Posted by bobby r. (tokyo) on August 18, 2007 at 11:06:13:
In Reply to: 77 Oldies vs 101 Hits posted by Steve Green on August 18, 2007 at 03:03:55:
Good points, all.
Also, as you eluded to, there's lots of other things going on during Mark Simone's WABC's SNO show besides the playing of music. But I contend it IS first and foremost a music show, not a talk show. But putting that issue of semantics aside, I'd like say a few things about Mark's SNO show that, I feel, are important to this discussion.
Firstly, SNO is an interactive experience unlike any other on broadcast radio. I've never heard of anything like it, really.
Mark solicits comments from the audience constantly, taking calls, of course, but moreover, using the message board as a, yes, spring board for further discussion and shifts in the direction of the show.
More than once a show, in fact, quite often, comments on the board inspire Mark to play a song he hadn't planned on playing, look for a old 'fake break' or some other sound clip from the past, ask a guest a question, or make a change to the show, improving it on the run.
Discussions concern everything from comparing versions of a single song to forgotten and/or anachronistic phrases we still use, to stores we grew up shopping in which are no longer there, to personalities we've all loved so much throughout the years, and even some we've loved not so much.
It's a real nostalgia show, sure. But it's more than that. It puts a new spin on the phrase 'Real Time'. Hearing Mark read a comment I've just written, such as remarking about the loss of album art in our download world, or telling everyone I was experiencing an earthquake at that moment in Tokyo is, frankly, amazing.
WCBS is great. But I don't think it will ever approach that kind of intimacy with an audience. It can't afford to, really.
Mark's SNO, and I say Mark's because he is the personality of the show, but I realize there are others involved in making the show possible in many vital capacities, and they all do a superb job. I realize no one person can do it all. But Mark is really the symbol of WABC's SNO show and that's a big reason why WCBS and SNO are very different. As we all know from great music radio, such as WABC had and WCBS still has, the DJ, the on air talent, can be such a large part of the success (or failure) of a show or timeslot. We've been lucky in the NY/NJ area for having so many great talents populate the airwaves with their distinctive and familiar voices, it's almost unfair to the rest of the country. Not to disparage any of the great DJs working on WCBS now, because they are great, but Mark really does capture the feeling and sound of what many of us loved about growing up listening to the radio, especially 77 Musicradio when it was THE radio station to listen to.
Anyway, it's great having both stations play great music. And competition can only help, not hinder. Think of this, who would have thought that a day would come again when there would be talk about competition between the two largest stations in NYC playing Elvis, Beatles and BeeGees songs? Who woulda thought?
Bobby
Tokyo, Japan