Audio Moblog

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Audio Moblog

powered by Hipcast.com

Audio Moblog

powered by Hipcast.com

ALL CLC RADIO DJs MUST READ

ALL DJs PLEASE RE-READ THE DJ RULES FOR FALL 2007. We have made some serious additions that all DJs must comply with, mainly about advertising On-Air and applying for Staff positions if they open.

<-- copyright 2005+ by Dan Prowse -->

Gnat-urally

So good, I just had to mention it again. What is up with the gnats at CLC? Environmental groups on CLC campuses should be all over this - like flies on poo.

Get rid of waay more Lobby plants, stick aerators in the two ponds (or just one pond and get rid of the other OR make them half their present size) = gnat problem almost solved.

Doesn't anyone know anything about gnats at CLC?


<-- copyright 2005+ by Dan Prowse -->

Too much of a good thing?

How much of one thing can you stand? If you were a partner Chef and your controlling partner (in business interest) told you to change the menu to serve ONLY potatoes (but you could, maybe, serve all types - but for now ONLY MASHED) what would you tell your boss. What would you tell the customers when you go out in the house and visit with them, how would you handle your new customers' complaints as certainly your old customers would have left quickly - even the potato lovers! What would you say?

Would you quit? Would you sue the owner?

If you were a student at a college that ate lunch everyday on campus at the campus cafeteria, and each lunchtime you expected to hear whatever kind of music you have expected, then you go to Spring Break. When you arrive back from break, you realize that now every time you go to lunch in the school cafe, all you hear is one kind of music - that special kind of jazz called commercial jazz (the type often played in the waiting areas of dentists, hospital book stores, and mental wards so as not to upset the residents - unless they are real jazz musicians attending for a short stay or visit). No more variety, no surprises, and quite possibly no more campus announcements that ironically college administrators normally count on, you find out through the college newspaper or "grape-vine" that indeed the decision to go "smooth jazz" was that of an administrator - would you be pissed off?

At CLC Radio we would be pissed off. But, we wouldn't stay too pissed off for long - as long as some compromise or some real thought was included into such a lame (opinion of management) choice.

First, the choice of music is not inherently bad (with the exceptions mentioned above), it's just that most people could make a better choice or compromise to the current CLC Radio Lancer Cafe offerings in their SLEEP. Yes, before you make an (obviously) unpopular decision, sleep on it. And don't guess or go on the word of your cohorts or right-hand men/women, or even the befriended student workers (all too common in any department of every college) for their music opinions. That is folly. Don't guess that students, if asked, would agree with you on point...actually ask students when they are actually in Lancers Cafe.

We did. We also have an on-line, on-going survey for just this kind of thing - mentioned on the GCC grid and reported in the AQIP portfolio.

Second, with such an area mentioned as having been enjoyed, traditionally, as a student gathering place - for eating and loud socializing - since 1972 by a majority of students, staff, faculty, and administration (listed in descending percentages of attendance), most thinking people might agree that while listening to such a wide variety of music as is currently available can be problematic ON OCCASION, that having to sit every single day on each lunch and each regularly scheduled work break to have to tolerate SMOOTH JAZZ could possibly overload the Nurse's office with reports of vomiting. This vomiting is not good for people, custodial, nor Lancer's Cafe image.

Third, regardless of personal music tastes, CLC Radio has had absolutely no music requests for Smooth Jazz FROM STUDENTS. Not ever. Since CLC Radio is majorly supported through Student Activities' fees, the students who run CLC Radio cannot allow it's support of Lancer Audio with music that students have plainly just not asked for. CLC Radio can, however, provide any type of Administrative music choice to Lancer Audio, provided that all manner of advertising of CLC Radio and it's currently available Internet Audio Stream be fully supported.

Fourth, CLC Radio student staff and advisor realize fully that the Lance Cafe audio system was purchased using NON-STUDENT FEE funds, and as such having CLC Radio sanctioned live and automated shows playing on the Lancer Audio system is a privilege, and is in no way demanding anything more than this privilege. However, as student fees are what make up the current audio provided to Lancer's Audio system, it will be made available to Lancer's Cafe whenever they need it (Sports, live CLC band concerts, etc.,)). General announcement of CLC events and programming as well as News and Weather although available through the current automation system would have to be duplicated at the expense of Lancers and NOT student Activities Fees.

In light of the last item mentioned, perhaps a compromise could be reached. CLC Radio staff and DJs have noticed that the majority population in Lancer's Cafe has been at least 85% student in the hours of 11:00am to 1:00pm throughout the last 4 years, so fairly consistent for argument's sake. There have been also an increase of students (approx 90%) in Lancers from about 5:00pm to 7:00pm, although the student age range of the evening crowd has been looking above 25 years and up. Also there have been informal surveys run (almost every day) by our Advisor Dan Prowse where he has ascertained that staff and faculty, when eating, prefer just about anything except rap and heavy metal (or anything with screaming in it, such as Screamo). What CLC Radio current staff (Spring 2007) propose is that CLC Radio - as an experiment in fully and publicly supporting administrative music choices - provide this crappy jazz OUTSIDE of the informally recognized "student-heavy" hours and even IN those time slots, BUT if a student wished to have a live show INSIDE the "student-heavy" hours, they be allowed to do so with the guarantee that it be the DJs choice of music programmed (within CLC Radio's staff's own guidelines as well), BUT if a DJ insisted on having a show during designated "student-lite" populated times, that said DJs would need to be programming only JAZZ MUSIC.

(Also, just in case you thought you would be able to make a case for TOP-40 or any other music that is typically shoved in your face with really only the top 10 played every hour, think again, Bubba! Just replace the phrase "SMOOTH JAZZ" abused above with "ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN ALREADY HEAR ON COMMERCIAL RADIO" and you will get the point.

Now, back to the story:)

Fifth, "JAZZ" may also need to be defined. At CLC Radio our Jazz variety is almost as wide as our General Music available! The many flavors of Jazz we hold are represented above well from WNUR's website in the form of a map laid out by

Joe Germuska
WNUR-FM, Northwestern University
Last Updated: 95/10/17

The link to the Jazz Styles MAP (the one at top may not appear in certain browser configurations)

Now, of course we don't have large numbers of EVERY category shown on the map, so we have here a short list of what we do have well in stock:

Blues
Soul
Funk
Jazz Rock/Fusion (think Chick Corea or Pat Metheny)
Cool
BeBop
Swing
Big Band (including MOST past CLC band recordings)
Afro-Cuban (think Arturo Sandoval)
Latin Bands of the 50s-60s

The above

Some Free Funk and "Out there" jazz that we call extreme jazz and we don't play that until 11pm anyway.

We have VERY LITTLE commercial jazz or smooth jazz as it is sometimes called, mainly due that CLC Radio is NOT commercially viable - we as a Nationally Recognized College Music Provider (through CMJ and by proxy, YellowDog) will never be serviced by Major Label outlets or distributors as they DEPEND on the College Radio Market - through their subsidiary independent sources - to deliver NEW MUSIC by NEW ARTISTS and ESTABLISHED ARTISTS and "COME-BACK" ARTISTS ( the latter actually a growing market segment!), just generally NEW music of whatever genre.

As there is currently very little in Jazz releases made, in general publicly, relative to even Classical releases (this includes Film scores - not Soundtracks), we can never get that much jazz - especially New Age or Smooth Jazz. Occasionally, Sony sends out Classic Jazz re-issues to the College Market, which at least has educational value.

Forcing a Jazz-only College Station Mentality is an oxymoron and a surefire way to get not only administrators fired (over bad choices and choosing for students instead of letting the students choose) but a surefire way to turn listeners out and off to any desired college announcements. Studies have shown that the kind of music heard on WNUA is so calming that people rarely pay any attention to the ads run on those Smooth Jazz stations - radio sales people know this.

I am not even suggesting that CLC Radio NOT promote more jazz on the Internet stream (future FM capabilities aside), but we cannot justify PUBLICLY SUPPORTING playing only jazz all the damn time in an area that has been traditionally recognized - at least in the best day parts - as student-heavy, WHILE maintaining a PUBLIC ASSUMPTION that CLC Radio has become ALL JAZZ in Lancers - this we simply will not allow.

As CLC Radio is a student run station that follows the guidelines set forth in the CLC Student Club & Organization Manual - with the sanctioned and allowed exception of maintaining a Constitution - we operate off an On-Line, and publicly available for perusal, Operations Manual. As Advisors are encouraged to NOT interfere too much with decisions made by the Clubs & Organizations, CLC Radio feels very strongly against any one but Students Operating the Station be allowed to maintain their position in running the station. The CLC Radio staff job descriptions alone indicate that only the CLC Radio Program Director is responsible for choosing programming. Rather than trying to convince or order the advisor to make a change in programming, why not try and reason with the person actually responsible for programming - the CLC Radio Program Director?

After all, the compromise noted here was the current Program Director's idea - as it should be.

Regarding CLC event announcements: As GM, Dan Prowse has been providing his voice for a lot of the announcements of Campus Events and CLC Press Releases for the last 5 years. If announcements were to continue in Lancers Cafe while only Jazz music is playing, we hardly believe that non-student sanctioned music should be sandwiched between his voice; too identifiable as a CLC Radio announcer. If Mr. Prowse were to continue to record CLC Event announcements for CLC Radio and record announcements for Lancer Smooth Jazz (or any commercial crap) Background Music, we at CLC Radio believe that using announcements recorded on equipment used and paid for by students would be unethical and would report as such. We also believe that Mr. Prowse would agree it unethical for him to use student equipment to record announcements that would be played on an audio system no longer allowing student media to be played as those students intended and have enjoyed for so long. (He most likely would refuse to make announcements for such a commercial, bland "musick" system, anyway).

Although there are many College Radio stations that are overseen by college administrators (as such, not violating FCC regulations when "in play"), there are ZERO that allow administrators to manage or program their college's radio stations (as such, actually violating FCC regulations in this case) . Even the locally known (and wrongly assumed) "Jazz-only" station on the PROPERTY of College of DuPage is in fact NOT only Jazz! Just look at their Program Schedule! (To add fuel to our fire, the time COD allows students to have their LIVE shows is at a time that CLC does not allow students in their buildings; from 11pm to 3am ! In addition, although many perceived WDCB to be COD's de facto College Radio Station owned by COD, WDCB until very recently has NEVER been owned NOR operated by COD; FCC records show that an Outside Community Group was the official license holder)

Better yet, don't just sleep on it - give it a rest! There are many more important things to worry about in running a college than the transitory affects of music on humans, especially while they are trying to enjoy barely turned, dried-out crusty "food" served in un-covered steam trays for barely 3 hours a day for only 4 days a week!

Crap food with crap music is just crap. We are a music station, and so have no expertise in procuring farm-fresh foods to Lancer's Cafe, however, with music, we are experts - especially considering our ages!

Jazz musicians throughout the Chicagoland area have long held the belief that "Smooth Jazz" is neither. That belief is correct. New Orleans Jazz Musicians still can't believe there is even anything called Smooth Jazz - they just can't rap their head around it, they "can't get behind that!", as was so eloqently spoken by both William Shatner along with Henry Rollins. Also, as some people are allergic to peanut Butter, 5 times more jazz musicians are actually allergic to Smooth Jazz - which in itself is surprising as the ratio of Jazz musicians : non-jazzers is small, as well most musicians of all types love peanut butter.

Smooth Jazz = Commercial Jazz; another Oxymoron of enormous proportions.


From

"December 19, 2006

BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist

More than half of the top 25 radio stations in Chicago were sold or put on the block in 2006, marking an unprecedented ownership turnover in a single year. Among the biggest deals were those involving Clear Channel Radio (which owns seven stations here), Univision Communications (which owns five here) and ABC Radio (shifting two of its four here). All three deals are expected to be finalized in 2007.

Emmis Communications, which owns two stations here, attempted to go private but withdrew its plans for now. Tribune Co. is shopping its media assets, including its sole radio station, news/talk WGN-AM (720).

All of this turnover comes at a time when consolidation of ownership is under greater scrutiny than ever from public interest groups.

A study released last week by the Future of Music Coalition slammed shrinking programming choices and a loss of diversity and localism during the past decade of intense radio consolidation."

____________

With so many Colleges in the US celebrating Diversity, CLC calling for Smooth Jazz (or anything overtly commercial) to be played in a PUBLIC, NON-LAB area is shameful, harmful, devoid of any educational value - especially musical education - CLC's administrators thinking Smooth Jazz is diverse, needs to call themselves on the carpet and repent for their musical sin. As CLC administrators may be contracted to oversee some facets of the operation of CLC Radio, those administrators would not actually be called upon to make programming decisions of this nature, contractually. B-96 is for Highschool kids, not young adults striving and being told to learn NEW things - and paying for it.

The issue of forcing one type of music in an area populated by mainly students and especially during times where students probably heavily enjoy an area to listen to their DJ friends' produce a "radio Program", only students that can afford a computer AND Internet access will be allowed to, truely, hear their friends. This is not at all fair to the "captive audience" of Lancer's Cafe.

Administrators can take their lunch back to their area conference rooms or their offices, and believe it or not, they can also currently enjoy CLC Radio's Jazz Channel offering ONLY Jazz - albeit a wide variety of Jazz - all day long if they really want it (But, sorry, NO Smooth Jazz or Commercial Crap, as the CLC Radio staff are and will continue to be repulsed by it, UNLESS of course administrators REQUEST it via the Jazz Channel Requester while on-line. These Special Music channels are only available through the Local Intranet and then only when allowed by ITS department - but we haven't seen any problems yet).

And take the "Played Holiday Music in the Lobby" off the grid - it's a joke and quite disingenuous, Mr. Ratnakar - the Holiday music played for 1.5 days starting on the last day before Winter break started for employees, thereby not qualifyied to be "on the grid". You were on vacation, and that is no excuse.



<-- copyright 2005+ by Dan Prowse -->