![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
What does "LOL" mean en Español?
Nov. 12th, 2004 05:52 pmNot that it would mean much to anyone outside of Houston, but the fine folks at Clear Channel flipped our Rock and Roll station of 35 years, KLOL to a sort of Spanish top 40.
KLOL has those call letters because it's at 101 on the radio dial. lower case lol - 101, get it? at 10:10 today they started with 10,100 spanish hits without commercials.
This isn't too surprising. Houston's population is changing, and if it hasn't become a Hispanic majority, it soon will be. That doesn't mean it's a majority of Spanish speakers, though, so it's a question of how much Spanish radio is too much. About a quarter of radio is Spanish here, and there are four full time Spanish television broadcasters.
As it is everywhere, music radio is a fractured mess, and rock formats have been all over the place. Of course Houston is a country music city, with 5 stations, but rock categories have been failing in many other cities as well. I saw Dallas' long time rocker, KEGL, the Eagle change to sappy balladeer "Sunny" a few months ago. Perhaps it's in part due to lack of good content. Rock in America has really gone to pot. U2 is probably the biggest old-style "rock" act today, and they still fall in the category of "alternative" - whatever that means these days.
Here in Houston we're left with the Classic Rock "Arrow" station, and the alternative rock "Buzz station, also owned by Clear Channel. If you want to know exactly how corporate this is, Houston's Buzz, Arrow, Sunny and Mix channels are mirrored pretty equally by Dallas', Edge, KZPS (the station Kenny (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kennydoug71) works for), Sunny and Mix stations. Many other cities have exactly the same formats. It's becoming the McDonald's of radio, go to a new town, you get the same Big Mac.
Funny thing is, Clear Channel wants to do the same with Spanish radio, and will have at least 20 stations across the country flipped in the next 6 months (thanks to Radio and Records.com for the tip)
Still, the fact is, Rock music seems to be in the doldrums, if not over. Rap and Hip-Hop rule the roost, though even those forms seem to have hit a peak. It will be interesting to see who can catch momentum. There's a need for something new and nothing seems to be catching fire with listeners.
Still, radio seemed quite shy to try anything new in rock besides Velvet Revolver, the sad rehash of Stone Temple Pilots and Gun's and Roses. Exactly what Clear Channel wants when it hopes it's listeners will move to it's other existing properties.
Certainly there's little to look at in the rock world when the alternative format still looks to Nirvana records from 10 years ago and KLOL was still trapped playing Ozzy Osborne a generation before that. Certainly it wouldn't break ground and try untested bands like Keane or Snow Patrol. Heaven help you if you're further off the mainstream like Scissor Sisters or a has-been, like Elton John. More and more, if you want variety, you'll need to pay for it, and go to satellite.
It's amazing that despite the need for something new now and again, that something like Franz Ferdinand ever gets heard. Then again, you can't sound too different.
We'll leave the new music to the WB shows and car ads.
KLOL has those call letters because it's at 101 on the radio dial. lower case lol - 101, get it? at 10:10 today they started with 10,100 spanish hits without commercials.
This isn't too surprising. Houston's population is changing, and if it hasn't become a Hispanic majority, it soon will be. That doesn't mean it's a majority of Spanish speakers, though, so it's a question of how much Spanish radio is too much. About a quarter of radio is Spanish here, and there are four full time Spanish television broadcasters.
As it is everywhere, music radio is a fractured mess, and rock formats have been all over the place. Of course Houston is a country music city, with 5 stations, but rock categories have been failing in many other cities as well. I saw Dallas' long time rocker, KEGL, the Eagle change to sappy balladeer "Sunny" a few months ago. Perhaps it's in part due to lack of good content. Rock in America has really gone to pot. U2 is probably the biggest old-style "rock" act today, and they still fall in the category of "alternative" - whatever that means these days.
Here in Houston we're left with the Classic Rock "Arrow" station, and the alternative rock "Buzz station, also owned by Clear Channel. If you want to know exactly how corporate this is, Houston's Buzz, Arrow, Sunny and Mix channels are mirrored pretty equally by Dallas', Edge, KZPS (the station Kenny (
kennydoug71) works for), Sunny and Mix stations. Many other cities have exactly the same formats. It's becoming the McDonald's of radio, go to a new town, you get the same Big Mac.Funny thing is, Clear Channel wants to do the same with Spanish radio, and will have at least 20 stations across the country flipped in the next 6 months (thanks to Radio and Records.com for the tip)
Still, the fact is, Rock music seems to be in the doldrums, if not over. Rap and Hip-Hop rule the roost, though even those forms seem to have hit a peak. It will be interesting to see who can catch momentum. There's a need for something new and nothing seems to be catching fire with listeners.
Still, radio seemed quite shy to try anything new in rock besides Velvet Revolver, the sad rehash of Stone Temple Pilots and Gun's and Roses. Exactly what Clear Channel wants when it hopes it's listeners will move to it's other existing properties.
Certainly there's little to look at in the rock world when the alternative format still looks to Nirvana records from 10 years ago and KLOL was still trapped playing Ozzy Osborne a generation before that. Certainly it wouldn't break ground and try untested bands like Keane or Snow Patrol. Heaven help you if you're further off the mainstream like Scissor Sisters or a has-been, like Elton John. More and more, if you want variety, you'll need to pay for it, and go to satellite.
It's amazing that despite the need for something new now and again, that something like Franz Ferdinand ever gets heard. Then again, you can't sound too different.
We'll leave the new music to the WB shows and car ads.
