The End of an Era

Driving around doing errands yesterday morning, I had the radio going, partially paying attention to whatever was going on. Tuned to my favorite Sacramento station, KWOD, I didn’t even think it was odd that they were playing an old Depeche Mode tune. They do that sometimes because they’re good like that. It’s what’s kept me a fairly loyal listener since my freshman year of high school.

It wasn’t until I was stopped at a random traffic light, my attention undivided for that few minutes, that I actually listened to the radio. Or rather, to the really weird promo that was playing…which sounded like something from one of those cheesy top 40 stations. The kind with big phony DJ voices and clips of crappy pop songs in the background while they talk about what an awesome lineup they have for you today. The voice in the promo kept referring to something called “The Buzz” and saying how it was ALL 90’s ALL THE TIME. Zuh?

Silly me. I assumed it was some new weekend theme they were running with. Every station has ’em from time to time. The Eagle does Classic Rock A-Z. KWOD sometimes did Retro Revival Weekend (songs from the 80’s only). Even 98 Rock does a program where the next song has to start with the last letter of the name of the previous song. It’s all just another thing to keep the listener engaged. And here I was…engaged.

Then I got home, got curious, got Googling. And this is what I found.

Now, as a loyal listener club member, I should have known this was coming. They sent out an e-mail announcing it the day before, but I’d been too busy to read all my e-mails Thursday evening and just marked it as read. I don’t know that it would have been any less of a shock to the system though. There really was no warning that could have prepared me for the death of one of my favorite radio stations, and thus the death of 18 years of memories. Reading that website, the tears came hard and fast. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried, I was so surprised.

I’m not a person who clings to the past so tightly that I’m frozen in time and can’t move forward. I like progress and change. Keeps things fresh and interesting. But to a degree I expect a level of stasis on certain things. And even knowing the finicky world of entertainment and radio in particular, I had laid those expectations at KWOD’s feet. And now here I was, having those expectations handed back to me in a doggie bag. A smelly, shit-stained doggy bag.

The replacement station, also known as The Buzz, seems on the surface like it could be a cool concept. I think if there were any single time period in music that I harken back to the most when needing a soundtrack for life, it would be from about 1990 to 1996. Don’t get me wrong. I love the 80’s. Adore the 50’s and 60’s. Have a marked interest in the 70’s. And will listen to pretty much anything you put in front of me…at least once. But for some reason, the early-to-mid 90’s was the time when I felt the most connected to what I was hearing. It’s the time I made the most memories that I could directly correllate to the songs I was being offered. Those are the days I wrap my arms around tightly and never want to forget for as long as I live.

So in a way, I should be predisposed to love a station that purports to play only the hits of the 90’s. Even as it has sounded the death knell of my beloved KWOD, I should be intrigued and even a bit excited about what lies in store.

I am. But I’m not. It’s hard to explain. Except to say that when The Buzz claims to be all 90’s…they honestly mean ALL 90’s. It’s shocking to hear Pearl Jam followed by Notorious B.I.G. followed by GARTH FUCKING BROOKS. This is going to take some getting used to.

Perhaps over time, they’ll find their niche a bit better and learn to be a little more selective about the genres they showcase. Or perhaps I’ll find better things to do with my time, like rediscovering that period in music all on my own. We’ll see.

PS – If you want to see the wackiness of their new format, you can view their playlist for the last 24 hours. Just go to the home page and click on “Station Playlist” and behold the weirdness; I wish I’d had the presence of mind to make a screen cap of yesterday’s playlist so you could see the abrupt format change from pre- to post-Buzzing. Srsly, it’s like Stepford Radio.