Radio coups are always unexpected. No one ever leaks news about WWOZ is about to tank or sell out or come under new management. One day you just flip the dial and find the pop has turned to rock, your favorite morning show is cancelled or sometimes nothing but static is on the dial. One Mobile station bought out another. They forced their new acquisition to play the Macarana 24/7: no commercials, no DJ, no station identification, not even an explaination. Just the Macarana on repeat all day long. Here in Atlanta, just before a DJ is replaced without notice the station destroys any reference to the old DJ on the website. It reminds one of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s 1984.
Atlanta has a crappy radio scene. From what I understand, two classic rock stations have been duking it out on the airwaves for the past 25 years. Last week Z93 abruptly changed its format, leaving 96 Rock the undisputed chamption of classic rock in Atlanta.
But what has become of Z93? It is now known as Dave FM. What does it play? Dave Matthews, Dave Bowie, Dave Burn, Dave Hasselhoff …okay so I jest. I am their target audience. They play music rock that was popular during the past decade: a healthy dose of 90s rock, some popular classic rock, a touch of grunge, a hint of selected 80s tunes and just a smidge of pop. The biggest change is Dave has no disc jockies: just music & commercials thus far. Trouble is DJs, B-sides, deep cuts and rarities are what gives a station personality. Dave doesn’t feature any of these thing. They only play the most popular music. There is no one to tell me traffic is backed up west bound on the top end of the perimeteter or quickly brief me in the news or tell me about local weekend events. I will still listen to Dave (and enjoy it), but Atlanta’s radio scene still lacks.
This just in!…oh wait, it seems Dave does plan to put out some DJs eventually. I am happy.