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’m trying a little experiment. We only have one reasonably powered local radio station on the Sunshine Coast, 91.7 Coast FM, which plays harmless music designed to insult no-one. Am I the only one who believes a radical format change is in order? Personally, the music they play is sadly outdated and unchallenging, and I have a hard time believing that the denizenry of the Sunshine Coast is best served by a range of tunes from the Archies to Led Zeppelin. Especially since we have a plethora of home grown musicians on the coast who more than deserve regular airtime.

I just believe that acquiring a licence to broadcast should not be solely a business decision, but a cultural and educational one as well.

At the end of this post you’ll see a two hour log of music played by the station. Forty-four percent are Canadian alright; but a close look at the selections shows the songs are, on average, more than 34 years old, with the oldest coming in at around 50 years. This is not to say that the odd ‘oldie’ isn’t without merit, but what is without merit is a radio station that plays two hour’s worth of music that is all from the last century. Are we all so in need of aural dookies that we cannot part with music from the ‘golden oldies’? There’s a world of really good quality music out there, but we pander to our provincial tastes and hug our musical faves like anti-depressants and stimulants.
Yeah, I hear you, and I do subscribe to prog-rock, folk, and classical channels on the internet. I just believe that acquiring a licence to broadcast should not be solely a business decision, but a cultural and educational one as well. Hey, put up or shut up, you’re hogging the airwaves, but if the majority of us hold on to our frozen-in-time memories like faded photographs and refuse to accept the new and/or different, we are condemned to another decade of “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I’ve Got Love in my Tummy”.
11/09/20 14:52:00 Back in the USSR – The Beatles
11/09/20 14:47:54 You Oughta Know – Alanis Morrisette 1995*
11/09/20 14:43:52 I’m Your Boogie Man – KC And The Sunshine Band
11/09/20 14:37:38 Shape I’m In – Band, The 1970*
11/09/20 14:32:57 Dark Horse – Amanda Marshall 1995*
11/09/20 14:28:48 Oh What A Feeling – Crowbar 1971*
11/09/20 14:25:17 A Little Respect – Erasure
11/09/20 14:18:25 Kiss You (When It’s Dangerous) – Eight Seconds 1986*
11/09/20 14:15:47 I’m A Believer – Monkees, The
11/09/20 14:10:36 Candy Girl – New Edition
11/09/20 14:05:44 Like A Prayer – Madonna
11/09/20 14:02:37 Get Up, Stand Up – Bob Marley
11/09/20 13:58:47 Hurts So Good – John Mellencamp
11/09/20 13:55:22 Lovin’ Every Minute Of It – Loverboy 1985*
11/09/20 13:47:14 Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin
11/09/20 13:42:03 Somewhere out There – Our Lady Peace 1999*
11/09/20 13:38:37 I Will – Rock and Hyde 1987*
11/09/20 13:35:56 I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) – Four Tops
11/09/20 13:30:03 My Prerogative – Bobby Brown
11/09/20 13:27:18 She Ain’t Pretty – The Northern Pikes 1990*
11/09/20 13:23:40 Raise A Little Hell – Trooper 1978*
11/09/20 13:20:21 Lovefool – Cardigans
11/09/20 13:15:32 Mrs. Robinson – Paul Simon And Art Garfunkel
11/09/20 13:11:36 Love Changes Everything – Honeymoon Suite 1988*
11/09/20 13:07:13 Dream On – Aerosmith

* Denotes Canadian Content