Are DJs dinosaurs? Love your opinions

[kathyb]

We have a similar station here in Fort Wayne (Indiana). It's called "MIKE-FM" and they "play anything". The station it replaced was an adult contemporary station that played a lot of Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, etc. That station is still around-it's now on AM.

Anyway, MIKE-FM started about the beginning of summer, and it was like a breath of fresh air. I especially like to listen to it in the morning, because I cannot stand to listen to the morning drive time DJ's laughing at their own stupid jokes and talking about inane subjects. I listen to the radio for the music, and this new station plays some songs I haven't heard in quite awhile. "Kiss You All Over" by Exile, next to "Baby Hold On" by Eddie Money, next to "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders, next to "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" by Journey. And they even play Melissa Etheridge occasionally! Yeah, I can live with that. LOL!

[KittyKat - RIP Luciano]

sat said:

What BS song??

They played "Expecting To Fly", which I've never heard on the radio so I thought it was pretty cool. I've noticed that while most of the songs that this station plays are the so called "hits", they occasionally throw in the random but excellent album track.

[gremashlo]

mcdornan1 said:

DJs became useless many years ago, after the disappearance of free-form "underground" radio. Once, on a few stations, DJs could play what they wanted, and share their actual thoughts with their audience. But today, DJs play off a tight playlist picked by corporate owners, and have nothing interesting to say.

That "and whatever we want" is a chain, too. We have one of those stations here,too. And "whatever we want" comes off a pretty tight playlist anyway.

On local digital cable, you can get about 25 stations, each with a specific type of music, with no DJs, and no ads. Tha's likely to be the future of radio, unless micro-watt pirate stations can become more popular.

Most stations now that have DJ's no longer offer them LIVE--it is cheaper to bring them in, record their patter several hours early, streamline it into their computers and away it goes...you often do not notice, but you can catch it if you're observant. It is killing off the announcer profession.

I am SO GLAD to be out of radio! Even the small stations are going to music lists that have no consideration for the area or the music itself...I worked for one of the last of the "play anything that doesn't offend people" stations in the late 1980's--I'd play Hendrix, Partridge Family, Roxette and Hank Williams Jr back to back...those times are gone forever.