WHFS in DC -- thanks for the memories

Earlier today, radio station WHFS in the Washington DC area changed their format from 'alternative rock' to an all Spanish language format.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4390-2005Jan12.html

Although I switched to XM satellite radio a few years ago, I still feel a bit sad. WHFS was the main radio station I listened to for nearly 15 years, and there was a definitely sense of loyalty and family among its listeners.

It is time to evolve further, I guess.

Vern

Wow...I had no idea. I had never heard the station, but I have heard of the WHFSfest.

As mentioned in the article, this is a trend in the radio biz at the moment. Look for this switch to Latino format happening in other parts of the country. Latin stars are hot, and the Latino hip-hop also known as 'Reggaeton' is just about to break. Trust me. I did some press for a Reggaeton fest at Madison Square Garden a month or two ago, and the place was as packed as it could possibly be and the audience was absolutely going ape-sh*t over all the people who were performing that night. I'm pretty damn sure more stations in NYC will be following in these footsteps of switching to a Latino format (I would love to see the NYC altternative station K-Rock, bite the dust and go Spanish...gee wizz...where would I go to hear pre-pube arrogant jocks introduce Good Charlotte or New Found Glory?)

Radio...or at least radio marketed to white audiences...is struggling to keep or even find their audiences. Here in NYC the sole Oldies station WCBS-FM which has been in exisistence for over 30 years in that format, just hired Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees to do their morning show. A sort of ballsy, out-of-the-box move that has people either pleased, scratching their heads, or instantly forecasting doom. I have only heard little snippets of the show which premiered this past Monday. I am a huge Monkees fan from waaay back, when they were in their first phase of re-runs in the early 70s. I'm also a big Mickey fan, but I too have my doubts on whether he can actually pull this gig off. I wasn't too floored by what I heard on the radio. But god bless 'im. I hope they work the kinks out and it turns into a great show.

meanwhile...RIP WHFS.

I haven't listened to HFS on a regular basis for probably 10 years - when they were bought by Infinity their "free-form" format really ended up in the crapper! They completely turned their backs on those listeners who stuck with the station when they played real "alternative" music. For quite some time WHFS was the only station in this area where you could hear stuff like the Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, etc. sandwiched between specialty programs as varied as Indian Sitar and a fairly decent reggae show on Sunday nights! Once they started playing that "rap-rock" shit like Limp Biskit and catering to fifteen year old boys their demise was imminent! The final straw for me was when the 3 hour reggae show on Sunday nights became a daily 2 song set at 1AM that they called "Get the Dread Out" - usually a song by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones or 311, sometimes if you were lucky you could get both back to back! :roll: They even slowly did away with their Sunday morning "oldies" show hosted by this DJ Weasel who had been there for as long as anyone could remember! I got rid of the 99.1 preset on the car stereo and eventually scolded my wife into doing the same! In a way the situation at WHFS was very much like a witnessing a family member battling a terminal disease – you’ve grown heartbroken and weary watching it suffer and now its gone all that remains is a calming sense of relief and closure.

Johntiki-

I feel your pain on the demise of great free-form radio. That whole Limp-Bizkit phase in the 90s was nauseating and a bench, or should I say more appropriately, "stench" mark in the end of Rock as we knew it. The only cool thing is that right now Fred Durst and his ilk are on their way out, and all I can say is good riddance. Looks like he's headed to the pop-star graveyard to be with his 80s counterparts like Mister-Mister, Howard Jones, Spandau Ballet, and all those other people we (thankfully) never hear from anymore.

However, radio now belongs to number crunching consultants who could give a rat's ass about broadcast content. If a station aired a continuous 44.1mhz tone and it brought the management a return they would probably program that. And who could blame them? Whatever makes the cash register ring, I guess. There are tons of people that will argue that whole consulted/focus-grouped/market researched angle of broadcasting, and unfortunately I guess they are right. But it also seems to me that their are also a ton of people that want quality out there, who like things the way they used to be...what the heck is wrong with that? Why aren't cats like us being market-researched and catered to?

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2005-01-12 22:59 ]

kerplooie...

sad, but technologies come and go. with the advent of $100 ipods, maybe radio is a relic already.

i feel sad for weasel though...
(WHFS dj fyi)

On 2005-01-12 22:48, donhonyc wrote:
Johntiki-
Looks like he's headed to the pop-star graveyard to be with his 80s counterparts like Mister-Mister, Howard Jones, Spandau Ballet, and all those other people we (thankfully) never hear from anymore.
[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2005-01-12 22:59 ]

HEY! NOTHING WRONG WITH MISTER-MISTER!

Though, there is a dark side to this story. I lived in DC for a number of years, and just recently moved. Well, I still keep in touch, and a good friend of mine worked in the promotions department for WHFS. She organized all of the small concerts sponsored by whfs throughout the year, and I gave her a call. Seems that a LOT of staff got the ax, not just on air talent. ANd I agree, with electronic devices being as they are nowadays, and radio so commercial filled, radio functions for one purpose alone, to listen to in the car when you have nothing else to listen to, and nothing better to occupy the time.

I suggest trying WRNR at 103.1 FM They are out of Annapolis, MD. The program director is Damian Einstein formerly (many years ago during their heyday) of WHFS.

Check out Indie 103.1 out of Los Angeles (http://indie1031.fm/main.html). Steve Jones has a show on weekdays from 12-2 and they do streaming audio. You almost can't tell that they're Clear Channel!

Here is a good article, telling about the history and the many incarnations of WHFS. The key sentence is the final one .... "Young rock fans are more likely to find new music on their video-game soundtracks than on most commercial rock stations."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7886-2005Jan13.html

I was fortunate to discover WHFS in 1985 - they were the first radio station I knew that actually played music from the LPs that I had bought during the past 4 years of college, and I loved them and was very loyal to them because of this. WHFS, and MTV's 120 Minutes, guided my own choice of music purchases for the next 10 years.

I was getting a bit weary of the slightly changing playlists, and once I put a CD player in my car, I listened to the radio less and less.

I understand change, but there is a big part of me that wishes that that a portion of the radio dial could be frozen as a permanent monument to the music of that era. I'm thankful that I still have much of my vinyl, and my turntable, so I can still be my own damn DJ and play cool music whenever I wish.

Vern