that link doesn't work. i want to read the first one :(. can you fix it please? :)

Fixed the link. Should go to
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/thecurrent/newsletter/cross_current.html

I think you guys should think about hiring Little Joe from Radio K. He's a great DJ with a lot of interesting info and he plays great music! What more can you ask for? He must be graduating sometime so he'll have to leave the K at some point.

Also, Steve Nelson really rocked that first weekend, let's hear him again!! Please?

I'm wonderikng what the status of the weekend DJ's are. I applied and have yet to hear back.

thanks

Kyle

I'd like to hear Tony Lopez more often. Him and Mark are my favorites and always have the most interesting playlists.

No offense to Steve Seel, but I would like to hear Bill DeVille more often. He's an excellent DJ, and it seems a shame to waste his talents in the overnight slot.

i wonder if this means tony lopez is gone...i like him.

Yay! I think Jill sounds awesome and I'm glad she'll be on five nights a week. I'm also excited to be able to hear Steve Seel during the daytime. All of the dj's have their own style and uniqueness. I think that is what makes the flavor of this station so great, that and the kickin' music of course!

Tony's not gone! He's in his spot on Saturday nights at 7:00 PM!

I think I also have to congratuate Jill on getting more (or at least more distributed) air time. I've been impressed with what I've been able to hear of her weekend work. Hopefully everyone is happier with the new arrangement—I know I'll be glad to hear Steve Seel during daylight hours ;-)

Despite being a founding member, I'm reluctantly going back to listening to my own CD's and LaunchCast. I've tried urging the Current to evolve in the direction that I think would bring it success, but it's gone the other way. None of the 10-odd requests I've made have ever been played (and they weren't wack-job requests, really), I've never heard anything off the CD I sent in for the music library, and now the one DJ I really *like* (Tony Lopez) won't be around as much. =( I know you can't please everyone, but I post this because I feel a need to say this and I know Sarah will read it. I hope there *is* a demographic out there that's into the direction the Current is going. It puts me to sleep. When I put on 89.3, my wife complains that it is elevator music, and more and more I have to agree. Thorn, in particular, has tastes that simply grate on me, and so I'm bummed that he'll be putting more energy into getting Wedding Present, Naz, Olympic Hopefuls, Postal Service, TV on the Radio, and his other favorites onto the station more often (I thought the idea was to avoid repetition? I didn't know any of these artists a few weeks ago, now I swear I've heard a CD worth from each) while other groups that haven't been played once continue to be ignored. But maybe I'm in the minority. I think 89.3 needs more music with real lyrics (90% of the songs seem to be written by and about bohemian musician types who meet at the laundrymat, get drunk together, and go on with their meaningless lives) and more beat. It really does put me to sleep. It's good background music, maybe. I don't want background music. I'm an active listener. Now former listener, grumpy member. Sorry to lay this at your doorstep Sarah: I have tried emailing Thorn (via the request line) but either he doesn't care, or we just agree to disagree about where 89.3 should thrive. I know he is busy. I really hoped 89.3 would be "Rex Bob Lowenstein" (by Mark Germino) personified...but listener requests only seem to count if the DJ likes the song already. Sadly, I don't share (most of) their tastes, even though I'm sure they are more refined than my own. Maybe that's the problem. I know everyone's a critic, and it's too easy to sit in one's chair and complain. But I've DJ'ed enough to know it's hard. [I've not DJ'ed enough that 89.3 would ever consider hiring me, of course...thought I like the less experienced DJ's more than the experts.] For what it is worth, my wife's gripe about "elevator music" is not unique. Sitting around the table with some other MPR/music enthusiasts this week, that was the common complaint, from the former bass guitarist to the couple that collects Dr. Dimento tunes to the girl enthusiastic about foreign cultures and foreign music. "It all sounds the same. It's like Cities 97 without ads, and without the crap weeded out." ...and you can see who feels threatened in commercial radio by looking at who's changing their ad scheme in response to the Current. It's very specific sectors of the for-profit market: and it shouldn't be that way. They should all be scared out of their undies.

I agree with quite a bit of what Robert mentioned a few blogs back. For example, the week-long Low love-fest was, in my opinion, really over the top. Also, while I like his music, you really only hear Paul Westerberg on Mary's show. I'm sure that's not a coincidence. Thing is, these DJs are not robots - They should be entitled to play the music they like too.

I guess my tastes are probably more similar to Thorn's and I will miss him from noon to two. Sometimes it seems like he raided my own collection, but spun it much more creatively than I.

All in all, still enjoying the tunes! Thanks you guys.

I concur with Robert. I was very excited about 89.3, but the programming has not lived up to my expectations. Granted, I am a fly-by listener: you're #1 on my radio dial, but if I don't like the song, I sail to #2. 89.3 was going to be the station that kept me wondering what would play next. Hip hop? Big band? Folk? Punk? Y'all have got to mix it up.

I totally disagree with Robert. I think the Current is doing an awesome job, and I haven't listened to anything else since it started. Good luck in your listening endeavours, Robert. I am sure they appreciate all of our input.

I'm on board with Robert on some things. I'm also a founding member. I like Mark Wheat's tastes and variety the most, the repetition from all the DJs is a bit much. Play your favorite music, and pick what you want to, but I know all of your libraries are diverse enough to not have the kind of repetition.

I dare you to put Luna and Elliott Smith on the shelf for a couple weeks. =) I love them too but you're burning them out!

And yes, I know, the "repetition" here is nothing compared to commercial radio.

89.3 is still my favorite station, and I'll continue to support it... but I can't listen to it 24/7 if I'm hearing the same things over again in the morning and evening of every day. I keep thinking to myself, "Wouldn't it be awesome to have a station of a bunch of music that I love, music that I would love to explore and even a bunch of stuff I didn't like, but in the end I never heard the same thing in a week?" I know that dream might be extreme and unrealistic. I understand that repetition is likely needed for the station to work, but I'll just dream on. =)

Either way, I love everything else about The Current. MPR stations are the only stations I listen to.

Thanks,
-Aaron

I'm halfway wondering if the repetition problems people are seeing have anything to do with the playlist display issues on the website. If DJs are going by a list of what was played in the last several hours, and it is inaccurate, then things can slip through.

I've made a bunch of requests too, and none have come up yet. I imagine it's just the curse of bad timing I have everywhere in my life though ;-) (okay, plus I'm pretty sure that at least some of the CDs weren't in the library yet).

Another comment.. I think some of the criticism in here right now is particularly ill-timed because the new schedule that Sarah was announcing will free up the DJs to spend more time researching, organizing, and doing all of the other behind-the-scenes tasks that can turn the knob from ten to eleven.

This station is still growing, and I can hear that changes in musical tone have taken place. The staffpeople are definitely reacting to something and trying to better serve those interests. Each week has been a new and different listening experience for me. I most appreciate hearing the DJs discuss the backgrounds of some of the artists, which has been very educational.

In the first weeks, this station has been playing catch-up quite a bit, basically spinning everything in my CD collection (and well beyond) from the late 1990s up until now on fast-forward. There has been a lot of new or at least fairly new music on the station, but it looks like the new schedule will help everyone at the station to more quickly and effectively dig through the pile of new material they get every week.

I'm disappointed that Steve Seel will be moving to the noon-3PM spot, although I do worry about the guy's health when I'm up until the wee hours and get to thinking that he does that every night! I'm not out of school until 3, so there's no way I'll be able to listen to him anymore, and he's my favorite. I mean, who else would use the word "sprechstimme" to describe Leonard Cohen? Oh well, I guess these things happen. I enjoy the station very much, at any rate.

My network folks discourage streaming at work. I set up an FM stereo with rabbit ears. I wish the reception would be better. Love the station!

I am at 44° 48' 27" , -93° 21' 20" (Bloomington)

Jay

I just gotta say keep plugging along from the first day I heard you guys, I reprogrammed my radio so I have only 2 stations in my car 91.1 and 89.3.

I only hope that as time passes that the record comapnies "gifts" of cds pile up that it doesn't edge out the local music tracks.

This could really energize our local music like nothing before. I am a live music fan and love that a radio station has devoted so much time to it.

As a member of the *older* end of your demographic I just wanted to say BRAVO for everything you're doing! It's so good to hear Mary & Thorn again and the music choices can't be better. I totally disagree that the station is *elevator music*. I work in a retail environment and the station is far from background music! We get comments all the time (both positive & a kind of WTF are you guys listening to?).

As for the repetition issue; I don't think it is an issue at this time. Personally, I want a station that will expose me to things I've never heard before, but I also want to connect with the music by hearing it more than once. Don't get me wrong...I don't want to hear the same Flogging Molly song every hour of every day; but there is a place for a little repetition/familiarity in the broader spectrum of the radio biz.

Keep up the great work! Thanks for bringing real radio back to the Twin Cities Market.

PJ

Commenting on the 'repetition' issue: It's possible you're hearing repetition simply because you're listening to the station for longer periods of time.

If you listen to a station for an hour a day, you might not hear the same song twice in a month. But, if you listen for 12+ hours a day (as I know a lot of you are!) you will hear the same songs twice a week or more.

Personally, I still listen to Radio K during the day (or sometimes a cd), but I often listen to 89.3 after the K goes off the air at sunset.

I think the staff at KCMP is doing a wonderful job, and I think this station will only get better down the road. :-)

I want to preface my comments by saying that KCMP is far and away the best spot of the dial. Thank you for all of the hard work and effort everyone at 89.3 has been putting in the last few weeks.

I hesitate to be critical, but I have to echo some of Robert's thoughts here. To my ear, Thorn and Mary seem to have very similar music tastes. At times, it seems like 10 hours of the same show - which is never good.

I am relieved to hear that the DJ shifts are shortening up a bit (probably my biggest criticism of the early days). But I would still like to hear more variety in the music. I want to be surprised, delighted and perplexed in the same hour - perhaps back-to-back. To date, Mark Wheat has been the only one to provide this complexity.

How about some world beat? A bit of Klezmer? Any Irish dance music? There is so much good music to choose from - tunes from artists that might never otherwise get the chance.

I also appreciate the local music advocacy, but let's not get tethered to Olympic Hopefuls, Low and Paul Westerberg. The pool is deep and wide.

These are very small issues in an otherwise beautiful effort on your part. Keep up the good work. Thousands of music lovers are depending on you!

I entirely agree with bcb. I think you are doing a fantastic job overall. I do in fact listen 8 to twelve hours per day. It does sound repetitive sometimes, but they've only been on the air for four weeks. Give them time to broaden the library. They're working on it. You can sense the playlist expanding daily. I'm personally looking forward to hearing a lot from the old KJ104 playlist mixed into the rotation. If they tap into 25% of KJ104 favorites, mix in some of the REV105 favorites and add those to what they've already been doing, it will be incredible to listen to. It takes a lot of time to add music selections to the playlist.Doing the necessary listening, critiqing, etc. is a burnout activity. You can only do it in small doses or you start to lose perspective if not your mind. So people please give these folks several months before getting too critical. It is going to take a lot of time to carve out the parameters of the playlist. If you've ever spent an afternoon puting together a mix tape of your own, you know what I'm talking about. This station is a work in progress and will continue to be throughout its existance. I think that evolving continually will prove to be a good thing. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

I thought I was going never listen to any other radio station besides 91.1 until 89.3 arrived. Glad to hear Mary Lucia and Thorn again. I love the humor that both of them inject into music that sometimes takes itself too seriously. A couple of weeks ago, Mary, fighting a cold claimed "I have become a Pug" apparently only able to breathe through her nose. Keep up the great programming!!!

Now that we have been tempted, can we have 89.3 24/7? The Morning Show seems a little out of place don't you think? Can't you move this to the classical station?

Thanks for listening.

RP

I have a comment on the repeativeness of the music and long term listening. This station has boasted that it is like our (the listeners) CD collection in terms of broadness and variety. For the most part it is....now consider this:

With few exceptions, how often do you play the same song or CD in the car or at home? Generally, for me and I am assuming for others, it is not daily. I would bet its maybe every 3 days at the most. So, why can't a radio station do this? There must be enough songs / artists for that...

If The Current wants a die-hard listening base and some really devoted listeners then variety is the key. I personally listen to 89.3 for at least 8 hours a day during the week. I hear repeated songs often. But as a listener, I should be able to listen to a favorite radio station for 8 hours without hearing repeats. If I wanted repeats I would listen to the rest of the stations on the dial.

Thanks. And again, generally, this station is great. Keep up the good work and please continue to better the station over time.

bcb - I urge you to listen to the Morning Show, if you can, as I've heard everything you ask for there, especially Irish dance tunes. Tony Lopez plays a decent amount of non-English music, too, and Mark will often cross the pond, but mostly to the UK.

This is why, though I too find the Morning Show shows its classical roots, (and I shrivel at the opera and gospel, personally) I disagree vehemently with Robert Payne that it should be sent back to the classical stations. In fact, in frustrates me that 20 hours of music that's much less eclectic isn't enough, and that the four most varied hours of music on 89.3 (though they have their favorites too, Doc Watson and the Dux come to mind) are getting the steely eye from those that like what's currently on most of the time. That the Morning Show sticks out underscores that there is a cohesiveness to the rest of the programming - and I think that should soften, rather than harden to 24/7 dominance. One thing I will say for the Morning Show - I've not yet heard the same song there twice.