KCSN Update

As avid readers of this blog know, KCSN, formally a high quality, low budget, even lower powered radio station featuring classical music fired all their announcers and went to a purely DJ-less format for their classical music programming.

While the quality of the individual performances seems to still be there, there are no DJs announcing the music. Thus when hearing a good recording or new piece (key word: new) and wanting to know who was performing or what the piece is, that's no longer available. They have play lists, which appear to be about 2 weeks behind the times. If you have the patience, you can write down the time and date and wait for the play lists to be updated.

Pieces seem to be movements. I haven't heard a full three movement piece in a while, to the best of my knowledge. There's nothing wrong with classical musics greatest hits, and that's what they're playing, but there's also nothing there to get you out of bed in the morning either. No challenge. It's pre-digested pap. Eine Kleine Nachtmusic. The obligatory Bach Brandenburg Concerto. A Beethoven symphony movement. A Strauss Tone Poem -- gotta go for that modern stuff ya know. And a random Vivaldi concerto. All fine, all heard before, many times.

The announcements between pieces are remarkably lame:

• Your classical music companion. (Is that classical-music companion or classical music-companion?)
• Classical music that makes you feel good. (C'mon. Really? What about the classical music that makes me feel bad? Give me a little Glass or Paderewski.)
• Playing the music that makes your day a little better. (Rock will make my day a lot better. And Clint Eastwood will make my day, period. )
• Timeless music that makes today more enjoyable. (Timeless is right. Is this stuff over yet? )

Isn't there an out of work ad-person somewhere that could spiff up the tag lines a tad?

Verdi, Copeland, Finzi, Brahms, Barber, Copeland, Chopin, Satie, Strauss, Finzi, Chopin, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bernstein, Hindemith, Strauss, Brahms, Bach, Piazzolla, Bach, Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Hindemith, Liszt, Finzi, Beethoven, LeClair, Vivaldi, Strauss, Purcell, Brahms. That's a list of a bit over 2 hours of music from 11/23. Detect any patterns? Three pieces by Finzi! Beethoven. He's been dead for years! So have all the rest of them! Wait, I haven't heard Bach in 20 minutes. Better play some more.

Nobody still alive wrote any music?

I wonder if they realize they're competing directly against the satellite music services? No announcers, just music, randomly selected. I have access to several services. I don't listen to any of them. For a reason.

Gosh I miss Ian Freebairn-Smith.