OT: whither, 89X?
My earliest memories of 89x are Our Lady Peace - Naveed and Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know. I was from a very small town in Northern Michigan where there were no good radio stations, so I would beg my parents to turn on 89x whenever we were in the area. Surprising and shitty news overall.
Just losing the morning show. Hopefully, they'll start playing more Canadian alt-rock like they used to back in the day.
Yes, back in the early 2000s they were very heavy in Canadian music, and it was a treat to get that music across the border. Others have mentioned Our Lady Peace, but the Gandharvas and Chantal Kreviazuk also come to mind.
March 31st, 2017 at 12:46 PM ^
. . . and Moev, a really good and largely unknown electronic outfit. "No Flash in the Sky" was a regular back in the olden days.
They are requiered to play at least 30% Canadian music - with or without the changes.
March 31st, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^
It is not just the morning show. They closed the entire American office, and let go of the whole staff that worked there. I know a couple of the dj's that worked there and they are now out of work.
That was a solid album that did not get the same play on stations in the US.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:26 PM ^
I listen to them occassionally, but how do people listen to that show everyday when Dave laughs like that? And what does Lisa actually do?
They were...non-compete clause....Same went down with Drew Lane and 105.1 after he was let go by the WRIF
March 31st, 2017 at 10:21 AM ^
That seems like an unusually brief non compete, but maybe things are different in the media industry? I'm used to them begin at least two years.
I remember that because 89X wasn't subject to FCC regulations (and because Canadian regulators are apparently more permissive), they would often play the explicit versions of certain songs instead of the edited versions that American radio stations would play.
But weren't they required to play heavily-Canadian content? How much Anne Murray, and Gordon Lightfoot can you listen to? Although Harbaugh did like The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.
Weenie and the butt...that is outstanding...Gotta bring the hotdog cannon out if you want to make it in that genre!
All kidding aside, I used to love that station, but the music is night and day different than when the station was rocking in the early 2000s. Now, the best you get is classic Nirvanna...
It also has to be hard to be a radio station now a days...podcasts must be eating into some of that audience.
Podcasts and streaming hurt, but plenty of people still listen to the radio. It's about advertisers pulling out, or getting spots at much lower prices historically. Most stations will require a slim down soon.
If I'm in marketing, I can spend my ad dollars on internet ads where it reaches a much larger audience. I also have solid data about how many eyes saw my ad through page views. If someone clicks on my ad, I can tell what site they were on to better know my audience.
There's no way to measure ROI in radio ads. Nielsen ratings are bullshit, and there's no way to know how many people heard my ad, or if they just changed the station.
In answer to your question: Yes. I'm pretty sure you are the only one.
My uncle was an on air DJ with their sister station about a decade ago. He was similarly let go as part of downsizing. The FM radio business model is in a bad way, which is a shame because it was a great tool for random discovery. That said, the less whacky morning shock jocks on air the better. This is a trend that’s run out of track
Four of which I was away, studying (term used loosely) in Ann Arbor. Three years after I came home they dropped the alternative format and went to hip hop R&B. I basically quit listening to the radio at that point.
March 30th, 2017 at 10:37 PM ^
I just liked that you spelled "whither" correctly (unlike certain people that run this blog)
#michigandifference
March 30th, 2017 at 10:45 PM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
March 31st, 2017 at 12:24 AM ^
Never listened to 89x. I always thought it was for hipsters and emos.
I saw that CKWW, AM 580, is owned by the same company and is also downsizing with 89x. If you haven't heard that station, it is by far the best rock station in the area, playing a good selection of popular and deep tracks from rock's golden age. 89x is kind of a shell of its former self outside of the Time Warp, but 580 does a really good job. Hopefully this scaling back in operations doesn't affect them as much as 89x's downsizing.
Was great from its inception til about the turn of the century when all radio went to shit.
Some cool Canadian artists that they have exposed:
24 Gone
Tragically Hip
Sarah McLachlan
Blue Rodeo
Sloan
Art Bergmann
Grapes Of Wrath
Mystery Machine
City & Color
Neverending White Lights
Our Lady Peace
The Tea Party
Gandharvas
The Waltons
I remember when 89X first went on the air, they were not a 24 hours station. And then they would play Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies randomly. It was great.
The Pursuit of Happiness
March 31st, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
I remember a some what rique show late night called love-line or something like that (before the adam corolla TV show). The call-ins were hilarious at times. I still remembered the kid who called in really concerned if he could get his girlfriend pregnant through her and his pants when they were..um..causing friction with each other.
I haven't lived in Michigan for years, but whenever I visit I'd flip to 89x and a few other stations. 89x was definitely part of my rotation when I lived in metro Detroit.