Saturday, June 16, 2018

RIP Matt "Guitar" Murphy

Bummed to hear the news of his passing. He died over the weekend at the age of 88. I will always remember him for this scene in the Blues Brothers...

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When Cruelty Becomes Impossible to Ignore














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Friday, June 15, 2018

The Loop (sort of) Lives On

From this morning's Tom Taylor NOW column...

Sure enough, Cumulus preserves the “WLUP” calls with a move to one of its Twin Cities FMs, as Friday’s Rumor Mill item suggested. So the “Loop”-identified calls won’t be going to Chicago (at least now), but WRXP Cambridge, Minnesota/105.3. It’s part of the classic hip-hop “Vibe” trimulcast, and Northpine, writing about the WLUP move, says “another Vibe 105 station, WWWM-FM Eden Prairie/105.7, has hosted a callsign parked from the Toledo market since 2016.” The Loop is not entirely MIA for Chicago listeners – Cumulus runs it on the HD2 channel of its LMA’s alternative WKQX/101.1. Cumulus got the intellectual property of the Loop, plus rights to the call letters, out of its pending $18 million purchase of WKQX from Merlin Media.

Seems like a weird move to me. Those heritage call letters belong in Chicago.
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Minutia Men, Episode 98

EP98: Rick and Dave discuss a parking conundrum, a forgotten password, World Cup minutia, the laziest dog ever, a celebrity Cub fan from a bygone era, and Rick’s brush with former Beatle drummer Pete Best.

You can listen to it here.
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Thursday, June 14, 2018

Free Kicks, Episode 6

EP6: Adam and Rick preview World Cup Groups G & H, and give you World Cup picks and viewing tips.

Listen to it here.
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A co-host for Seaver

From this morning's RAMP Newsletter...

Hubbard Classic Rock WDRV (97-1 The Drive)/Chicago welcomes Janda Lane in a new, multi-purpose role -- she will contribute content and information to Steve Seaver's afternoon drive show while also lending assistance to The Drive's programming department, starting Monday, July 9.

Ms. Lane arrives bearing two decades of multimedia experience, including radio stops at WEND/Charlotte; WAVF/Charleston, SC; KNDD/Seattle and 91X/San Diego. She also spent time in Los Angeles working at KCRW and at Soundbreak.com. On the label side, Lane has worked for Sub Pop Records, Rhino Entertainment and Silva Artist Management. Lane also spent nine years as an Executive Producer at Yahoo! Music, and she most recently served as Content Director for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

This sounds like a PD who is trying to find a spot for a friend. Not sure there's a need for an afternoon co-host.
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World Cup Question

Serious World Cup question. Since USA/Mexico/Canada are hosting in 2026 now, and the host nation gets an automatic bid, does that mean Canada will get a bid too? They have only been in one WC ever (1986).Serious World Cup question. Since USA/Mexico/Canada are hosting in 2026 now, and the host nation gets an automatic bid, does that mean Canada will get a bid too? They have only been in one WC ever (1986).
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Who Will Be Next One?

Looks like Trump is going to have to find someone else to spout his untruths for him. From CBS News...

Two of the most visible members of the Trump administration are planning their departures, the latest sign of upheaval in a White House marked by turmoil.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders and principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah are both heading for the exits, according to sources inside the White House and close to the administration. Sanders, who has become a confidante of President Trump since the departure of former communications director Hope Hicks, has told friends that she plans to leave the administration at the end of the year.
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Steve Dahl Garage Sale

I think I'm actually going to go to this. I've been in his storage locker. He has some very cool stuff. From Robert Feder's column this morning...

Four decades of treasures collected by Steve Dahl will be up for grabs next month. The Chicago radio legend will host “The Steve Dahl Garage Sale” July 14 at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. “It’s time to cut the storage unit bill and get rid of my collection of crap,” he wrote. “Well, not all crap, there’s actually an array of collectible items, memorabilia, artwork, furniture, and odd and ends that I’ve collected over my 40 years in radio.” All proceeds will be donated to Beds Plus, a charity serving the homeless with housing and supportive services in west suburban Cook County.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018

2026 World Cup

It's coming back to America! FIFA announced it this morning. It's actually going to be in Canada/Mexico/and the USA, and it won't be in Chicago, but still...Yeah!


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Biondi Movie

Looks like this movie is finally coming out...

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Minneapolis Raccoon

Have you been following the story of the raccoon in Minneapolis/St. Paul that got stuck on a skyscraper? Apparently, he climbed up looking for food, and then couldn't get down. So...he kept climbing up. He eventually made it all the way up to the roof (above the 23rd floor), where he was captured and released into the wild.


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Hannity vs. Hannity


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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Chicago Radio Ratings

From this morning's Tom Taylor NOW column...

Chicago keeps regional Mexican WOJO (4.2-5.0-4.6) in the top five, even if it can’t retain last month’s all-time best PPM share. Ahead of it - #1 urban AC “V103” WVAZ (iHeart, 6.1-6.1-5.9), news WBBM/WCFS (Entercom, 5.1-4.9-4.9), classic rock “Drive” WDRV (Hubbard, 4.2-4.6-4.8) and sister hot AC “Mix” WTMX (5.1-5.0-4.7). Chris Huff says the 4.8 is “the Drive’s largest share since September 2011.” WVAZ, the big urban AC, is #1 in three dayparts (afternoons, nights and weekend), while the WBBM combo is second in mornings. On the Hubbard signals, “Drive” is #1 middays and Mix is #1 with “Eric in the Morning with Melissa & Whip.” Then comes “Que Buena” WOJO, followed by the best book since August 2014 for Cumulus classic hits WLS-FM (3.5-3.8-4.3). WLS-FM is adding cume for the week, and it now places third in middays. Two stations tie at 3.6 shares (iHeart CHR “Kiss” WKSC, 3.1-3.3-3.6, and Entercom sports/Cubs baseball WSCR, 2.3-3.2-3.6). Close behind are Entercom’s adult alternative WXRT (3.5-3.3-3.5) and Weigel-run easy oldies WRME-LP (a third straight 3.5). Entercom’s new-since-November classic hip-hop/throwbacks “104.3 Jams” WBMX may’ve settled into its niche (4.5-3.5-3.4). It ties with iHeart AC WLIT (3.1-3.3-3.4). Chicago’s country scene is Entercom’s “US 99” WUSN (3.9-3.5-3.3) and iHeart’s “Big” WEBG (1.5-1.8-1.8). Both are seeing less time-spent. Finally, there’s Tribune’s waiting-to-be-sold talk WGN (2.2-2.0-2.2). Its worst daypart is nights, with the White Sox, where it’s tied for twenty-third. CHR “Kiss” pulls Chicagoland’s largest cume, at 1.915 million.

Robert Feder has it all broken down into dayparts. Here are the morning numbers...

1. WTMX 101.9-FM Eric Ferguson 7.7 (7.2)
2. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM Felicia Middlebrooks and Pat Cassidy 6.9 (7.0)
3. WVAZ 102.7-FM Steve Harvey 5.4 (5.0)
4. WOJO 105.1-FM Raúl Molinar, Carla Medrano and Andrés Maldonado 5.2 (5.5)
5. WDRV 97.1-FM Brian Sherman and Steve Tingle 3.9 (4.3)
6. WKSC 103.5-FM Christopher “Fred” Frederick and Angi Taylor 3.7 (3.6)
7. WLS 94.7-FM Dave Fogel and Kim Berk 3.6 (3.8)
8. WXRT 93.1-FM Lin Brehmer 3.5 (3.6)
9. WLEY 107.9-FM Alberto Terry “El Terrible” Cortez 3.4 (4.0)
10. WSCR 670-AM Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley 3.3 (3.6)

My old pal Bob Stroud is #1 in middays.
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Monday, June 11, 2018

Goodbye Net Neutrality

Starting today, your cable providers will have the power to charge more for faster internet speed. Net Neutrality is officially dead.

Small companies will have a much harder time competing with the big boys. Innovation will be supressed.

As the owner of a small company, I'm wearing black today. It goes well with my red face, caused by years of warning you this could happen.
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Embrace Retirement

Spent Saturday afternoon in Mundelein for the book launch party of "Embrace Retirement" by Russ Fahrner and Bruce Bohrer. What a great turnout! Congrats to Russ & Bruce. They really have something with this project. The point of the book isn't your usual financial planning angle--they write about all the great things you can and should do with your newly discovered free time. I'm not quite there yet, but they've given me some great ideas.

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Whoops


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John Lasseter Leaving Disney

The creative genius behind Pixar (and some of the greatest kids movies of all-time) is stepping down officially at the end of the year. The #Metoo movement exposed him, and his employees at Disney made it known he wasn't wanted back. From Deadline Hollywood...

As recently as last month, sources floated the possibility of Lasseter returning to Disney in a role that would retain his creative input but limit his managerial responsibilities.

But one well-placed source told Deadline there was a gathering sense that the employees didn’t really want Lasseter to return. Some even threatened to quit, according to another person familiar with the matter. Indeed, some in the animation community started a #LoseLasseter campaign on social media and launched a petition on Change.org demanding his ouster.

Sad ending to a great career. Bottom line--nobody is above the law--even in Hollywood.
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