15 replies to this topic

[awp69]

I'm sorry, but radio in this city just plain sucks for someone in their 30s-early 40s. The kind of music we grew up with and went to college with -- 80s music, 90s alternative. No where to be found around these parts. B93.7 tries too much to cater to everyone - I'm not a rap / R&B fan and there's way too much spun there. 98.1 is the same to a greater extreme. NPR is too eclectic for my tastes.

Everyone has different tastes and I'm sure many of you are just fine with what's around. I'd be happy with an adult alternative station, 80s music or even a "hits" station along the lines of Star 94 in Atlanta that focuses more on new hits and older songs that appeal to "Generation X." Our age group has got to be growing immensely in this area and we have spending dollars, but no stations that cater to our needs. I used to even like the old 103X or whatever it was about 10 year ago. The Planet says it's "new" rock, but it's really only new hard rock. Last time I checked U2 was still a fairly popular group, but there is not a single station in Greenville that would play their music. It's too "new" to be played on rock 101 and too soft for something like "The Planet".

We have HD radio stations here, but seriously blues is too niche and comedy is a once-in-a-while kind of station. Charlie-FM was the only thing sort of close to being "hip" with its mix of music, but that was short lived. And, I'm sorry, but either Magic 98.9 or 102.5 has GOT to get with it. They try to be hipper by playing things like Kelly Clarkson or Taylor Swift, but do those same people really want still want to hear Neil Diamond or the "soft rock" of our parents.

Sorry for the rant, but is there anyone out there that agrees?

Oh, and believe me, if I could afford satellite radio, I would. So now I listen mostly to my iPod, but would still like to hear newer groups that appeal to the newer rock / alternative groups that aren't hard redneck trash on the Planet.

Edited by awp69, 21 October 2009 - 08:56 AM.

[citylife]

I gave up listening to the radio in this area years ago. I now listen to CD's or my ipod. My car cd player has an attachment where I can hook my ipod up to it. Never have to worry about listening to the radio again.

[gregtrob]

awp69, on Oct 21 2009, 10:49 AM, said:

Everyone has different tastes and I'm sure many of you are just fine with what's around. I'd be happy with an adult alternative station, 80s music or even a "hits" station along the lines of Star 94 in Atlanta that focuses more on new hits and older songs that appeal to "Generation X." Our age group has got to be growing immensely in this area and we have spending dollars, but no stations that cater to our needs. I used to even like the old 103X or whatever it was about 10 year ago. The Planet says it's "new" rock, but it's really only new hard rock. Last time I checked U2 was still a fairly popular group, but there is not a single station in Greenville that would play their music. It's too "new" to be played on rock 101 and too soft for something like "The Planet".

It's odd that you think what 93.3 is "hard rock".  I call it soft rock, but the rest of your points are valid.  

As others have said, I have given up on radio in the upstate long ago.  My preference would be to get an NPR talk station, however that does not look feasible for the Upstate.  I have emailed the SCERN folks about it several times and they said there is no intention to bring that format to the Upstate.  I should note that the rest of the state (pretty much) has it.

[Skyliner]

I rarely listen to the radio for music.  That is what mp3 players are for and it is very easy to collect thousands of tunes on one playback device which can travel wherever you go without interruption.  Instead I usually tune in to local and national news, talk, or entertainment shows.  I especially enjoy sports, news, politics, religion, and comedy.  Our stations offer enough of each to satisfy me.  One thing I am amazed by is the number of stations broadcasting high school football on friday evenings.  It is difficult to find much else on air during that time.

[Greenville]

gregtrob, on Oct 21 2009, 12:37 PM, said:

It's odd that you think what 93.3 is "hard rock".  I call it soft rock, but the rest of your points are valid.  

As others have said, I have given up on radio in the upstate long ago.  My preference would be to get an NPR talk station, however that does not look feasible for the Upstate.  I have emailed the SCERN folks about it several times and they said there is no intention to bring that format to the Upstate.  I should note that the rest of the state (pretty much) has it.

Wait, the Upstate doesn't have NPR?  Are you serious?

[Skyliner]

Greenville, on Oct 21 2009, 04:26 PM, said:

Wait, the Upstate doesn't have NPR?  Are you serious?

NPR offers various feeds for different station types.  Greenville has their "classical/news" feed.  I don't see a problem with that.  One can always purchase a satellite radio and tune in to NPR Talk anywhere at any time.

[gregtrob]

Skyliner, on Oct 21 2009, 05:02 PM, said:

NPR offers various feeds for different station types.  Greenville has their "classical/news" feed.  I don't see a problem with that.  One can always purchase a satellite radio and tune in to NPR Talk anywhere at any time.

My only issue is that the rest of the state has the NPR Talk option and we do not.  Of course if one supports NPR and they would prefer to have talk instead of paying for satellite radio I think it should be an option.

[Greenville]

Skyliner, on Oct 21 2009, 04:02 PM, said:

NPR offers various feeds for different station types.  Greenville has their "classical/news" feed.  I don't see a problem with that.  One can always purchase a satellite radio and tune in to NPR Talk anywhere at any time.

Interesting.  So what are the different types of NPR radio?

[gsupstate]

I do miss living in a city with a true NPR station.  Was always a big supporter.  

On radio, I had heard several months back about a group looking to start a station featuring all the great new wave / first wave / alternative stuff, but that has not come to fruition.  A bit off topic, but in the same train of thought.....Greenville is missing the bar scene with that kind of music, as well as the demographic that listens to it.  I was astounded recently when I was in a downtown bar and mentioned Echo and the Bunnymen.....the bartender didn't know who they were.....I mentioned Blur and he drew a blank on them as well.  

[GVLbikeNboard]

gsupstate, on Oct 21 2009, 08:05 PM, said:

when I was in a downtown bar and mentioned Echo and the Bunnymen.....the bartender didn't know who they were.....I mentioned Blur and he drew a blank on them as well.  

I have never heard of them either.


Anyways, rarely do I hear anything enjoyable on 93.3 or 93.7. Every now and then they'll play music I like but...not often. I listen to WNCW the most and can listen to most of what they play. Other than that, like others said, my ipod and CDs play 95% of the time.

[Skyliner]

gsupstate, on Oct 21 2009, 08:05 PM, said:

I do miss living in a city with a true NPR station.  Was always a big supporter.  

On radio, I had heard several months back about a group looking to start a station featuring all the great new wave / first wave / alternative stuff, but that has not come to fruition.  A bit off topic, but in the same train of thought.....Greenville is missing the bar scene with that kind of music, as well as the demographic that listens to it.  I was astounded recently when I was in a downtown bar and mentioned Echo and the Bunnymen.....the bartender didn't know who they were.....I mentioned Blur and he drew a blank on them as well.  

Speaking of Echo and the Bunnymen, check out Jimmy Kimmel Live tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Edited by Skyliner, 21 October 2009 - 10:35 PM.

[gsupstate]

Skyliner, on Oct 21 2009, 11:33 PM, said:

Speaking of Echo and the Bunnymen, check out Jimmy Kimmel Live tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Excellent.  Thanks for posting this.    Will be sure to watch.

[Spartan]

This is an interesting topic. I have this discussion pretty regularly with my friends when I'm in the Upstate, and there is a general consensus that the radio sucks.

I lean more towards the hard/alternative rock type music, but 93.3 only plays the crappy pop stuff, and too much 80's glam-rock (by which I mean the same 8 rock songs you probably associate with the 80s). They try to cover too many generations of music, and they do it poorly.  For a while we had 96.7 The Buzzard, which I thought was better than 93.3 but has since folded and is now a Christian Radio station.

I think that the radio stations we have try to pander too much to everyone instead of creating their own niche. Along those lines, WNCW, even if you don't like that kind of music, is generally regarded as a great radio station. My guess is that it's because they have their own style and it's not mainstream at all. You either like it or you don't.

I'd be interested to know if anyone out there likes the plethora of country music stations that we have, and why they like one station over another. I'm not into country music enough to know what makes one station better than another.

I think it would be interesting to see if there are any general characteristics that people associate with a 'good' radio station- regardless of the type of music.

[Birdbrain]

gsupstate, on Oct 21 2009, 08:05 PM, said:

I do miss living in a city with a true NPR station. Was always a big supporter.

On radio, I had heard several months back about a group looking to start a station featuring all the great new wave / first wave / alternative stuff, but that has not come to fruition. A bit off topic, but in the same train of thought.....Greenville is missing the bar scene with that kind of music, as well as the demographic that listens to it. I was astounded recently when I was in a downtown bar and mentioned Echo and the Bunnymen.....the bartender didn't know who they were.....I mentioned Blur and he drew a blank on them as well.

There was the time - long ago - that Greenville had 103-X, which actually played Echo, Blur, The Smiths, Souxie, Smithereens, Pixies, Pre-Sellout U2, etc. We even had "Studio B" nightclub by G-Tech that featured "alternative rock" bands.  To think that Greenville could actually be getting a non-Classic Rock (Zep broke up in '83. Move on, dudes.), non-Glam Rock station had me thrilled!  What on earth happened to those plans? Not enough percieved support or demographics?

[Sandlapper]

Birdbrain, on 22 October 2009 - 10:33 AM, said:

There was the time - long ago - that Greenville had 103-X, which actually played Echo, Blur, The Smiths, Souxie, Smithereens, Pixies, Pre-Sellout U2, etc. We even had "Studio B" nightclub by G-Tech that featured "alternative rock" bands.  To think that Greenville could actually be getting a non-Classic Rock (Zep broke up in '83. Move on, dudes.), non-Glam Rock station had me thrilled!  What on earth happened to those plans? Not enough percieved support or demographics?

I gave up on Upstate radio long ago.  I got Sirius in the early 00's and never looked back.  It's the best 13 bucks a month I spend.  

For other alternatives you can check out things like Pandora radio online.

[jarvismj]

Birdbrain, on 22 October 2009 - 10:33 AM, said:

There was the time - long ago - that Greenville had 103-X, which actually played Echo, Blur, The Smiths, Souxie, Smithereens, Pixies, Pre-Sellout U2, etc. We even had "Studio B" nightclub by G-Tech that featured "alternative rock" bands.  To think that Greenville could actually be getting a non-Classic Rock (Zep broke up in '83. Move on, dudes.), non-Glam Rock station had me thrilled!  What on earth happened to those plans? Not enough percieved support or demographics?

My girlfriend was asking me same thing the other night about the radio in Greenville. We were down there twice in Nov/Dec, and to her, the radio sucked. Which is saying a lot because all she listens to is pop rock (Nickelback, Daughtry, etc). Truthfully, given the hold that Entercom has on the Upstate, I don't see the scene changing too much in the foreseeable future. I would love it just as much if there were an alternative station like 103X again, but unless someone wants to front the money for an independent license, I don't see that happening. Of course, I cheat when I'm there and stream radio from around the world through my BlackBerry.