Wednesday, August 23, 2006

It's official.
There is now good reason to see New York and LA as good cities to live in...
... neither city has a country music station :-)
USA Today carries the news.
There is a tear in the beer of country music fans here. After more than 20 years on the air, the city's only country music station, KZLA-FM, abruptly left the air Thursday and was seamlessly replaced with the rhythmic pop of "Movin' 93.9," which plays artists such as Beyonce, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Lopez.

KZLA's sudden and unannounced demise leaves America's two most populous cities, Los Angeles and New York, without country music stations.
Although I do have to say, if I lived in LA I would not be listening to "Movin' 93.9".

Personally, when I listen to radio [usually in the van], it's: CBC radio 2: 94.1; JAZZ-FM 91; occasionally FAITH-FM 94.3; when I'm north of Toronto go over to LIFE 100.3; and in Peterborough it's either KAOS 99.5 or the LIFE 100.3 station in Peterborough: 89.3.

UPDATE:
I wonder if choice of music reflects something of the "success" of churches and/or local church leaders. A classmate of mine at OTS, now Tyndale, went to work with Young Street Mission: her question as she began work with street kids (this is mid 1980's) was "Do I have to dye my hair purple to minister effectively?"

My question / observation is: "Has the suburban north american church so bought into the contempory pop / new country music mix that most other styles are relegated to youth / college type events?"

5 comments:

Walking Church said...

PLEASE>>>I AM BEGGING YA>>>Just don't bring anymore Southern Gospel (better described as Hen-clucking or train-chugging rythmns set to the words 'when I die or I just wanna die and go home ta Jessas) - cause we all know it is all about me 'dying' in southern gospel and how heaven will be forever changed when I arrive.

Perhaps the songwriters have never read Col. 3. 3-4; Gal 2.20 or Romans 6.6

walkingchurch is quite content to hear God's choir comprised of nothing but churping birds who sing of His Glory (not about stuff when they die).

RoG

michael lewis said...

Please feel free to slag "church" music. Nothing much good has happened there in about a decade.

And country music is just as crappy as anything else out there on commercial "pop" radio. Believe me. I ought to know.

However, there actually is GOOD country music available. Wide Cut Country is a FANTASTIC weekly show on CKUA.

I highly recommend CKUA at anytime! Listen Live NOW!

oncoffee said...

It's official... Michael Lewis has gone over to the dark side... he listens to what he calls "GOOD" country music

what is the world coming to!!!!????

Anonymous said...

I add my voice to the general dissing of country music.

I wonder is there a "singability" factor involved? If you want the congregation to be able to participate you are limited somewhat. It would be pretty tough to have people "singing" along if the music was rap, for example (even at a youth event!). Ditto for the free-flowing jazz I keep hearing about which is never the same twice.

Anonymous said...

I am VERY disappointed that the powers that be decided that EVERY genre should not have a station to listen to on Free Radio and that the only Country station in LA was removed from the airwaves for a station with the same format as many others.
If you are music fan who would like to support bringing country music back to Los Angeles want to express it with your apparel - visit:
http://www.cafepress.com/countryboards

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