With all of the political hoopla going on here in the US the last couple of weeks, it’s easy to neglect the subtle changes in routine in the rest of one’s life. So it was for me. I didn’t even realize Monday was a holiday until Sunday. My ignorance was complete until Tuesday morning, when I flipped on my favorite classical radio station, CBC Radio 2, on the way to work and realized that our good neighbors to the north (they’re to the south from where I’m sitting) did indeed succeed in changing their long-standing format, effective September 2.
CBC Radio 2 is the national, commercial free radio station of Canada. I’ve often said that the one bright spot in living in Southeastern Michigan was the fact that we could get CBC Radio 2 in the car. The programming was filled with uniquely distinctive classical offerings, pieces that just weren’t played here on public radio in the States. Even the major commercial classical stations here, like San Francisco’s KDFC, couldn’t hold a candle to CBC. Some years ago, when Detroit briefly lost its own classical station, an entire flock of Americans turned on CBC Radio 2 in its absence.
There were rumblings a few years ago that CBC-the-Corporation was intent on making programming changes, wanting to add popular music by Canadian artists. This was one of the items of contention when the entire place went on strike a few summers ago and listeners were left with canned classical music.
My favorite show on CBC was “Music and Company” with Tom Allen, and I’ve been a fan since the program’s inception in 1998. Allen, a graduate of both Magill University in Montreal and Boston University, is a friendly, laid-back type of guy, frequently tapped by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a presenter in pre-concert talks. A man, who through his eloquence, boundless knowledge of the medium, and fun, almost madcap approach, succeeded in presenting classical music in a novel way, always interesting, never dry. He is responsible for informative yet sassy outtakes on his morning show, like “In the Shadows” (a great composer compared with some no-name relative or collaborator who was always “in the shadows” of genius, usually a sad tale). Another favorite was the weekly “Cage Match.” With appropriate boxing sound effects in the background, listeners were given two pieces of related music and urged to vote by email which “won” for that week.
Article comments
1 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Yea.. That does suck. I can totally relate! This happened to me here in Boston when 96.9 went from an awesome Jazz station that played some killer Modern Jazz (aka Mall Jazz) to a rambling Talk station. Granted,I do like a couple shows but I don't listen to that station as much as I used to. Actually, I hardly listen to it at all. The old 96.9 used to also report on upcoming concerts, new cds & play those artists music especially the non mainstream stuff.
Though I do agree that there we are lucky to have as many alternatives as we do nowadays, to lose a talented DJ that had such entertaining qualities is a shame. I felt the same way when Howard Stern went to Satellite. XM or Sirius(for me) doesn't have enough to make me want to pay for the service & new equipment. Same with HD Radio...
I now get my Modern Jazz for free from the internet @ Sky.FM & Verizon FIOS(2 channels).
2 - Unimpressed and smarter than you
Changing the station's format to showcase music that wasn't so boring and irrelevant was the best decision the program directors at CBC ever made.
The new lineup is an effort to attract a younger audience, just like opera houses and ballet companies are choosing to do world wide. If they hadn't done this in a few years the only people who would be listening would be corpses. P.S. It's working.
Oh, and Stephen Harper had nothing to do with the changes, you ignoramus, he's too busy trying to make our country suck like yours by cutting all the arts funding to have any time for CBC's lineup.
I don't know which is worse, Americans who think everything is their business or people who just won't branch out beyond classical.
It's pathetic.
I know your immediate response is to my pointing out what a moron you are is "don't you have anything better to do than blah, blah, blah...?" and the answer is yes, yes I do, but your whiny complaints when I landed on this page accidentally were simply too out of line (to be judging a station that ISN'T EVEN FOR YOU) to ignore passively.
So, stuff it.