I Don't Get It.

[hubcity]

A while ago, I let Mike P (this board's esteemed leader) know I was doing an experiment in web radio - pretty much taking the music I played at the Jersey Shore's FM106.3 and at the Melody Bar in New Brunswick, NJ in the mid-80's to late-90's and finding new music that works alongside it. The point of it was that radio could be done today the way we did it back then, and it would actually be relevant, and not nostalgic. It could move forward - not in the wrong direction the way Alternative radio did in the nineties, but in a direction led by people who liked their guitars ragged, their synths pulsing, their beats in 4/4 and their expectations challenged when they hit the dance floor.

With his blessing, I started posting updates about my Altrok Radio station to the board.

And, um....outside of one person who seemed happy about the event...crickets.

So here I am, trying again to get you to listen, partly because I think it might be worth your while, and partly because if I'm right about that, I can use all the support I can get as far as online listening goes. There's too many alternative stations going away these days - we're starting a new one...so...[b]help![/b]

We play a lot of good stuff - and in fact, we play a lot of stuff that (if I'm to believe another thread here on the board) First Wave ignores, like Pop Will Eat Itself, things by Joy Division besides "Love Will Tear Us Apart", etc...actually, let me quote from Wayne...

<blockquote>I keep trying First Wave but they seem to mostly play a narrow variety of safe "hits"...Train In Vain but not White Man In Hammersmit Palais. I Wanna Be Sedated but not Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue. Love Will Tear Us Apart but not She's Lost Control. Mexican Radio but not Back In Flesh. And She Was but not Don't Worry About The Government. And any bands that are too obscure by Sirius standards, like Pop Will Eat Itself, The Gun Club, Way Of The West, The Fall, etc., forget about it. </blockquote>

He doesn't know it, but the parts he's missing from First Wave describe Altrok 90.5 HD2 almost exactly. Though you'll hear new music, too, which is kind of the point - we fell in love with this stuff in the first place because it was adventurous. Why stop now?

I get the feeling that when I ask people to "listen to my station", your first reaction is "oh, he's asking directly - how good could it be?" Don't do that! People actually like this station! (No, really!)

Connect up here: http://wbjb.org/altrok

Commercial free, no membership needed, just click and listen. It's even actually on the radio.

If you like it, post! If you don't...whoa, hey, look at the time...

-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[SwampThing]

Maybe you could get MikeP to put a permanent link on this site.

I stopped listening to radio (including web radio) many years ago for the simple fact that I have limited time to listen to music, so I like listen to stuff that I've recently purchased from sites like eMusic, Lala and Amazon.



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[hubcity]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
<br>Maybe you could get MikeP to put a permanent link on this site.

I stopped listening to radio (including web radio) many years ago for the simple fact that I have limited time to listen to music, so I like listen to stuff that I've recently purchased from sites like eMusic, Lala and Amazon.
[/quote]

You raise a good point: you've given up on radio ever turning you on to something new, right? After all, you're buying things on eMusi and Amazon (and no longer at Lala, unfortunately) because...why?

(I can't fault you for that, though I'm trying to buck that trend...)

-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[SwampThing]

[quote][i]Originally posted by hubcity[/i]

You raise a good point: you've given up on radio ever turning you on to something new, right? After all, you're buying things on eMusi and Amazon (and no longer at Lala, unfortunately) because...why?

(I can't fault you for that, though I'm trying to buck that trend...)

-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!
[/quote] That's a fair question. One that I need to sit down and think about.

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[Frau_Blucher]

I'm buying music because of word of mouth, linkages to other bands from the web, various mention in alternative press (not AP!), etc. There's a lot of dimension to a seemingly random process that creates sometimes random and sometime not random linkages. Radio, even internet radio, feels linear. It does create associations too, like the very good music on your station, but it's still linear - one song then another, certainly associated with eachother in vibe and style, but in a fairly ordered fashion. It sounds crazy that I'm arguing against order, but I seemed to get turned on thru chaos or randomness (or seeming randomness with some underlying and unconscious order). If I truly wanted order, I might be listening to exactly what I want to listen to - an album by a specific favorite band or my own mix or perhaps even seed Pandora with things I like and see what it turns up.

I don't have a desk job where I might put the radio on for extended periods. I don't have a morning drive in southern Jersey where I'd turn your station on. When I'm at my computer, I'm usually sprinting briefly through NWO and a half-dozen other sites I check into. I may be intently working or monkeying with photos or video. I may not remember to even think about Altrock or Flashback Alternatives or one of the various Live365 stations.

At the end of it all that, it's a small and diminishing amount of time that I'd actually listen to a specific radio station. If I had the time to listen to radio, I'd most likely leave my computer to do something else in the real world. I'm not knocking your efforts Sean in any way - I really appreciate the work you do (killer Stars song just recently followed by a cool new wave song...um, what was that again, shit, I don't know because I can't go back). I'm just thinking out loud here about how much actual mental bandwidth I'd have even under the best of circumstances and how my underlying music mania actually works.

I suppose part of it is building habit, and maybe one course of success is more repetition with a permanent banner, more facebook activity, a link on iTunes' list of streaming stations (I don't see it) or whatever. Or even an NWO post that reminds me to listen more. [:I]

[hubcity]

Point 1: That was Zero Hour by The Plimsouls - yeah, that there's a good one. (And that Stars track would be considered new wave if it weren't for the thirty years' dislocation...)

Point 2: No offense taken. You're looking to a whole bunch of sources, and I'm just hoping to become one more. I guess it's reasonable to expect a diminishing amount of attention when there's so much vying for it. The problem is, of course, the Tinkerbell weakness - when nobody's clapping, it withers and dies. (So, to paraphrase Sparks, clap, g-ddammit!)

In the meantime, you're pointing out something that's a potential weakness: lots of places play music, and there's noting I can give you right now that's unique outside of the mix (which is kinda unique, but doesn't jump out and say "hey, uniqueness over here!") I've got a goal of adding more "presentation" between the songs that's (a.) short and (b.) as entertaining as the songs themselves. It's what endeared WLIR to me back in the day, and I'd really like to get there with this...but that takes time...and effort. (Still a shoestring operation, even with a meager budget we didn't have before. I hear that bumper stickers are on the way...)

But if you're looking for a reminder...here 'tis...

-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[djcraig]

I'm listening right now and I like what I hear!

I've had aspirations to do a station myself. But I'm afraid that with music media so splintered now (mp3 downloading sites, satellite radio, cable radio, internet radio) and all the peripheral distractions vying for attention (cable tv, websites, video games) it would be an uphill battle to gather a significant audience. Not like back in the day when we had 7 TV channels and limited radio stations to choose from.

Somehow there has got to be a way to brand your station as "the" station that cool people can proudly claim as their own. I never had the time, effort and loads of persistence I figured it would take for this type of branding to happen.

I applaud your efforts.


PS Oops, gotta go. There is a Youtube video I gotta check out!





<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

[SwampThing]

Blir's story is pretty much the same as mine. I've discovered many of my favorite new bands via NWO, in particular links to YouTube videos and yearly Top 10 lists.

BTW - I just downloaded your iPhone app. This might be your best opportunity to get listeners. I know of several people who use streaming audio on their iPhones. How much promotion have you put into your app?

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[hubcity]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
BTW - I just downloaded your iPhone app. This might be your best opportunity to get listeners. I know of several people who use streaming audio on their iPhones. How much promotion have you put into your app?
[/quote]

About as much as I can afford, e.g. not much. But (even though I've been doing this, one way or another, since about 2000) it's really just starting out as a real, honest-ta-goodness broadcast station - albeit with a new technology. My station overlords actually have a budget, and the promotion part of this whole shindig is firmly in their ballpark.

For one thing, they made the iPhone app happen, which is way more than I could get happening at Live365. So I'm already at a higher level of support than I ever was.

Continuing my earlier theme, though - in some ways, there's a lot of experience at play here, but in others there isn't. I'm hoping we're giving you the opportunity to say "I listened to them at the very beginning", rather than "that was interesting - too bad it didn't last".

(And, of course, it's up to you to help make it last.)

-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[hubcity]

[quote][i]Originally posted by djcraig[/i]
I'm listening right now and I like what I hear!
[/quote]

Cool! Thank you!

[quote]
PS Oops, gotta go. There is a Youtube video I gotta check out!
[/quote]

D'oh!

-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[elviscaprice]

Okay, I've tuned in. Question, How do we receive the track titles?
P.S. Using Media Player
Elvis

[hubcity]

[quote][i]Originally posted by elviscaprice[/i]
<br>Okay, I've tuned in. Question, How do we receive the track titles?
P.S. Using Media Player
Elvis
[/quote]

Answer: don't use Media Player. (Annoying, isn't it?)

I notice VLC doesn't show the info by default either - if you open the media info screen, it shows the song under "now playing".

WinAmp and iTunes show what's playing just fine - as does the iPhone/iPod Touch app.

YMMV, of course. Seems like WMP wants us to change the stream title in order to display it, while, actually, WinAmp and iTunes do it "right" - VLC does too, but it falls down in the display flexibility department.


-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[elviscaprice]

Thanks Sean,

Have to say, I LOVE it. Right along the conceptual idea for music I had at my underground clubs the past few years, except only on the dance side, but actually I enjoy the slower pace at times for listening. Interesting lineup for the tracks. Overall you hit the nail on the head. This can work. Much enjoy the newer tracks, I like being exposed to music I haven't heard.
Oh, I just play the MP3's in my mplayer instead of windows media player, I get the individual track information just fine.
Elvis
P.S. I will highly recommend this station to my immediate surrounding sphere of influence.

[hubcity]

Those are glowing words, Elvis - thank you so much!

If you happen to be a Facebook type, here's a page to "like" and spread around...

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/905-HD ... 1840672159

(plus, when you hit "Like" on the page, we predict the future once an hour! Well, to be fair, we just mention three of the bands that'll be coming up soon...)



-Sean
<a href="http://www.altrok.com">Altrok 90.5 HD2</a>
On your HD Radio, it's Modern Rock at The Jersey Shore!

[Jefe]

Why didn't you mention this before yesterday?[;)]

Listened for a short while today for the first time. Didn't hear anything that would have caused me to lunge to change the channel on a traditional radio. I have found a lot of music that is new to me on Hemi's Live 365 station & I'm guessing I will find a lot which I like from yours. Thanks for persisting in getting the word out.