If, as those sage social commentators, the Buggles, told us back in 1979, video killed the radio star, then it is nothing short of miraculous that broadcast radio is showing any vital signs at all twenty-six years later. Cornered on two fronts by the onslaught of iTunes and ever-multiplying satellite radio stations, what remains of old-school AM/FM, dee-jayed radio is being forced to take its last stand. Given the quality of "programming" that most of these stations have had on offer over the past couple of decades, it's tough to make a case for broadcast radio's survival. What can they offer listeners that iTunes and satellite radio can't? Hmmm. Traffic reports and weather reports. Bland, ingratiating dee-jays who sling slogans, yak about contests, and re-hash Entertainment Tonight ad nauseum, but couldn't cough up an articulate opinion on music if their job depended on it (which, lucky for them, it doesn't). The syndicated sap of "Delilah." Oh yeah, and ads. But those aren't really so bad, in comparison.
I might not care about the fate of radio at all if it wasn't for two Toronto radio stations that have kept my faith in the broadcast medium alive over the past fifteen years. One is 102.1 The Edge, which, fortunately, is still going strong and strives to maintain its vital role in the city's alt-rock community. If you live outside of Toronto, you can check the station out via their website--a feature that is much-loved by many the ex-pat Torontonian.
The second station to which I wish to devote this paean to the dying art of broadcast radio is the dearly departed 680 CFTR. The station currently adheres to a news radio format, but many inhabitants of the GTA who came of age in the late 1980s and early 1990s have cherished memories of CFTR as the coolest pop station around. The fact that it was AM radio did not deter me and my friends from tuning in day and night (when, as any AM radio aficianado knows, the broadcast is accompanied by a charming high-pitched buzz kind of like communication intercepted from the alien mothership). To the best of my memory, the daily programming schedule went something like this:
Morning: The Jesse and Gene Show
The early morning shenanigans of Jesse and Gene provided junior highschoolers province-wide with any number of crude jokes and kick-ass comebacks to quote repeatedly to one another throughout the day. We also revered them for their virtuouso prank calling performances. Regular highlights included: Wreck-a-Wedding-Wednesdays, Spousal Arousal, Jesse and Gene's World Tour, Billy-Bob's Birthday Roundup (or was it Billy and Bobby's?), and, of course, the requisite call-in guest gags that involved getting dignitaries such as the Mayor or Gowan to say things like "There is no "f" in onion." Memorable songs included the Hamster song (to wit: "Hamster hamster, day or night/ hamster in a casserole is doin' it right/because they're nutritious/and oh so delicious/when they're in season/they taste pretty pleasin'"), and, after the 1993 federal election, "Bye Bye Campbell."
Midday: The top 12 at 12 was the highlight of the lunch hour, helmed, as I recall, by Tony Monaco.
After school: My beloved Tarzan Dan was the sole purveyor of tunes in this prime dee-jay slot. He was wacky and witty, loud but charming, and listening to his show was the best way to wind down after a long day in the eighth grade. By far, the hottest countdown of the day was Tarzan Dan's top 6 at 6, for which legions of teens called in to cast their votes for the likes of Bon Jovi, Wrex-n-Fx, Naughty By Nature, and Alanis (as pop princess, pre-"Jagged Little Pill").
Evening: As fond as I was of Tarzan Dan, I must confess that Cat Spencer was actually my favourite CFTR dee-jay. His domain was the top 10 at 10, which had a definite more suave and smooth night-time feel to it. He also refereed the numerous dedications that various of my lovesick/angst-ridden peers would call in over the course of the evening. And of course, Sunday night you had to tune in to Sex with Sue.
If 680 CFTR had any weaknesses as a pop station, it was its whoring out of Saturday morning programming to Rick Dees' syndicated top 40 countdown, and also the way in which "I Will Always Love You" was on half-hourly rotation throughout the entire fall and winter of 1992/1993. But these faults are slight and they do not hamper my nostalgia for 680 in the least. I loved that station with all my pre-teen heart and then some.
I still remember that devastating day it switched formats. Us loyal listeners were dumped out in the cold of a new and unfamiliar radio era. Some, like myself, tried to numb the pain by swallowing our pride and tuning in to rival station AM640 (now a talk radio station, but then the second-string pop radio station next to 680). After 640 folded as well, I meandered into the skid radio territory of Q107 for a while, which had the unfortunate side effect of me buying a Pink Floyd cassette. Finally, I came home to the Edge and I haven't budged since. Hopefully, even with the threats new technologies pose, at least one Toronto broadcast radio institution will stay alive in the years to come. At this point, I'm too fragile to handle another radio fatality.
3 comments:
Hmmm... I don't remember Sue Johanson ever being on CFTR. When I was in the seventh grade, my friend Betty's older sisters listened to her on Q107, when it was called The Sunday Night Sex Show. I remember giggling with Betty every time I was at her house on a Sunday evening and the show came on the air and filled her house with talk of strange, vacuum-cleaner-like appendages, etc.
It is quite possible memory has failed me, but I seem to recall Sue's show being on fairly late on Sunday nights on 680. Bottom line, the woman is a national treasure. Has anyone given her the Order of Canada yet? If not, I think Stephen Harper is definitely the P.M. to do it. We've all learned a thing or two from Sue over the years. She deserves props!
To answer my own question: Sue Johanson received the Order of Canada in 2001. I'm somewhat disappointed that Harper won't be able to put this appointment on his c.v., but I'm glad Sue got the recognition she deserves.
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