Rock Radio

Jim Ladd can drop rock-star names like nobody's business — no surprise considering music's been his business for four decades. Or it had been until late last month when the new owners of L.A. rock radio station KLOS-FM (95.5) gave the boot to Ladd, who had been holding court behind a microphone there for the last 14 years. And that was just his latest stint at the station. Ladd logged a total of 20 years during three separate tours of rock 'n' roll radio duty at KLOS. A fixture on the Southern California airwaves, Ladd also chalked up nine years at the defunct station KMET-FM before it dumped rock for an easy-listening format dubbed "The Wave," as well as time at L.A.'s short-lived KEDG-FM ("The Edge")

Navigating the waters of traditional radio these days might appear as dangerous as taking on a Nor'easter in a paddle boat, but that isn't stopping former "Morning Becomes Eclectic" host Nic Harcourt from heading back into that unpredictable front known as morning radio. On Friday he'll take over the morning-drive slot at Cal State Northridge-based KCSN-FM (88.5), the scrappy, college-based operation that's continuing its campaign to become L.A.'s little rock radio station that could.

Something's wrong. Item No. 1: The first 10 inductees in the new, record industry-sponsored Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced in New York and six are black: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino and Little Richard. (Other inductees are the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley). Item 2. New Musical Express, a respected British rock journal, has just published a list of its all-time 100 LPs.

Seconds before showtime, the DJ took his place before the bank of monitors, switches and dials. He took a deep breath, a light flickered on above the door. Waffles was on the air. "It's the best in rock!" he said into the mike. "Let's start things off right!" With that, he kicked off a rollicking two hours on Mt. Rock Radio, the student-run station at Mt. San Antonio College. Howling guitars and heart-pounding percussion pulsed through the airwaves. The spiky-haired host, zinging with frenetic energy, drummed his fingers to the beat and sang along as he worked the boards and set up the playlist — Thin Lizzy, Joan Jett, the Ramones.

When a new radio station hits the air, the usual question people ask is, "What are they playing?" But with the new L.A. alternative-rock outlet that bowed recently at the 107.1 spot on the FM dial, people in the radio world are asking, "Are they crazy?" There's no question that star acts such as the Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden are proven winners for radio these days.

Seconds before showtime, the DJ took his place before the bank of monitors, switches and dials. He took a deep breath, a light flickered on above the door. Waffles was on the air. "It's the best in rock!" he said into the mike. "Let's start things off right!" With that, he kicked off a rollicking two hours on Mt. Rock Radio, the student-run station at Mt. San Antonio College. Howling guitars and heart-pounding percussion pulsed through the airwaves. The spiky-haired host, zinging with frenetic energy, drummed his fingers to the beat and sang along as he worked the boards and set up the playlist — Thin Lizzy, Joan Jett, the Ramones.

L.A. rock radio has gone oldies crazy. Just spin the dial and listen for yourself. With the exception of a few popular Top 40 stations, local radio sounds like it's being run by a bunch of program directors whose new toy is a time machine. KBZT-FM (known as K-BEST) has become KLSX, playing "classic-rock" from the '60s and '70s. KMET-FM plays "Work Force Double Shots" of Janis Joplin tunes. KNX-FM reels in the years with Steely Dan.

Southern California rock radio lost its "Edge" earlier this month. It happened when the management of freewheeling station KEDG-FM abruptly decided to sack program directoJ. Jackson and his talented staff, to change the call letters to K-LITE and to devote the programming to such dentist's office favorites as Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow. OK, before the Streisand and Manilow fans storm over here with torches aflame, I'll admit that sure, they deserve a place on the radio dial just like any other musicians.

You might think that the classic television series "WKRP in Cincinnati" has the franchise on comedies about rock radio, and you'd almost be right: At least in its original run, the show was as knowledgeable a look at the inside of a radio station as has existed in fiction. But "WKRP" isn't the only word. Santa Barbara disc jockey Jeff Hanley and a crew of actors are bringing another station to life four nights a week at Theatre-by-the-Sea in Ventura.

With the threat of war and economic disaster, we all may have to learn to be grim realists in 1991. So I'm going to indulge in a little wishful thinking while I still can. I wish that Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, and all the other Croesuses of rock 'n' roll would start turning their checkbooks and their sense of philanthropic duty in a direction where it is desperately needed: toward the salvation of rock radio. What should rock radio be?

Jim Ladd can drop rock-star names like nobody's business — no surprise considering music's been his business for four decades. Or it had been until late last month when the new owners of L.A. rock radio station KLOS-FM (95.5) gave the boot to Ladd, who had been holding court behind a microphone there for the last 14 years. And that was just his latest stint at the station. Ladd logged a total of 20 years during three separate tours of rock 'n' roll radio duty at KLOS. A fixture on the Southern California airwaves, Ladd also chalked up nine years at the defunct station KMET-FM before it dumped rock for an easy-listening format dubbed "The Wave," as well as time at L.A.'s short-lived KEDG-FM ("The Edge")

Gene Chenault, one half of a pioneering team that helped to revolutionize rock radio programming in the 1960s with the "Boss Radio" format, first at KHJ in Los Angeles and then coast to coast, has died. He was 90. Chenault died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma Tuesday at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, said his wife, Susan. In the 1960s, Chenault partnered with Bill Drake to launch a phenomenally successful radio format that turned poorly performing stations into ratings winners and made household names of radio personalities such as Robert W. Morgan and "the Real" Don Steele.

Oasis Dig Out Your Soul (Big Brother) * * 1/2 Oasis has long worn its psychedelic influences on its sleeve, and on its latest album, "Dig Out Your Soul," released today, the band often sounds as though it wishes it were 1969 all over again.

Bright Eyes "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" (Saddle Creek) *** 1/2 Unlike Bruce Springsteen and Guns N' Roses in the early '90s, Conor Oberst isn't releasing separate albums on the same day just because he had too much similar material to fit onto a single disc.

You flip the radio dial and hear a blurry wash of rock guitars. Ah, it's one of the season's signature rock songs, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. No, wait -- isn't that Liam Gallagher's wavering, nasal voice? The song must be the Brit-pop classic "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Hold on -- now it sounds like Travis and, uh, can that really be Aerosmith? Don't adjust your radio or bother trying to sing along. You're caught in a mash-up.

J.J. Jackson, a longtime Los Angeles rock-radio personality who made pop culture history more than two decades ago as one of the original MTV VJs, has died. He was 62. Jackson died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to friends and former business associates. "J.J. Jackson's deep passion for music, his ease and good humor on air, and his welcoming style really set the tone for the early days of MTV," MTV officials said in a statement released Thursday.

In the Popping Off column on May 10, Chris Willman criticized the "classic rock" radio format for its narrow definition of classic rock and for discouraging diversity in programming. Here's a sample of reader response. One of the main reasons I listen to the radio is to be exposed to new music. Unfortunately, with rock radio being so firmly entrenched in the '70s, and with individuals who have sprung from now defunct '70s bands, it has become increasingly harder to hear anything out of the mainstream without actually taking a chance and buying new records on a whim.

Navigating the waters of traditional radio these days might appear as dangerous as taking on a Nor'easter in a paddle boat, but that isn't stopping former "Morning Becomes Eclectic" host Nic Harcourt from heading back into that unpredictable front known as morning radio. On Friday he'll take over the morning-drive slot at Cal State Northridge-based KCSN-FM (88.5), the scrappy, college-based operation that's continuing its campaign to become L.A.'s little rock radio station that could.

*** KORN "Untouchables" Epic/Immortal Kick-starting the nu-metal movement a decade ago with its self-titled debut while tearing into the tortured souls of America's youth with anguished themes and raging rhythms wasn't enough for Korn. The Bakersfield-bred, L.A.-based quintet went on to explore disparate styles and soundscapes with each subsequent release, from the bawdy, humorous "Life Is Peachy" to its hook-heavy follow-up, "Follow the Leader," to the grim, gritty "Issues."

Anyone who was a music fan 20 years ago remembers J.J. Jackson beaming from the television set as one of MTV's original VJs. Many others know him from his three decades on the airwaves for Los Angeles rock stations. So, steeped in a background of rock 'n' roll, how did he end up spinning smooth-jazz discs at the Wave, KTWV-FM (94.7)? Well, they just called and asked him. "I was incredibly surprised," said Jackson, who starts Monday as the station's afternoon drive-time disc jockey.