February 4, 2004
I found out this week that the best radio station in Atlanta has died. 105.3 WMAX used to play awesome music from the 80s round-the-clock. This station was why I listened to my tape deck much less while in the car, since their entire catalog was pretty much stuff that I like. One time I even gave them a call to voice my approval of how great they were, and they subsequently used clips from my voicemail in one of their regular promos. But I digress. The Max is dead.
And in its place? Talk radio. What the shit is that?
I made prompt use of the "Contact Us" link on their site as suggested by my friend David, and found a form stating "Real Radio 105.3 is your radio station, and we need your help customizing the station to your needs." So I entered my name and e-mail address, and wrote the following:
Okay, so if 105.3 is my radio station, and you need my help to customize it... how about we customize it right the hell back into the 80s Channel.
A full-on talk station where great music used to be? Did you WANT to club your demographic in the head with a bat?
Wake up, please.
David also gave me the phone number for the local ClearChannel office so I gave them a call and told them my favorite radio station disappeared and I want it back. The woman with whom I spoke said it "went under because of low ratings," which is complete crap because it was easily the most popular station in town. When MJ (the morning show guy) was about to renegotiate his contract to have WMAX as an Atlanta broadcast affiliate, tons of people called the ClearChannel offices to make sure he stayed on. That kind of outpouring is not the kind you get from listeners of a station suffering from "low ratings." Everyone I know locally has heard about the station, and many of them listened to it regularly. Personally, the radio in my car was permanently tuned to 105.3 because I never needed to change it.
I left the program director a voicemail when I called, explaining why this format change sucks, and asked what it would take to bring back The 80s Channel. In the meantime, if you live in the area and want to rescue a good station, please give the Atlanta ClearChannel office a call at 404-607-1336 and politely ask "WTF?"
(10:52)
Update: Lost in Translation is a really good movie. Go watch it.
(14:51)
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