tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post4751217445298526881..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Don't make Usher introduce his own songsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20742741168521329872012-08-28T00:18:04.592-07:002012-08-28T00:18:04.592-07:00Thanks for sharing the blog.Keep on update the blo...Thanks for sharing the blog.Keep on update the blog.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.janski.edu.pl/Uczelnia,kursy_szkolenia.html" rel="nofollow">szkolenia </a>Amy joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09478501662217849916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75946186638542012212012-08-26T22:30:54.392-07:002012-08-26T22:30:54.392-07:00My husband was a DJ for years in VA and the one th...My husband was a DJ for years in VA and the one thing that drives him bananas and always has is other DJs/guests/whatever talking over the song. He could nail it just like you did. Every single time.<br /> <br />It's kind of a hot skill. IMO. :)SkippyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479661523059481730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15057255736168360352012-08-24T10:49:50.156-07:002012-08-24T10:49:50.156-07:00Maybe I'm just fortunate to be in a mid-sized ...Maybe I'm just fortunate to be in a mid-sized market, but we have plenty of live DJs here in New York's Capital District (Albany/Schenectady/Troy), whether you go for Top 40 (WFLY), country (WGNA), classic rock (WPYX), or various other formats. Not everybody is equally talented, of course, but they are live and local. More song IDs would be appreciated, though!<br /><br />Question for the audience: what's the correlation between disdain for jocks with personality and hatred of laugh tracks? I have a hunch that there's a sizable overlap, and that many of those people are 35-45 years of age, to boot. (And when I type, "hatred of laugh tracks," I mean not just that they might annoy you, but that you refuse to watch any comedy that employs them.)Alannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76873377418083111842012-08-24T10:11:40.428-07:002012-08-24T10:11:40.428-07:00r Dan:
You must be peeved at Bo Diddley
And loat...<b>r Dan:<br /><br />You must be peeved at Bo Diddley</b><br /><br />And loathed Big Bopper. And I don't care who was the walrus.danhttp://www.danfiorella.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38129306114717046952012-08-24T07:55:42.471-07:002012-08-24T07:55:42.471-07:00I'm surprised no one pointed out that many HD ...I'm surprised no one pointed out that many HD radios and car radios now can get the song information over the air. A lot of radio stations broadcast that information along with the song.<br /><br />That said, I miss the days with jocks with a personality. Some of the local jocks here from Philly ended up on Sirius/XM, where they CAN remind me of the old days. Not talking over songs, but talking about thing. Michael Tearson and Earl Bailey and others. People who ADD content, rather than damage it. It's something that's lacking in regular 'format' radio any more, with only the one public music station from UofPenn being any ray of hope, locally.<br /><br />Like listening to somebody like Andre Gardner talk about the Beatles, a passion of his. Or when Ginger Baker had a radio show and would have the time and luxury to just talk about music. That's something we've lost.WizarDruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251397305365764287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12771966683183412032012-08-24T06:35:33.967-07:002012-08-24T06:35:33.967-07:00Ken:
Even though he didn't play a lot of musi...Ken:<br /><br />Even though he didn't play a lot of music Chicago's Steve Dahl (who now has a daily podcast), would do entire segements of talking up records. Was a great bid and it made me appreciate the skill.<br /><br />Dave Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3443673987424881662012-08-23T22:41:06.754-07:002012-08-23T22:41:06.754-07:00Back in '83, my favourite radio station, KQAK ...Back in '83, my favourite radio station, KQAK in S.F., went "Rock of the 80's", and the poor overnight guy, "The Lobster", was LOST; he was 40-something, and pretty much a "classic rock" kinda guy, so all this New Wave/Romantic music was almost completely foreign to him. I was a 15 year old insomniac New Wave/Ro FIEND (still am!) who had already gotten to know him before the format change, so I used to call him MANY times during the 12-6AM shift with requests, which added variety to the playlist he was given. He was grateful, but I felt like I was paying him back for all the great rock music he'd introduced me to before The Change; thanks to his ID's, I'd "discover" a great song/artist and write it down to search for later. He was my friend, though I never met him in person, and I ADORED him. It hurts me that Young People Nowadays don't get to have that kind of love for radio.<br /><br />Now I feel old and cranky, and I need to hear "Around the Dial" by The Kinks.<br /><br />Rock Lobster, wherever you are, I miss you and your voice, playing awesome music while I stayed up all night drawing comic books. And sweet mother of Bowie, I MISS KQAK!<br /><br />Cheers, thanks a lot,<br /><br />StormAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11340133454556300742012-08-23T21:17:17.583-07:002012-08-23T21:17:17.583-07:00I hope the airchecks you have of me are decent.
...I hope the airchecks you have of me are decent. <br /><br />Never wrote for WKRP because I was on MASH at the time. I did know the creator, Hugh Wilson. We were on staff of THE TONY RANDALL SHOW together. By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-141271244695651382012-08-23T19:31:05.860-07:002012-08-23T19:31:05.860-07:00I guess that's what I never liked about AM com...I guess that's what I never liked about AM commercial top 40 radio...the chatter over the intros and leading out of the songs. When I discovered FM in the late-1960s I rarely went back to the other band -- except to listen to The Credibility Gap on KRLA. And eventually they went to FM, too. Unless I wanted the news or sports, I found no reason to listen to AM. It was sell, sell, sell. They hammered it home. As a gen-gap kid I couldn't relate to it. Later I ended up working in it.newsboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21954070446062410622012-08-23T17:05:49.491-07:002012-08-23T17:05:49.491-07:00I hate DJ's that talk up records. I want to ...I hate DJ's that talk up records. I want to kill Kat Corbett on KR OQ. She talks up almost every song played on her shift.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-896260483820187682012-08-23T16:58:15.280-07:002012-08-23T16:58:15.280-07:001) Like other commenters, I also hate DJs talking ...1) Like other commenters, I also hate DJs talking over ANY part of the song.<br />2) I believe 100.3 The Sound still has real, live DJs and they are very good about talking about the records they play. Love the 10 at 10!!<br />3) Do you at least have begruding respect for Seacrest or do you seriously not like him at all?XJillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89338348290493487912012-08-23T16:46:34.981-07:002012-08-23T16:46:34.981-07:00Even as a teen I knew just enough about radio to b...Even as a teen I knew just enough about radio to be able to appreciate the DJ's ability to talk over the intro...but like so many people here, I never liked it.<br /><br />Kinda like the people who talk over the non-dialogue parts of movies.Dave Creeknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4839611386622428662012-08-23T16:20:44.436-07:002012-08-23T16:20:44.436-07:00You discussed this a few years ago and I stated th...You discussed this a few years ago and I stated then that I hated DJ's who yakked during the musical intro. I suppose it would have been less onerous if the guy was funny, but few were. <br /><br />I asked a DJ about this a few years ago and he said they surveyed the practice. The result was most men hated it and most women didn't care. So of course they kept doing it.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11378314171959926492012-08-23T16:14:44.915-07:002012-08-23T16:14:44.915-07:00I never liked talking over the intro and never did...I never liked talking over the intro and never did it ((late 60s in San Diego) although I did have to do all the timing of the 45 or LPs so the other jocks could yap over the intro. It still anoys me but I do have to give credit to them that can really nail it. Bobby Rich here in Tucson can do it well.Richard Ynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73770277978524363512012-08-23T15:24:49.660-07:002012-08-23T15:24:49.660-07:00I've got some air checks of you at 10Q, KFM......I've got some air checks of you at 10Q, KFM....BFM, and the whole show, from a couple years ago, when you did LA Legends on K-EARTH. I even have a copy of you doing a 1 night thing at 99X, New York! You were good at it, and your right, it's a lost art. I was good at it at one time, but voice tracking put an end to that! I know a jock, who tracks 4 different stations, useing 4 different names, in 4 different cities! He works for......well I won't name the company......just look at those clouds! But anyway, with all your experiences, did you ever get a shot at writing for WKRP. And if not, why? I would have thought it would have been right up your ally. Was it, I used to do that, now I don't do that, and I'm NOT gonna do THAT! And why did you quit the business? TOP40 was still going strong in the late 70s. Did you see the end of it coming? Wayne from Mainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65998678811398229272012-08-23T14:34:20.770-07:002012-08-23T14:34:20.770-07:00@Mark P. "When did Top 40 DJ's ever have ...@Mark P. "When did Top 40 DJ's ever have time to go to the bathroom?"<br /><br />Hey Jude, American Pie and Taxi.Neil Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74624685859444595192012-08-23T14:27:05.651-07:002012-08-23T14:27:05.651-07:00What I miss most about radio 40 years ago was that...What I miss most about radio 40 years ago was that we had choices. <br /><br />If we wanted to hear DJs entertain us, we could listen to AM Top 40. If we wanted them to introduce the song and then get out of the way so we could hear it in all its stereophonic glory, we'd switch to an AOR station on FM.<br /><br />Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.<br /><br />When did Top 40 DJ's ever have time to go to the bathroom?Mark P.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71090165570057229012012-08-23T14:01:52.822-07:002012-08-23T14:01:52.822-07:00@ Jon J....you're getting time and geography m...@ Jon J....you're getting time and geography mixed up. I did live in the era of Wolfman Jack and the "rock and roll giant days". However, try as hard as I could, my pocket transistor radio (with the earphone) would not reach across 2,000 miles to receive either Wolfman or Ken Levine. So, yes, someone born in the <b>right</b> era in the <b>tiny</b> (compared to the size of the continent) broadcast area of one of these amazing jocks could have a higher appreciation for the "whole experience".<br /><br />For the rest of us, we loves us our music unyammered, thank you.Blazenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26945589647718487292012-08-23T13:59:48.928-07:002012-08-23T13:59:48.928-07:00"been had". English as she is goodly wr..."been had". English as she is goodly written. My kingdom for an edit feature. Well, not my entire kingdom. But there's a couple of acres over by the treeline I could let go of cheaply.Neil Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49868242243221960622012-08-23T13:56:59.581-07:002012-08-23T13:56:59.581-07:00One of my biggest disappointments when I first sub...One of my biggest disappointments when I first subscribed to Sirius was finding out that there were DJs on a lot of the music stations. I was expecting it to be like the cable/satellite TV music stations where it's just music, with the songs and artists displayed on the screen. Instead I get annoying "personalities" trying to be funny between and over top of the music I came to listen to. Yeah yeah, you're hilarious, just make with the songs, record monkey. (Tip: Screaming "DOCTOR MY EYES!!!" like you've just been had acid thrown in your face is just disturbing, and does not help me ease into some Jackson Browne.)<br /><br />Sorry Ken. For what it's worth my biggest pet peeve about terrestrial radio was when the announcer wouldn't ID the artist either before or after the song. Especially pre-Google, there were times when literally years went by before I could find out who performed a certain song I liked.Neil Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34942930608032167412012-08-23T13:22:11.871-07:002012-08-23T13:22:11.871-07:00I suspect those who think of DJs as little more th...I suspect those who think of DJs as little more than a human juke box rather than a part of the experience didn't grow up listening to stations like WLS in the high energy era of the rock and roll giant radio days. You can probably identify these people now by the earbuds and thousand yard stare.Jon Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23667626988486517032012-08-23T12:42:08.478-07:002012-08-23T12:42:08.478-07:00Sorry, Ken, but not a skill I can admire. The DJs...Sorry, Ken, but not a skill I can admire. The DJs I always enjoyed understood they were the host, the MC, the introducer of the content. I hate it when the DJ thinks s/he <b>is</b> the content.<br /><br />Be it radio or a variety show or any such venue, I want a peppy, energetic, articulate MC but I only want them to introduce the next act and get the hell off the stage.Blazenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10592296915726700452012-08-23T12:37:07.030-07:002012-08-23T12:37:07.030-07:00I knew the end was nigh when back in the early 80s...I knew the end was nigh when back in the early 80s the edict from on high came down that "you have xx amount of seconds to do the weather, xx amount of seconds to do this or that, other than that, shut up and play the music". Bad idea. Had listeners calling and saying you guys don't ID records anymore and you used to be funny and fun to listen to. Told them to direct their complaints to station management. Within a year and a half we were near the bottom of the ratings pile. A station in my area has the bad habit of playing an instrumental near the top of the hour and could be 3 seconds in or 45 seconds into the song and they barge right in with their news liner music and go to the news. What's so hard about backtiming so that doesn't happen?!?YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12322829859980932882012-08-23T12:06:23.362-07:002012-08-23T12:06:23.362-07:00I laugh every time Gaga talks her name she sounds ...I laugh every time Gaga talks her name she sounds stuck on her self.<br /><br /><a href="http://trackmyshows.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">http://trackmyshows.blogspot.com</a>Richard Healeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15745200601899371493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2688951152953597002012-08-23T11:24:24.088-07:002012-08-23T11:24:24.088-07:00"...I was inordinately proud of being able to..."...I was inordinately proud of being able to hit a network join down to the millisecond by timing every talk break, stopset, etc."<br /><br />Indeed a very satisfying skill except when the Western Union clock jumped ten seconds at the top of the hour!!Emmett Flatusnoreply@blogger.com