I’ve been listening a lot more to KNX (1070 AM)
lately. And I am not sure why. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that
I do like staying informed, but at least part of it has to do with how much I
like the “sound” of the station on my car stereo that receives the digital,
so-called HD Radio, signals that are sent along with the regular analog
audio.
To my ears, KNX is the best-sounding HD radio
station on the AM band. Very much FM-like, with an extra punch that puts it
ahead of some of the FMs. Very clean, and very deep ... it rattles the subwoofer
well.
Only real problem: it tends to highlight the
sometimes poor editing on some of the commercials, including one short ad where
the speaking vocals stomp the jingle for “five star service at one-star drive”
that creates an especially annoying bit of on-air clutter.
The Mellow Sound
One of the stations I enjoyed in the past was
KNX-FM (now KCBS-FM, 93.1) and the Mellow Sound format. I suppose it was the
influence of my sister, Jackie, who tended to listen to a lot of the music
played on the station. One of my favorite features was The Odyssey File, in
which strange and unusual stories would be presented with some
depth.
Much of the music -- though not the Odyssey File
or any of the personalities who brought us the original format -- can be found
on Sirius/XM satellite radio’s Channel 32, called The Bridge. Probably about the
closest thing to KNX-FM that I have heard in years.
Strange Switch
Speaking of SiriusXM ... can someone explain to
me why you would take a channel that has a specific appeal and replace it with
one that has no appeal?
OK, I’me being harsh, but I know of people who
subscribe to the satellite radio service specifically for “40s on 4,” the only
channel of its type on the entire SiriusXM lineup. In its place is a special
channel playing nothing but Billy Joel.
I’ve been a critic of the practice of “temporary
channels” on Sirius XM since the first day they did this. Instead of using
dedicated channels for special programming, they take away other channels and
stick on programming of often limited interest. In fact, The Bridge was one that
used to disappear for months at a time.
Don’t get me wrong, Billy Joel is a talented
Singer-songwriter (no, I’m not counting the dreadful “Allentown”), but 24/7? Are
you serious? Especially when his music is already played on numerous other
channels on the Sirius dial. And even if you wanted to do that, why preempt a
channel that has no real alternative? Sometimes I think management at SiriusXM
is missing a few neurons.
Nash-Cisco
Cumulus Media, owner of KLOS (95.5 FM) and KABC
(790 AM) has brought their country format Nash-FM to the San Francisco Bay area
via KSJO/San Jose, which the company just purchased in April.
Which if course starts up the rumor mill ...
will Cumulus bring the format here to Los Angeles, and if so, to which station?
Is KLOS doomed, or will Cumulus buy another station?
My hunch: It won’t matter. They can put the
format on any station they want, if they want, and it won’t make a huge dent in
anything. Cumulus is too cheap to really promote anything, and in the rare
occasion they convince a decent programmer to actually come work for them, they
tie his or her hands so tight nothing can be done. Does anyone seriously think
that type of management can take on Go Country 105?
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