Dumbwhore - The Blog

Corporate Radio Fail or why @965TheBuzz Sucks Ass

Posted by dumbwhore | Uncategorized | Monday 22 June 2009 8:02

There are many facets to my argument against 96.5 The Buzz. Basically they fall into the following categories:

Much of their humor is based on the pain of their listeners
The rest of their humor consists of them taking an obviously contradictory stance on a simple issue and getting simpletons to call in and argue
They fought technology and the internet just as hard as all other radio stations
Censorship used on their blogs destroys any buzz that The Buzz could have generated
Sometimes they can’t hide how much they hate Kansas City(Afentra railing about mock rap music vs. black music)
Tried to bail to Seattle and then simulcast back to KC

The first time I ever heard of 96.5 the buzz was when they had rebranded from some other station and they were claiming that they were the first gay radio station in Kansas City. Not only that, but they were giving out free Royals tickets to anyone who would out themselves to their parents for the first time. I immediately suspected a prank and it was confirmed the next morning when they acted like nothing had happened and that they were just an alternative music station. It’s hard enough to be gay or lesbian in the midwest without a bunch of shitheads getting kids to out themselves before they were already planning to.

Why I can’t stand listening to them when they have more than one personality on the radio at a time

Taking a stale news topic and taking an obviously stupid and belligerent standpoint so that upset listeners will call in is the milieu of Bill O’Reilly and his insane support staff not a couple of DJs at an alternative station in KC.

Standard complaints about a dying medium

They’re no more evil in this area than any other corporate radio show. But their insistence on forcing you to use their media player on their web page, lack of podcasts, horrid web design are all annoying. A bit more annoying than most was when they picked up Sonic Spectrum from NPR(a good move on their part) and then they still published it as a “podcast” but failed to syndicate it via RSS.

Deleting comments on blogs is poor web etiquette

Most everyone acknowledges the right of web page owners to remove content that will annoy/offend a bunch of their other readers. Normal users just moderate comments and don’t let them post until they’ve been reviewed. High volume blogs can’t do that as they’re trying to generate buzz and when people see comments being moderated they know that no conversations will occur on that web page because moderation slows the conversation down so much that it never reaches the critical point.

96.5 has the worst of both these situations. They’re set up to handle high volume traffic so all comments are authorized and then they go back and delete comments they don’t like. When you do that, the people you piss off will probably stop commenting and BLOG ABOUT IT. You’ve taken an interested listener and turned them into an enemy. If you’re curious, that’s exactly what spawned this entry.

This is pretty much the turning point for me with 96.5. I’ve been on the cusp for years. And if you search for Lazlo on my site or Homegrown Buzz you’ll find that I’ve been a fan for a while but I abhor censorship. You will no longer find any more of me pimping their shows on this website.

Becoming unglued on the air and accusing listeners of being a bunch of racists dicks is dumb

A long while back they would occasionally play Dynamite Hack’s cover of NWA’s Boyz in the Hood. It’s a fun song. I loved it when NWA did it and I enjoy the slowed down ridiculosity of the punk cover. I won’t bother mentioning my own non-racist bonafides. Afentra one morning flipped the fuck out when she played some mediocre music from a black musician and the listeners thought it was crap. It was a part of a spot they were calling Asses or Masses, I think. Basically people called in and said either “yeah, it’s good because of x” or “nah, it’s bad because of y”. She proceeded to bitch about how people will listen to white people cover a rap song but won’t expand our horizons to listen to anything else.

Look, people like shit or they don’t. As a DJ you can introduce them to new music, but it’s a skill. Johnny Dare tantalized me with Lordi by telling me so much about their stage presence that when I finally heard one of their songs I understood that it was going to be a bit corny and tongue in cheek. Henry Rollins can sometimes get me into something that I had never listened to before. But neither of these DJs takes it personally, or worse adds a layer or suspected racism on top of it when their attempt to sway the masses fails.

Kansas City’s just wasn’t good enough until they came back? WTF?

Look, all the personalities were imports from the get go which is never a smart idea in the heartland. Midwesterners are suspicious of people they don’t know even if they’re more polite about it than most people. Then if you bail to Seattle for a few years in some weird strange way where you sort of broadcast here or some people broadcast here, some people broadcast there with a simulcast thrown in to confuse it even more, YOU RISK PISSING PEOPLE OFF. And now they’re mostly back but someone sure is pestering them about their ratings because they can’t quit bitching about how low their ratings are.

Summary, or I can’t think of a witty name for a summary

Basically, they suck ass. The occasional good music just isn’t worth the work and annoyance. I’ve got an ipod full of good music and a few podcasts of truly good music I’ve never heard of to keep expanding my own musical interests. Speaking of which, if there is a saving grace to 96.5, it’s Sonic Spectrum. Anyhow, how do I register my displeasure with all this shit? I blog it here, I hate it on twitter and I unsub to all my RSS feeds they publish.

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