Friday, April 22, 2005

Is it me or does Milwaukee radio totally bite the big one?

No, it can't be me. Milwaukee radio is pretty bad. Or at least the rock part of it. I can't vouch for the rap, country, or smooth jazz portion. The rock stations, all two of them, sometimes 3, are rather pathetic.

Let's take the big dog first. Lazer 103. These guys have been around awhile now and you would think they would have learned a thing or two. Nope. They seem to twist their play list base on 1). Who is coming to town, 2). What the other stations are playing, and 3.) Metallica. Oh yeah, the morning show is basically the identity of the station.

I always find it hilarious that they will play the music of a band that is playing the Rock Stage at Summerfest only before the gig, but never after. Judas Priest was a good example. Tesla another. They played the new Motley Crue song quite a bit before the show. Now, it is a distant memory. Currently, they are now playing Bon Jovi because of the free show coming up at Miller Park. The only time you hear Bon Jovi on Lazer is during House of Hair. Then it is the same crap. Metallica, Ozzy, Pearl Jam, STP, Ozzy, Nickelback, Metallica, Ozzy, AC/DC (same 3 songs). They never take any risks. They don't play a good variety of music and it shows.

They will tweak their list when a new upstart comes along. If this case, lately they have played a bit more 80s because of the Brew. They play 80s music and must have notched down the ratings a bit because Lazer now talks about how they play that same music. Yeah right. See problem number 1.

The worst part is that they play too much Metallica like these guys invented music. I like Metallica. I have been to many a concert of theirs, even before they were big. But stop playing Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, and please, please, drop the mandatory Metallica thing at 7. It is stupid and boring. Do us a favor and play something like Anthrax instead. Or Pantera. I don't want to hear another Metallica from A to Z. I have the discs at home.

I find the most amusing part of Lazer to be their commercials. They all do the same thing. Promote the morning show, Bob and Brian, and talk about no stupid interruptions during their "103 minute rock blocks". Now B&B are quite funny. Best thing Milwaukee has on the radio. Except their sports guy, Eric, know extremely little about sports and sucks. He reads everything out of the paper and is wishy washy on any opinion he has. This show is mentioned on every single commercial they run.

But shouldn't the music be the cornerstone of the advertising? That would make sense to me. And please, do not play your own commercials during your "rock blocks". You say there are no stupid interruptions. THOSE ARE STUPID INTERRUPTIONS. You are telling me there are no commercials, but THAT IS A COMMERCIAL. Who is the dunce who came up with that one?

The Brew is the latest upstart to come to Milwaukee debuting last year. Unfortunately for them, that was the highlight. For about a month or so, all they did was play music. No DJs, no commercials, just music. But a radio station needs to make a buck so the commercials were coming. Sadly, so were the DJs. They are terrible. Especially the morning team. I turn it over to Comic Book Guy. WORST. MORNING.TEAM.EVER. Simply put, they are pathetic. No, beyond pathetic. The chick on their annoys the crap out of me. She can't talk without giggling. Every time a word comes out of her mouth, she is laughing. And she isn't even funny. Plus, everything that the Brew does is either "cool" or "awesome". For example, they have some stupid contest where you are jumping on a bed. The longer you last, the more you get paid. This was the exchange on the radio this morning:

Annoying laughing DJ girl: "We'll pay you a buck a minute for every minute you jump"
Stupider DJ guy: "How cool is that?"

Yes, how cool is jumping on a bed and getting one whole dollar for every minute you jump? Hell, I do that all weekend for free so that must be good!

I have yet to hear any of the Brew's "personalities", a term used very loosely, that is any good. Problem is that none of them have a personality. They aren't unique, they aren't interesting, and they can barely speak without saying something stupid. The best thing going for them is the music. But they tend to play some of the same stuff and they play the buzzkill music. They can play something like Van Halen, Night Ranger, Motley Crue, and then Phil Collins. WTF!?!?!? I was really enjoying my Rush, Def Leppard, Ratt and then you had to ruin it all by playing John "what is my name this century" Mellancamp. Way to kill the wave.

It is amazing that I haven't gotten satellite radio.

1 comment:

James Wigderson said...

No, you're absolutely correct. Milwaukee radio bites. That's why when I'm at home I turn the dish to the music channels, turn of the TV, and listen to the sound through my Bose home theatre system. yes, it does make a difference.

As for the Brew, you never realized how bad the 80s were until that's all you hear.