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Proof that hearing Hotel California repeatedly will drive you crazy

I see a picture of KIBS showing a vintage clock in the studio area. That looks 1960s or 1970s.
The volume and gain controls also look vintage as well, and the computers seem VERY outdated...prob running Windows XP or even 2000 :D

Not sure about KSRW. I wonder if they look more "21st-Century" in the studio. KSRW's studio on the outside looks like an industrial building. 92.5 has only been around since 1996 when it signed on from Mazuorka Peak in the White Mountains. And based on all the songs, KSRW still sounds like 1996!

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
I see a picture of KIBS showing a vintage clock in the studio area. That looks 1960s or 1970s.
The volume and gain controls also look vintage as well, and the computers seem VERY outdated...prob running Windows XP or even 2000
Click to expand...

Unlike recording studios, many radio stations used "mixers" (called a "board" or a "console") that used rotary attenuators until quite recently. Smaller market stations often have this kind of board as the lifetime of such a unit is virtually infinite and for many operations, easier to service and maintain. Many on-air people still prefer rotaries to linear faders, although that's a declining group.

XP has been used until quite recently because it was so much more stable than other versions of Windows and was reliable. Only since Microsoft discontinued support and updates has it become necessary to move to Windows 7 in many cases.

We also do not know when those photos were taken.
 
I believe the clock on the wall in the KIBS photo was at KIBS (now KBOV, but in that same studio) when I was there from 1971-74.

The console is a mid-70s Autogram that KIOQ (now KIBS) bought after I left. It was also the console in the air studio at KUKI, Ukiah when I programmed there (1976-77). KIOQ might have bought theirs because I raved about it on visits back.

And you can't really see it, but the dark gray slab of metal peeking in from the far right corner of the shot with the late John Young is a KIBS turntable that was old when I got there in 1971.

The equipment in the KBOV transmitter rack is newer. They've replaced the original 1953 RCA BTA1-R transmitter and we were running CBS Audimax and Volumax compressors and limiters from the mid-1960s.

The thing to remember is these stations don't make a lot of money. If spots are five bucks a pop on average, and they do 15 minutes of commercials an hour on average 12 hours a day (figure the night spots are bonuses and make-goods...even in larger markets, very few businesses are buying nights), that's only $900 a day in spot revenue. Weekends are likely bonuses as well, so multiply that by weekdays only and that's $234,000 a year. By the time you do taxes, salaries, insurance, electricity, BMI and ASCAP fees, maintenance and repairs (and whatever I'm forgetting), there's not a lot left. New gear is expensive.

Being unable to find even a single interior shot of KSRW anywhere online, I'm betting it's functional, but not showy and it's very likely that a lot of it has been there since sign-on 18 years ago.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Unlike recording studios, many radio stations used "mixers" (called a "board" or a "console") that used rotary attenuators until quite recently. Smaller market stations often have this kind of board as the lifetime of such a unit is virtually infinite and for many operations, easier to service and maintain. Many on-air people still prefer rotaries to linear faders, although that's a declining group.

XP has been used until quite recently because it was so much more stable than other versions of Windows and was reliable. Only since Microsoft discontinued support and updates has it become necessary to move to Windows 7 in many cases.

We also do not know when those photos were taken.
Click to expand...

David: Scott has a 2010 copyright on the photos.

Turns out there's a guy who does a video series called "Bishop Buzz" and he did a visit to the KIBS studios earlier this year. The console is still there (as is the turntable I played 45s on 43 years ago), but it looks like the studio computers and monitors have been upgraded. It's only 3 minutes, but it's a decent peek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFRK6clqgGM#t=10
 
Bob's not the only DJ - there's a "Spanish Show" Sun 2-6 with a live announcer, a classical show running Sunday mid-late mornings, and a jazz show late evening on Saturdays. I would bet the noon and 5:00 news also is live from a microphone at KSRW's studio.

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
Bob's not the only DJ - there's a "Spanish Show" Sun 2-6 with a live announcer, a classical show running Sunday mid-late mornings, and a jazz show late evening on Saturdays. I would bet the noon and 5:00 news also is live from a microphone at KSRW's studio.

-crainbebo
Click to expand...

That's all specialty stuff, though. I'm just curious as to why the one live jock shift on weekdays plays different music from the rest of the station. I'll let you know what I learn. We'll be back in Bishop in September or October, probably.
 
Many of the songs that KRTH plays have also been recorded live in concert. Why can't KRTH occasionally play live versions of songs such as Jump, Open Arms, Hotel California, Light My Fire, Long Train Runnin' and Carry On Wayward Son? They could still have their dinky lil' playlist but playing the live versions once in a while would make the station sound considerably more exciting. This is my opinion. Opposing viewpoints are welcomed.
 
Most people don't want to hear live versions unless that was they way it was originally released and thus known to them such as some of the Peter Frampton tracks. Also, live versions tend to be longer which is not radio friendly.

In this case I am with the masses. Noting gets me to tune a radio station out than by having them say "It's an all live weekend". That means I won't be checking back in until Monday. Generally it is only the Sound that is foolish enough to do this.
 
I, for one, am thankful that KRTH is playing Hotel California numerous times per day. It's SUCH a great song, but in LA, there were only three stations playing it daily: KLOS, Jack, and the Sound. And they only played it once or twice per day.

It wasn't enough.

As someone who drives and listens to the radio daily, I can tell you there have been times (not many, mind you) when I have actually gone the entire day without hearing Hotel California. When I get home on those days, I always have the most empty feeling. It's as if the sun never came up that day.

KRTH has thankfully stepped in as the fourth station in town to play Hotel California. They can be relied upon to play Hotel California enough times that it's a guarantee I'll hear it not just once per day, but if I'm lucky, sometimes four or five times.

It's radio paradise. When the song comes on, I tingle with excitement. Sometimes I simply pull over and let the song wash over me. I'm taken back to the glorious mid-70s, when Hotel California was on the radio all the time. I'm also taken back to the 80s, when Hotel California was on the radio all the time. And I get to relive the wonderful 90s, when Hotel California was on the radio all the time. And at times, I can reminisce about the 00s, when Hotel California was on the radio all the time. Sometimes, I'm pulled back less far, to say, 2012, when Hotel California was on the radio all the time.

A few times I have been late to work, and my boss has been a little upset. But I simply explain to him that Hotel California was ON THE RADIO and I had to stop and take in the moment. Needless to say he totally gets it. (Like everyone in Southern California, he loves Hotel California.)

My favorite line in this masterpiece is this one: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." I can just envision DJ Shotgun Tom Kelly grooving to that line in the studio. What a lucky man. He has probably heard Hotel California many times. I imagine he even knows all the words by now.

Thanks KRTH for making radio exciting again.
 
You must work at CBS or CC... meaning you love 400 song playlists, morning zoo talk and 19 minutes of commercials.

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
You must work at CBS or CC... meaning you love 400 song playlists, morning zoo talk and 19 minutes of commercials.
Click to expand...

You obviously can't recognize sarcasm.

BTW, there's absolutely nothing wrong with actually working in radio. Nothing wrong with playing music that listeners are passionate about. Nothing wrong with working at the #1 radio station in town. And nothing wrong with having lots of commercials to pay the salaries of the people who work. It's all good stuff, and what I aspired to do when I was a kid dreaming about being in radio.

What would be bad is playing music that only gets a 1 share, that is struggling to get advertising, and unable to pay it's staff. Let's get our priorities straight. And as someone who's worked at both types of stations, I can tell you which I prefer.
 
Hearing Hotel California will never drive me crazy because I won't be hearing it. I listened to it once in 1977, and ever since then, the song never gets even close to the "dark desert highway" before I've moved on to another station.

I'm not even sure why, but I could never stand the song. Nothing against the Eagles either - I like some of their other stuff.
 
Whoever this "1202 praaddA" is, I hope he never posts here again. How dare he outdo me at sarcasm!

By the way, KRTH today has played Hotel California at 2:05, 5:59 and 1:52---three times in the first 14 hours of the day. Of course there are several other songs that have also been played three times. Are we sure the playlist is four hundred songs and not one hundred?
 
LARadioRewind said:
By the way, KRTH today has played Hotel California at 2:05, 5:59 and 1:52---three times in the first 14 hours of the day.
Click to expand...

Typically those three plays will reach three completely different audiences, due to their day-parts. It's very unlikely that any one person heard all three spins.
 
"Oh gosh! Oh golly! Oh gee! The July ratings just came out and we fell from first to second. Our audience share dropped from 5.5 to 4.7. Oh dear, oh dear, what should we do? Maybe we aren't playing Hotel California, Billie Jean, Sweet Dreams, September, I Melt With You and Don't Stop Believin' frequently enough! These are the songs that test well. We'd better start playing each of them six times a day and maybe those lost listeners will come back."
 
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