN OUT AND STOPPED FOR

 THEM. WE IN THIS BUSINESS OF RADIO KNOW ALL ABOUT TIME. TIME FOR 

HITTING AN HOUR I.D., TIMING OUT OF A :60 SECOND COMMERCIAL, 

PRECISELY HITTING THE "POST" ON A RECORDED  SONG, OR JOINING A 

NETWORK ON TIME ETC. ETC.  BUT WE SELDOM THINK ABOUT OUR OWN 

TIME ON THIS WHIRLING ORB IT SEEMS.  WHERE DID THE TIME GO? 

MY HOW TIME FLIES! WE'VE ALL HEARD THESE PHRASES, YET WE DON'T 

THINK MUCH ABOUT TIME UNTIL FEW GRAINS REMAIN IN OUR LIFE'S

HOURGLASS. TIME BECOMES QUITE IMPORTANT AS WE WATCH OUR

THINNING HAIR MAKE A LARGER AND LARGER FOREHEAD. WE NERVOUSLY

SEE THOSE WRINKLES DEEPEN INTO CREVASSES AS TIME MARCHES ON.

WHAT DID WE DO WITH GOD'S ALLOTMENT OF TIME? DID WE USE IT WISELY

OR FOOLISHLY? DID WE PUT OUR LIFETIME TO GOOD USE OR SIMPLY WASTE

IT? THERE IS A DAY OF RECKONING FOR SOME ANSWERS IT IS SAID. TO

EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON...A PURPOSE ACCORDING TO THE BOOK

OF ECCLESIASTES.  IN NATURE'S GLORIOUS PLAN, THE LEAVES FALL TO

THE GROUND TO RESEED AND REMAKE THAT FROM WHICH IT CAME. 

NOW, WE HEAR THAT RADIO ITSELF, IS UNDER THE CURFEW OF TIME.

PREDICTIONS ARE THAT THE TIME OF "The Golden Eras of Radio" ARE OVER.

MAYBE. I THINK THAT SOMETIMES, WHEN THOSE WHO HELPED BRING IT TO 

LIFE ARE LEAVING US LIKE SO MANY LEAVES FROM A GIANT OAK TREE.

ONLY NOW, I DON'T SEE THE NECESSARY RESEEDING TAKING PLACE TO

REMAKE THAT FROM WHICH IT CAME. MAYBE THIS TIME THERE ARE NO

MORE "TIME OUTS". JUST MAYBE, "THE TIME HAS COME TODAY". 

I PRAY NOT.  THAT'S MY RADIOPINION..WHAT'S YOURS?