Barbara and I have been going to the Fancy Food Show for about 13 years. We've only missed two, once for my father-in-law's heart operation and another time for my birthday. But almost every year, since about 1995, we drive to the City for a trip through the adult version of the Willy Wonka chocolate factory. The Jacobs Javits Center on 37th Street and 11th Avenue usually holds the event around the 4th of July. We went on Sunday as usual and like always the Show did not disappoint.
I'm not big on change and if I find something I love, I like to keep doing it that way. So we always come in the main entrance and start on the top floor to the left working our way from about 34th Street to 39th. And then we walk the entire ground floor again left to right. But this year we went crazy. We went absolutely nuts and started on the ground floor, on the right. It was like we were anti-establishment, Man! But the real reason was because our good friend Paul came with us last year and he was just getting better from having a broken foot and two major surgeries that placed metal in his bones. He could walk, but several hours on his feet got to him and for the first time we didn't finish the show, missing the whole bottom floor. I was really disappointed because there are more American foods on the ground floor, with traditional things like pancakes and waffles.
So this year we started down there and the race was on. Samples, samples, everywhere. My guess is that about 90% of the booths offered samples, a far cry from our first year. Back in '95, the show was a lot of fun but lacked goodies. Only about 1 in 5 booths offered a sample then and they were mostly for new items that were just starting to take off, like salsa and hot sauces. We were introduced to such products as Bone Suckin' Salsa and Ass Kickin' Hot Sauce at that show and now these are practically household names. Sushi was another item that had not hit popular growth yet then. Many booths were devoted to sushi. But they must be popular now, because I did not see one sushi dish and very few traditional salsas. There were more experimental flavors like salsa mixed with peaches and other fruits.
I can't possibly tell you everything we sampled, but we got there around 11:AM and walked the entire two floors until closing at 5:PM. We'd go crazy eating for two or three rows and then take two rows off. Sometimes I was just happy to try a new kind of mint-flavored water or sports drink to cleanse my overwhelmed taste buds. I only saw one soda vendor there and they were displaying all natural sodas with delicious flavors like Creamy Black Cherry. In the past a drink vendor would offer you a serving about the size of a NyQuil cup, but now many of the vendors give you the whole bottle. What a treat. As you walk and drink you can read about the company on the bottle and check out the ingredients, whereas before you'd get your cup and before it was finished you'd forget the name of the brand.
What we did differently this time was not be so gluttonous. Many times Barb and I would pick up one item and share it with each other rather than one for each of us. We'd each get our own half-palm sized dish of pasta, but when it came to heavier items we'd share a morsel, like ravioli. I tried very few breads, but loved the dark chocolate sweets. I've become a big fan of dark chocolate as I get away from sweeter desserts. One Bundt cake was made with orange and mango. Yum. A Hawaiian ice cream booth served bite-sized ice cream in a marshmallow covering, sort of like a bonbon. You'd let the marshmallow melt in your mouth and then have blueberry ice cream coat your tongue after.
I had wine-flavored ice cream and then red-wine-flavored sorbet. Both good and I don't even like wine. So many different types of hors d'oeuvre meats and sausages. We ran into a man who represents a Ridgewood-Queens, NY butcher shop called Karl Ehmer. He recognized us from the neighborhood and treated us to several different delicacies that they were pushing. The chicken hot dog was very good, but the chicken bratwurst was delicious. Then he showed us a new product, called Beer Salami Sticks. They were similar to Lanjaegers, the hard, chewy stick that reminds you of beef jerky and is often served in a German bar. But these Beer Sticks were softer and less harsh. You could enjoy them without feeling you had to wash them down.
So many booths, so much food and drink. We didn't eat before we left the house, so that we wouldn't get too full early. But Paul hadn't had coffee and these coffee booths are some of the finest in the world. I don't drink coffee, but I love to see someone else enjoy their's. Paul downed several small cups of Espresso and other specialty brands. One man from Greenfield, Mass. introduced Paul to a new way of roasting the coffee beans that avoided the burning aftertaste that people associate with most brews. I stayed away from the cheeses because I am not a big cheese fan, but Barb and Paul went nuts for the various Bries and goat concoctions.
One thing we never get at this show and particularly this year is heartburn. You'd think that with all the different flavors taking aim at your stomach that something would repeat or act up. But many of the vendors now promote organic or at least all natural foods. I'd walk along eating a chocolate chip cookie and not getting that burn in my throat that I associate with many store brands. That's because so much of what we call food now is not made with food at all, but chemicals disguised to taste like food. The more naturally people would eat the healthier they'd be. I know this, but I don't follow this advice as well as I should.
The Numbers: 140,000 Foods and Beverages; 2,400 exhibitors; 650 companies displaying natural or organic products; 1,400 US companies; 52 international pavilions with 77 countries represented; 330,000 square feet of exhibit space. Like I said the building basically runs five city blocks wide and one city block deep. We crossed it wide at least 6 times, when you add in bathroom breaks. And we walked through 64 aisles of exhibits, so that comes to about 5 miles of walking during the day. We took several rests and at one point we sat next to a Russian exhibit. The older woman behind the table smiled and said, "You should set a table up in front of you and let them bring the samples to you." LOL. Not a bad idea. "I am the King, show me your wares."
This year had to be the biggest yet for international exhibitors. I believe with the weakened dollar that many European companies feel it's an excellent and affordable time to fly over and get their name in the door. My favorite international food is Italian, but the Italian booths generally left me cold, as they hawked olive oils and prosciutto, two items I am not fond of. Those sections were great for me, because they allowed me to save my appetite for better items like Belgian waffles with fresh strawberry sauce. And the young women at the booths are much nicer when they are from other countries or even other states. "You look like you're hungry for waffle," one woman said in the nicest Belgian accent. The New York hostesses were more hostile. I think if I had a booth I'd hire a girl from St. Louis or Tennessee to assist me. Their friendly nature sells the product better.
One cool thing happened during the event. The next-biggest tournament to the World Cup, soccer's European Cup was having its final game yesterday afternoon at 2:45PM. In the Espana section (Spain), a 70 inch TV screen was set up showing the game in an empty booth. Spain was playing Germany for the prize and you could hear the roar of each missed goal. Missed goals are very big in soccer, since made goals are such a rarity. When Espana went up 1-0, I heard the familiar chants of "Ole Ole Ole Ole!" and ran over to see what was going on. Deutschland was the big favorite going in, so it would be a shocking victory for the Spaniards. (I only know all this from talking to my Russian barber the day before. LOL) The booths in the Spain section were mostly empty, so not a lot of business was going on there. Eventually, Spain won and even some Americans in the group were excited by the outcome. I guess if you work in an international environment you become excited about global concerns.
As for my favorite item of the day. The Serendipity 3 ice cream parlor on East 60th Street in Manhattan offered the biggest treat of all, Frozen Hot Chocolate. It has the light, airy texture of hot chocolate with a sprinkling of chocolate shavings floating above and a dollop of whipped cream to top it off. Suck that through a straw and find out what Heaven tastes like.
As always a tremendous day was had by all of us.
The Freditor
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Nice Response from 101.9FM for WRXP review
Such an amazing blog. We thank you greatly for the compliment and plan to keeping up the great music. I fwd' this to Bryan Schock as well.
Best,
Jeffrey
Best,
Jeffrey
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Funny, But it seems I am much less interested in Pop Culture than I ever thought possible
A couple of years ago I started a subscription to Entertainment Weekly Magazine (EW). It was a ridiculous offer of $10 a year for 52 issues. The cover price is $3.95, so I was saving $195 a Year! After the year was over, I let it expire then they had me re-up for another $10. So, I'm ahead $390, Beautiful. And it really is a one-stop shopping area for all manner of popular culture. Back when I was in college and later my 20s I wanted more in depth coverage of music and movies, so I subscribed to Premiere and Rolling Stone. But RS started losing me in the early '90s with its coverage of rap and grunge rock, two formats I had little interest in. And while Premiere used to be hard hitting, it changed management and started to offer more puff pieces which coddled Hollywood rather than challenging it.
So now I read EW, which is not hard hitting, but is not easy going, either. And to celebrate their 25th Anniversary of publication, they ran a Top 100 list in 8 different categories, spanning the last 25 years. I started pulling out pages of the movie and TV sections to read later and then I got to the music section. Not only didn't I agree with a lot of the albums they picked for their Top 100, I didn't recognize the names for many. I've always fancied myself a big music fan. I have about 300 CDs and about 500 LPs. And while I own several of the classics they list, those records were almost all released before 1995, many before 1991. I listen to almost all my music on the radio in the car, and as is the bad habit of modern DJs, no one ever gives the name of the song or artist. So I have probably heard hundreds of songs over the years that I really enjoyed without knowing their names. For instance, one song I've loved for years sounds like the singer is under water, yet I have no idea who it is or what it's called.
Okay, so I'm not into music enough to know a great album other than Norah Jones' from the last 15 years, so I move onto the books. I have heard of many of the Top 100, but have not read one. I read about 100 books in a 4-year period 10 years ago, but none of those were on this list. What was on here were Harry Potter books and loads of memoirs. Do people read memoirs? Who's life is so interesting that you want them to tell you about it for 500 pages? I read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, that man escaped slavery, now he had a story to tell. There is this writer named Augusten Burroughs, who grew up in his shrink's house. His name alone annoys me and the circumstances of his life don't so much make me want to read about them, as they make me want to scream about the state of American family life. And this narcissist has written TWO Books about his life. Paul McCartney could write two books about himself, but not Augusten Burroughs
Then I read the list of plays. I've seen about a play a year for the last 15 years and except for Spamalot, none of the plays I saw made it. And I hated Spamalot. Then there was Top Technology, which doesn't interest me and Top Video games which interests me even less, and least interesting of all, Top Moments in Style. Oy.
I often dream of having my own radio show, with lots of interesting guests and cool talk for 3 to 4 hours. Something like Howard Stern used to do well, or Opie and Anthony do well now. But you have to be clued into all areas of Pop Culture to make an interesting show like that, otherwise you become a two-trick pony. Believe me I've heard enough sports talk radio to know that a host who only has one interest will become very boring after a while. Now maybe I'm feeling a bit left out of the zeitgeist because it stresses the last 25 years and not earlier, but I've only been an adult for 24 years, so if I'm feeling left out, how must someone 5 to 10 years older than me feel.
I refuse to become like my friend at work, a man a couple of years older than me caught in a time tunnel where it is still 1979 and being cool means listening to Molly Hatchett. And I don't want to be the Douche that listens to new music he obviously doesn't like to seem hip and young. You see this asshole at red lights with the windows down and 50 Cent blaring. I want to grow old gracefully, appreciating the past while keeping my eyes open for cool and fun things in the future. I guess it is all a learning process. How do others do it? I refuse to stop trying.
The Freditor
So now I read EW, which is not hard hitting, but is not easy going, either. And to celebrate their 25th Anniversary of publication, they ran a Top 100 list in 8 different categories, spanning the last 25 years. I started pulling out pages of the movie and TV sections to read later and then I got to the music section. Not only didn't I agree with a lot of the albums they picked for their Top 100, I didn't recognize the names for many. I've always fancied myself a big music fan. I have about 300 CDs and about 500 LPs. And while I own several of the classics they list, those records were almost all released before 1995, many before 1991. I listen to almost all my music on the radio in the car, and as is the bad habit of modern DJs, no one ever gives the name of the song or artist. So I have probably heard hundreds of songs over the years that I really enjoyed without knowing their names. For instance, one song I've loved for years sounds like the singer is under water, yet I have no idea who it is or what it's called.
Okay, so I'm not into music enough to know a great album other than Norah Jones' from the last 15 years, so I move onto the books. I have heard of many of the Top 100, but have not read one. I read about 100 books in a 4-year period 10 years ago, but none of those were on this list. What was on here were Harry Potter books and loads of memoirs. Do people read memoirs? Who's life is so interesting that you want them to tell you about it for 500 pages? I read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, that man escaped slavery, now he had a story to tell. There is this writer named Augusten Burroughs, who grew up in his shrink's house. His name alone annoys me and the circumstances of his life don't so much make me want to read about them, as they make me want to scream about the state of American family life. And this narcissist has written TWO Books about his life. Paul McCartney could write two books about himself, but not Augusten Burroughs
Then I read the list of plays. I've seen about a play a year for the last 15 years and except for Spamalot, none of the plays I saw made it. And I hated Spamalot. Then there was Top Technology, which doesn't interest me and Top Video games which interests me even less, and least interesting of all, Top Moments in Style. Oy.
I often dream of having my own radio show, with lots of interesting guests and cool talk for 3 to 4 hours. Something like Howard Stern used to do well, or Opie and Anthony do well now. But you have to be clued into all areas of Pop Culture to make an interesting show like that, otherwise you become a two-trick pony. Believe me I've heard enough sports talk radio to know that a host who only has one interest will become very boring after a while. Now maybe I'm feeling a bit left out of the zeitgeist because it stresses the last 25 years and not earlier, but I've only been an adult for 24 years, so if I'm feeling left out, how must someone 5 to 10 years older than me feel.
I refuse to become like my friend at work, a man a couple of years older than me caught in a time tunnel where it is still 1979 and being cool means listening to Molly Hatchett. And I don't want to be the Douche that listens to new music he obviously doesn't like to seem hip and young. You see this asshole at red lights with the windows down and 50 Cent blaring. I want to grow old gracefully, appreciating the past while keeping my eyes open for cool and fun things in the future. I guess it is all a learning process. How do others do it? I refuse to stop trying.
The Freditor
Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the Last 25 Years
I'd agree with all of these, except I'd add:
Walking on Sunshine--Katrina and the Waves
&
Barely Breathing--Duncan Sheik
--The Freditor
I Touch Myself-The Divinyls
Come On Eileen--Dexy's Midnight Runners
Fuck It (I Don't want You Back)--Eamon
You Gotta Be--Des'ree
Laffy Taffy--D4L
Steal My Sunshine--LEN
What I Am--Edie Brickell
Jump Around--House of Pain
Closing Time--Semisonic
Baby Got Back--Sir Mix-A-Lot
Walking on Sunshine--Katrina and the Waves
&
Barely Breathing--Duncan Sheik
--The Freditor
I Touch Myself-The Divinyls
Come On Eileen--Dexy's Midnight Runners
Fuck It (I Don't want You Back)--Eamon
You Gotta Be--Des'ree
Laffy Taffy--D4L
Steal My Sunshine--LEN
What I Am--Edie Brickell
Jump Around--House of Pain
Closing Time--Semisonic
Baby Got Back--Sir Mix-A-Lot
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Save Coney Island from the developers
I like Coney island. My wife is a huge fan, but I'm less enthused. But I do like its rough charms. It's a very inexpensive place for a family to spend the day. Developers like Donald Trump would tear it down and turn it into a Hamptons West. But two things would happen if that occurred.
One--It would become Snobsville like the South Street Seaport with $10 beers. Or Two--It would be a collassal failure because people would still be afraid to make the trip into Brooklyn. And if that occurs then you've succeeded in chasing away the people who've kept the place running for the last 50+ years and made it a white elephant that rich people can point at as they steam by in their boats headed out to the island. Remember Citibank's dream for a rejuvenated Long Island City? Never materialized.
The Freditor
One--It would become Snobsville like the South Street Seaport with $10 beers. Or Two--It would be a collassal failure because people would still be afraid to make the trip into Brooklyn. And if that occurs then you've succeeded in chasing away the people who've kept the place running for the last 50+ years and made it a white elephant that rich people can point at as they steam by in their boats headed out to the island. Remember Citibank's dream for a rejuvenated Long Island City? Never materialized.
The Freditor
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Unemployment should not be a problem for long, Year 2012 will be a Bonanza
In 2012, 33% or one-third of all federal government employees will reach retirement age. The Baby Boomers will finally be stepping out of the working ranks and freeing Hundreds of Thousands of jobs for younger people to take.
And 58% of all those holding managerial positions will be eligible for Social Security. There are over 2 Million federal workers, so 33% adds up to about 670,000 new positions opening. For those who look down their nose at government jobs, the average package of salary and benefits adds up to $39.50 an hour, 51% higher than the private sector.
It took me two whole years from the time I took the postal exam until I was finally called for an interview and hired. So anyone looking to get in on any of these Federal jobs, should start testing in 2009 and 2010. Fewer native born Americans are coming into the Post Office and I'm not sure why that is. So you can sit home and try to find some work in construction, where a million guys are chasing after the same dollar or you can take something more secure that the New Americans are jumping into with both feet. Your choice.
The Freditor
And 58% of all those holding managerial positions will be eligible for Social Security. There are over 2 Million federal workers, so 33% adds up to about 670,000 new positions opening. For those who look down their nose at government jobs, the average package of salary and benefits adds up to $39.50 an hour, 51% higher than the private sector.
It took me two whole years from the time I took the postal exam until I was finally called for an interview and hired. So anyone looking to get in on any of these Federal jobs, should start testing in 2009 and 2010. Fewer native born Americans are coming into the Post Office and I'm not sure why that is. So you can sit home and try to find some work in construction, where a million guys are chasing after the same dollar or you can take something more secure that the New Americans are jumping into with both feet. Your choice.
The Freditor
Friday, June 13, 2008
How to Comment on a Story in Fred's Blog
Apparently there is some confusion about how to comment on the various "No More Stinky Monkeys" Blogs. At the bottom of every story, there is a line that reads something like:
"Posted by The Freditor at 6:15PM 0 Comments" (and then a Letter symbol)
If you would like to send me a comment, you click on the Letter symbol and a page will come up.
Next to Friend's email address, put your email address and then in the comments field write whatever you want. If you WANT me to Post it into my Blog, just mention that at the top. Otherwise it will be just for my eyes. Thanks for reading my stuff and your continued support.
My birthday is one month from today, I've had 1300 hits so far, I'd love to get to 2,000 by my Bday.
The Freditor
"Posted by The Freditor at 6:15PM 0 Comments" (and then a Letter symbol)
If you would like to send me a comment, you click on the Letter symbol and a page will come up.
Next to Friend's email address, put your email address and then in the comments field write whatever you want. If you WANT me to Post it into my Blog, just mention that at the top. Otherwise it will be just for my eyes. Thanks for reading my stuff and your continued support.
My birthday is one month from today, I've had 1300 hits so far, I'd love to get to 2,000 by my Bday.
The Freditor
Monday, June 9, 2008
Wow, did the number crunching and here are the biggest Box Office stars
Was looking up Adam Sandler's numbers to see where he lands among current box office behemoths and while he does well, these guys are off the charts. He's also been in about half the movies they've been in. Stallone, Arnold, Bill Murray can't touch these guys. When I was typing in different names off the top of my head I forgot all about Tom Hanks, but he's the leader. And I didn't think of Bruce Willis, but he's a bigger international star than anybody but Hanks. Hanks' world grosses are amazing. I didn't realize that Hanks' movies would translate so well. Eddie Murphy is helped by the 3 Shreks. Ford is helped by the first 3 Star Wars. But people still went to see those movies, partly because they were in them.
Tom Cruise has only the Mission Impossible series, but he was long established before they came out and he has no help from other box office kings (unlike Murphy in the Shreks). People went to see just him. And Tom Hanks has been making serious films for almost 20 years now, yet he's the biggest star and he rarely draws a gun or makes people laugh. Mike Myers has made just 13 movies, but his per average is by far the best. The Love Guru looks dicey, but Myers is as close to golden as anyone in Hollywood, never bet against him. Julia Roberts leads among women, but she doesn't place among these guys and gets credit for some movies like Oceans 11 that have nothing to do with her. Kind of like Samuel L. Jackson, who appears in popular movies but isn't necessarily the star (Star Wars, Coming to America). One of these days, Will Smith will blow all of them away.
The Freditor
Mike Myers: Average US gross: $140,282,107/per movie
Tom Hanks: US gross: $3,839,936,098
world Gross: $7,513,937,782
Harrison Ford--US gross: $3,561,989,506
world gross: $6,383,423,057
Eddie Murphy---US gross: $3,439,371,750
world gross: $6,134,535,458
Tom Cruise---US Gross: $3,076,936,700
world gross: $6,247,259,679
Bruce Willis: US Gross: $3,044,221,838
world gross: $6,412,660,366
Tom Cruise has only the Mission Impossible series, but he was long established before they came out and he has no help from other box office kings (unlike Murphy in the Shreks). People went to see just him. And Tom Hanks has been making serious films for almost 20 years now, yet he's the biggest star and he rarely draws a gun or makes people laugh. Mike Myers has made just 13 movies, but his per average is by far the best. The Love Guru looks dicey, but Myers is as close to golden as anyone in Hollywood, never bet against him. Julia Roberts leads among women, but she doesn't place among these guys and gets credit for some movies like Oceans 11 that have nothing to do with her. Kind of like Samuel L. Jackson, who appears in popular movies but isn't necessarily the star (Star Wars, Coming to America). One of these days, Will Smith will blow all of them away.
The Freditor
Mike Myers: Average US gross: $140,282,107/per movie
Tom Hanks: US gross: $3,839,936,098
world Gross: $7,513,937,782
Harrison Ford--US gross: $3,561,989,506
world gross: $6,383,423,057
Eddie Murphy---US gross: $3,439,371,750
world gross: $6,134,535,458
Tom Cruise---US Gross: $3,076,936,700
world gross: $6,247,259,679
Bruce Willis: US Gross: $3,044,221,838
world gross: $6,412,660,366
Sunday, June 1, 2008
WRXP-101.9: Has anyone been listening to the Best Rock Station in New York City?
101.9 RXP - The New York Rock Experience
The newest radio station in town came on the air, Feb. 7, 2008 and I have been remiss in writing about it. Finally, Finally, FINALLY a station for those of us who still wish the best for terrestrial radio.
My commute is only 1 hour round trip and I don't want to get satellite radio for my car for such a short period of time. I could get an I-Pod, but then I will only be listening to music I already own and not experiencing new stuff. And I will never hear the news or any other current events that way. I love variety on the radio, but my mainstay since 1978 has been great rock and roll radio, and we used to have it.
I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, because I was too young to notice and because it was always there, so who knew it could be taken away from us, but rock radio started going downhill around the end of 1982 and the fall has been precipitous since 1990. I won't go through an entire history, but people my age and older remember when WPLJ and WNEW were in a great dogfight for best rock station in New York. PLJ had a more commercial bent, but they were in touch with the modern listener and there was no shame in listening to them. WNEW was more avant garde, but boy did they open this young boy's ears. The punk rock scene never totally caught on in New York City, despite the revisionist history we hear on VH1 these days, but certain bands had their day in the sun on NEW and are staples today. Talking Heads, Blondie and The Ramones to name a few.
In 1982, NEW was so sure of itself that it started paying attention to the drumbeats of those who wanted to hear more black rock on the radio. They had always played Motown and Stax records, but they started looking at more modern fair and felt that Michael Jackson and Prince were making rock records. You'd hear "Beat It" because of Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo and Little Red Corvette, because of Prince's familiarity with Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix. But the corporate honchos started making their move on NEW and the experimenting was suddenly limited to Sundays and Friday afternoons with Things From England.
When K-Rock switched to all classic rock in the late '80s, New York radio started its fast swirl towards the drain. Classic rock became a code phrase for the Top 100 songs according to listener surveys beaten to death. Now many of those songs which I once loved are barely listenable anymore. And I won't even get into the fact that hardly any new rock and roll bands got a chance to find an audience during these last 25 years. U2, REM and Guns and Roses were the only new bands to find great success.
Now with so many in the New York audience turned off to FM radio by the lack of great music, a new station rises like a Phoenix from the ashes, 101.9--WRXP--The New York Rock Experience. It plays classic rock, modern rock and alternative rock. You are likely to hear in a row: Spoon, The Smiths and the Rolling Stones, but the Stones song will probably one you haven't heard on the radio in 25 years, like "Respectable" off Some Girls. Never heard of Spoon? They are a modern New York band with a fast, Spanish-flavored acoustic sound.
So basically, WRXP mixes up several genres into one cohesive rock and roll station. The punk/new wave era of late '70s WNEW, the modern hard-core rockers of '90s K-Rock, the alternative '80s and '90s records of WLIR and the classic rock that any number of stations have laid claim to since 1988. It's a lot for one station to take on, but hopefully the suits at other stations are starting to see the groundswell of support it's getting. People want to hear something both familiar and new. At most, classic rock stations will play the same five songs from an artist, RXP played the rarely heard Boogie With Stu from Led Zep III the other day. I nearly hit a tree when I heard it on the radio.
It's already starting to happen. Other stations are starting to experiment more. K-Rock is now playing hard rock back to 1970; WCBS is making more room for the '50s records they shamelessly pushed aside; the lowly "classic" Q-104.3 is at least playing something different on Two-for Tuesdays, making the second song one you haven't heard in a while.
RXP claims that they let their DJs pick the records, which might be true, but they do seem to have a bit of playlist that they choose from. Hopefully with success will come more experimentation. The afternoon DJ, Bryan Schock has become the biggest name on the station so far and he brags that he will play something you haven't heard in many years at least once a day on his show. Which is great and I hope that number grows exponentially, but the songs and groups I've heard him play on my way home is heartening. Devo's "Satisfaction" (which like Schock I prefer to the Stones version), Jim Carroll's "All the People Who Died, Died"; Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK"; Ian Hunter's "All the Way to Memphis"; Husker Du; The Replacements; and several more I'm not remembering.
Unfortunately, this should not be such a tremendous event. Rock and Roll is 54 years old, there is so much great and wonderful music out there just waiting to be heard. But suit and ties who probably listen to John Tesh make the decisions for what you can hear and like lemmings we listen to stations that long ago gave up any connection to what we want. It has fueled the alternative ways of hearing the music you want from satellite to I-Pods, but how stupid is it for companies to chase away radio listeners who care about what they listen to. I'll keep listening to a station if it's playing a song I don't like, if the promise is there that I will like the next song, but how horrible is it that I am forced to change the station because they've made me sick of a song.
I hope 101.9-WRXP continues to experiment and I hope the New York audience makes them a rousing success.
The Freditor
The newest radio station in town came on the air, Feb. 7, 2008 and I have been remiss in writing about it. Finally, Finally, FINALLY a station for those of us who still wish the best for terrestrial radio.
My commute is only 1 hour round trip and I don't want to get satellite radio for my car for such a short period of time. I could get an I-Pod, but then I will only be listening to music I already own and not experiencing new stuff. And I will never hear the news or any other current events that way. I love variety on the radio, but my mainstay since 1978 has been great rock and roll radio, and we used to have it.
I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, because I was too young to notice and because it was always there, so who knew it could be taken away from us, but rock radio started going downhill around the end of 1982 and the fall has been precipitous since 1990. I won't go through an entire history, but people my age and older remember when WPLJ and WNEW were in a great dogfight for best rock station in New York. PLJ had a more commercial bent, but they were in touch with the modern listener and there was no shame in listening to them. WNEW was more avant garde, but boy did they open this young boy's ears. The punk rock scene never totally caught on in New York City, despite the revisionist history we hear on VH1 these days, but certain bands had their day in the sun on NEW and are staples today. Talking Heads, Blondie and The Ramones to name a few.
In 1982, NEW was so sure of itself that it started paying attention to the drumbeats of those who wanted to hear more black rock on the radio. They had always played Motown and Stax records, but they started looking at more modern fair and felt that Michael Jackson and Prince were making rock records. You'd hear "Beat It" because of Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo and Little Red Corvette, because of Prince's familiarity with Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix. But the corporate honchos started making their move on NEW and the experimenting was suddenly limited to Sundays and Friday afternoons with Things From England.
When K-Rock switched to all classic rock in the late '80s, New York radio started its fast swirl towards the drain. Classic rock became a code phrase for the Top 100 songs according to listener surveys beaten to death. Now many of those songs which I once loved are barely listenable anymore. And I won't even get into the fact that hardly any new rock and roll bands got a chance to find an audience during these last 25 years. U2, REM and Guns and Roses were the only new bands to find great success.
Now with so many in the New York audience turned off to FM radio by the lack of great music, a new station rises like a Phoenix from the ashes, 101.9--WRXP--The New York Rock Experience. It plays classic rock, modern rock and alternative rock. You are likely to hear in a row: Spoon, The Smiths and the Rolling Stones, but the Stones song will probably one you haven't heard on the radio in 25 years, like "Respectable" off Some Girls. Never heard of Spoon? They are a modern New York band with a fast, Spanish-flavored acoustic sound.
So basically, WRXP mixes up several genres into one cohesive rock and roll station. The punk/new wave era of late '70s WNEW, the modern hard-core rockers of '90s K-Rock, the alternative '80s and '90s records of WLIR and the classic rock that any number of stations have laid claim to since 1988. It's a lot for one station to take on, but hopefully the suits at other stations are starting to see the groundswell of support it's getting. People want to hear something both familiar and new. At most, classic rock stations will play the same five songs from an artist, RXP played the rarely heard Boogie With Stu from Led Zep III the other day. I nearly hit a tree when I heard it on the radio.
It's already starting to happen. Other stations are starting to experiment more. K-Rock is now playing hard rock back to 1970; WCBS is making more room for the '50s records they shamelessly pushed aside; the lowly "classic" Q-104.3 is at least playing something different on Two-for Tuesdays, making the second song one you haven't heard in a while.
RXP claims that they let their DJs pick the records, which might be true, but they do seem to have a bit of playlist that they choose from. Hopefully with success will come more experimentation. The afternoon DJ, Bryan Schock has become the biggest name on the station so far and he brags that he will play something you haven't heard in many years at least once a day on his show. Which is great and I hope that number grows exponentially, but the songs and groups I've heard him play on my way home is heartening. Devo's "Satisfaction" (which like Schock I prefer to the Stones version), Jim Carroll's "All the People Who Died, Died"; Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK"; Ian Hunter's "All the Way to Memphis"; Husker Du; The Replacements; and several more I'm not remembering.
Unfortunately, this should not be such a tremendous event. Rock and Roll is 54 years old, there is so much great and wonderful music out there just waiting to be heard. But suit and ties who probably listen to John Tesh make the decisions for what you can hear and like lemmings we listen to stations that long ago gave up any connection to what we want. It has fueled the alternative ways of hearing the music you want from satellite to I-Pods, but how stupid is it for companies to chase away radio listeners who care about what they listen to. I'll keep listening to a station if it's playing a song I don't like, if the promise is there that I will like the next song, but how horrible is it that I am forced to change the station because they've made me sick of a song.
I hope 101.9-WRXP continues to experiment and I hope the New York audience makes them a rousing success.
The Freditor
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