buzzkill (UPDATED: j.d. goes dark side? and UPDATED twice again)
The strangest things can touch off a flame war in the wild frontier that is the blogosphere.
Joel found this out today with his post on choice of morning radio, in a thread that’s at 63 comments (and counting):
If I was really cool, I’d tell you that I only listen to NPR or KJHK while getting around in the morning. I’m not that cool.
Usually, I flip around until I find something that matches my mood. The last few weeks, my mood has been set on 96.5, the “modern rock” station — I shant use the word “alternative” — out of Kansas City.
Why? Well, their old morning show went out of business a couple of weeks ago. And instead of replacing the old DJs with new DJs, they replaced the old DJs with … you.
Uncontroversial, right? This is where I enter the fray — and reveal the extent of my pampered existence.
The radio station KRBZ-FM, broadcasting at 96.5MHz out of Mission and known as “The Buzz”, sucks. There’s nothing like tuning in to a radio station to hear “new music” I heard three months ago on my Sirius satellite radio. Their DJs have the same faux-hipster affectation that those at nearly all radio stations that claim membership in this hipster club.
KRBZ is owned by Entercom Communications Corp. of Pennsylvania, which also owns radio stations in 26 American cities including Overland Park. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The station is at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Metcalf in Mission — in a strip mall. The only thing that would be better is if Lazlo’s mom gave him a ride to the strip mall in her minivan (after, of course, commuting in from my apartment).
Don’t misunderstand: I’m not taking a giant dook on Joel’s head in the fashion done by some of the commenters on his thread. Having met the guy, I can vouchsafe his crypto-nerd, counter-culture cred (he hangs out at La Prima Tazza and carries a Mac. He’s a journalist for Chrissakes). It’s every bit the match of my own.
As a radio station, it’s okay, I suppose. But as a source for music hipness, “The Buzz” sucks.
I think that’s what Joel was saying in his post, but the hipster hordes descended on his blog all the same.
[Holy crap. Did I just write a post criticizing another entity's hipness? And did I just call them an "entity"?]
UPDATE: Guess what I’m doing right now? I’m listening to The Hold Steady live in the Sirius studios, singing about smoking a metric buttload of weed and boffing some cute hipster chick on your Futon while mooching money for Mr. Goodcents off of her. They’re playing an acoustic set — with an accordion. And guess what: it’s followed by a program Sirius calls “Blog Radio”. Tell Lazlo to put that in his pipe and smoke it.
UPDATE 2 [21:32]: Tony piles on. Also, I edited this post for clarity. I hope it doesn’t come off like I’m taking a shot at Joel over something as silly as choice of radio while he’s shaving or some such. Rather, it’s to mock the people — like those which descended upon Joel this afternoon — who loudly proclaim their own hipness. Them I’ll take shots at all day long.
UPDATE 3 [22:13]: Tell you what: I’m now listening to Sufjan Stevens. Bombs away.
12.20.2006 @ 23:46
Just a point of clarification: I believe Entercom owns a (relatively) high-rise building at SM Parkway and Metcalf. It’s not in a strip mall. Just sayin’. Anyway, as I posted on Joel’s blog, the days of terrestrial radio music broadcast are numbered. As broadband interweb access becomes even more ubiquitous, about the only thing radio will be good for is sports and news.
12.21.2006 @ 08:45
Yes, the flame war was a bit of a surprise to me, as well.
I listen to other types of music, but I’m not going to give the hipster militants the satisfaction of telling them that. I’ll let them persist in the belief that they can have contempt for me based on listening to one radio station.
(Sigh.)
Guess I’ll have to trade in my skinny ties now…
12.21.2006 @ 09:24
emaw: That’s even better.
Joel: Don’t give them an inch.