This is the final blog of year. I promise you! And it's 50 degrees here in Iowa as I type this out. Fifty degrees on the last day of December! True it's windy but it's a warm wind. Mother Nature has been very good to us this fall and the good weather has continued into the first week of Winter, no white Christmas but hey we had five straight years of white Christmas. Doesn't hurt to have a green Christmas from time to time.
The closures have been endless around here and before the year is through, the K Mart on the SW side of Cedar Rapids and now Sonic Burgers off 33rd have now closed their doors, in the case of K Mart they're slated to close next year. The Sonic place is kind of a surprise since it was only there for three years, replacing the old BP gas station. The reason given was lack of business and Sonic tried many things to get people to come in. The happy hour drink specials of 44 OZ of pop for a dollar come to mind. But most of the time the place looked like a ghost town. It's a shame really, I would go there for supper on my lunch break a few times. Hard times for the food establishments, unless you're McDonald's. http://business380.com/2011/12/29/one-c-r-sonic-restaurant-closed/
With WMT FM moving over to Country radio and becoming KISS 96 Country (how original that was), there is talk from somebody that KOKZ might be going country but I think the guy who told me that may have his facts messed up. I don't forsee KOKZ doing country for next year, although it that is the case, the Adult Comptemory Format is dying, just like the popular Train song Hey Soul Sister although the kind new tennants at Books A Million had to serenade us with that song. 105.7 did go to a country format but it bombed and they went back to oldies rock (now 80's 90's oldies). The future of radio was determined way back in 1996, when The Telecom Act enabled Cumulus and Clear Channel to buy up all radio stations and program them the same way possible. Which is why Ipods Ipads, Smartphones are playing something besides the same old tired bullshit that the world is sick of but gives great royalty checks to Jimmy buffet, or Guns N Roses and Train Soul Sister. Why Clear Channel would change the country format is to try to get ratings away from Cumulus' owned KHAK, which is basically the same country crap that is being played. Jason Aldean isn't country no matter how many times he name checks Johnny Cash, just like Jason Thompson name checking Waylon. If Waylon was still around he'd kick Jason's can and teach him what real country is. If Clear Channel was real serious about being different they should have done the country format at 99.3 Dyersville. It's mostly 80s and 90s country but they do sneak in a Roy Acuff or Buck Owens song from time to time.
The future of radio keeps getting worse and worse and Cumulus and Clear Channel sugarcoat it to make you think it's different but still, put sugar and honey on a turd and it still is a turd. Which is what both of these so called Radio Monopoly Mofos are all about. Change for something better? No it isn't, all it is Clear Channel of what they want you to hear and bullshit you into thinking its different. But the damage is done, and no matter how much anybody would want to repeal Telecom Act of 96 (nobody does really, all about the $$$), we can't go back to the experimental days of what the DJ's would think you would like to hear, rather than Clear Channel/Cumulus bean counters telling you what you want to hear. That's why there's a off switch and you can't take that away Clear Channel/Cumulus hacks.
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