Skip to main content

Platinum memories

As of noon last Friday, Platinum 96.7 is no longer on the DFW airwaves. I, being completely honest and not having a tongue anywhere near my cheek, will miss this station. Even though a friend of mine in the industry jokingly called their format "wrist-cutting music," I was quite partial to the format.

For those that aren't from the DFW area, Platinum was a soft rock station. Playing stuff like America's "I Need You" to James Taylor's "Handy Man" to Carole King's "It's Too Late" to Elton John's "Daniel," this was the kind of format that I listened to as a kid while riding with my mother in our Cadillac. There was Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, and some Motown throw in as well as many one/two-hit wonders from the 1970s.

The station featured some radio talent I had worked with in my time in the area. Some of them I've kept up with thanks to the wonders of Facebook. So it wasn't fun to hear about them losing their gigs on Friday. Since they've gone through format switches and what-all before, they will land on their feet somewhere else.

But still, I'm really getting the sense that the soft rock format is going the way of the dinosaur. I know, I know, there are target demographics that pay the bills, and the demos are usually younger, but I don't even know if HD radio or satellite radio has such formats. As much as I've loved what I've heard on HD and satellite radios, I'm still quite hesitant to jump in with either.

Like the lite rock format and the smooth jazz, the soft rock format is pleasant to have on while you work. It's not too soft but it's not too loud. Even though I jam out to the Dillinger Escape Plan in my car, I can't really work my gig with it on.

So, aside from my extreme personal bias, I wouldn't be against the soft rock format popping up somewhere else in the area.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Go Where You Wanna Go

It's been a year since I moved away from Lakewood, and even though I could relocate to a new place as a newly-single guy, I've chosen to stay where I am. I enjoy living in North Dallas/Richardson given its central location, being not too far away from places I have enjoyed going to in my fourteen-plus years living in Dallas County. Living in Lakewood for nine years was critical for me, but I am glad I don't have homeless people going through my garbage, my street getting shut down like it's Mardi Gras on Halloween night, and I don't have to answer to the not-so-friendly landlords who bought my old place. I have a new housemate moving in at the end of the month and I have many reasons to be excited as he's been a friend for many years. Couple that with a humongous  new record store opening in nearby Farmers Branch , shows to see, and a quick trip to Los Angeles for something very cool (for which I reveal at a later date) and I'm happy to say fall is sha...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air...

Socials

 Hey, everyone! You can find me on several other platforms: http:/ http:// themeparkexperience.substack.com http:// Instagram.com/ericjgrubbs http:// TikTok.com/@ericjgrubbs http:// threads.net/ericjgrubbs http:// ericjgrubbs.bsky.social Thanks!