Brickwall Brew

I often put my foot in it. I'm certainly no expert nor will I proclaim to have the right way of saying something or fixing problems, as I sometimes quite bluntly say exactly what people are thinking but are too careful to say it or post it online. Careers would be in question and its better to bite your lip. It's common sense when you are bound by not only your contract, but many have families to feed and mortgages to pay. Anyway, disclaimer over - I just had a few things that dont really have much strength to warrant their own posts (or do they?), so instead I have bundled together a few recent thoughts that have hit brick walls. This is a blog after all.

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In my mind, I feel that the radio industry shines on occasion but the rest of the time, it's just the same old same old.
I'm not expecting every radio station to offer high quality platter 24 hours of the day, as this would probably turn me off. Could you handle a tightly-produced Ryan Seacrest, Rick Dees or even Ira Glass or Noam Chomsky types, all day every day for the rest of your radio listening days? I'm not expecting an answer. Channel Z have moments of brilliance (often with Bombers 'Talkback' or Jaquie's 'Pop Goes The Weasel'), as does Hauraki but most commercial radio stations are intended to be wallpaper anyway.

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I have seen the growth of upcoming talent within the radio industry - some embracing the extra offers of work on the side, such as television [a][b][c] while others are quite happy to just exist in the broadcasting game and keep out of the public eye.
The people who have been in radio for more than 15 years are mostly intertwined into the entire media circle these days (91FM reunion anyone?) and can quickly spot where someone 'is' in their career. The radio world is healthy and spinning.

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Over in Music TV land, C4's new MTV arrangement will see 30 minutes less music programming from Monday. MTV 30 includes shows like Pimp My Ride hosted by Xzibit and a hidden camera show called Boiling Points. To counter the missed 30 minutes of music, I understand that C4 are looking at extending their broadcasting hours also. Watch this space!

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Watching the LPFM story unfold is really interesting. I can see new pioneers of our radio industry really making a go of it and some are doing astonishingly well, others just plodding along quite happily. No matter if a review decides to axe the entire concept or support it further, we are getting more moments of brilliance and sometimes better than the big boys. The only thing I really don't like about a handful of LPFM operators is one simple thing: Sort out your technical problems NOW. (Get a Limiter. Do not over-deviate. Stick to the rules!) - Thats my only gripe.

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Have you turned on to a commercial radio station recently, and listened for the QUALITY of the audio?
Hauraki in particular sound awful. Two months ago they sounded like Rock Radio - wall of sound (loud and bright as hell) but still nice and clean. Is there something about NexGen that destroys the audio quality? It sounds horrible. (See my post: Wizard For Windows). Plenty of crossover songs that also air on i98 and Classic Hits (most of them older tracks) seem to be affected. More FM Auckland still sound distorted through their very expensive processor, and it's probably intended to sound 'dynamic' despite still playing CD's live to air (listen for "Summer Sunshine" by The Corrs and you'll see what I mean - its on high rotate at the moment) and Niu FM are in the process of getting something better than the two chained Aphex units in use, to prevent Usher (or Ben Lummis) from sounding like a Daft Punk production.

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Is there something about the innards of a radio station that seems cool and 'look how busy it is', but then when you get an insiders explanation as to whats actually happening - you suddenly see under the shiny coat and bear witness - I just see these people suffering from routine.
From that outsiders perspective, its very easy to point finger and explain to them what they are doing wrong. Should they just stop what they are doing, and start dreaming again so they can visulalize a better way of doing what they do?
If you work for Radio X and you somehow get to visit the competition (Radio Y) when the PD is away, you will notice all the things you don't do yourself and your station fails to do. You will also spot a few things that you do better than these chumps. Is this the way you get yourself out of a doldrum or regimented way of doing your job at Radio X?

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Have you been ignorant to your ways or have your hands been tied? That's the only thing I can say that encapsulates this post of bubbling thoughts. Cheers.