Sad news - New Sounds will be cancelled by WNYC at the end of the year. -- Wait! No it won't!

WNYC says they're getting rid of all music programming, except maybe The Saturday Show.

New Sounds started in 1982, just about the time I moved back to the metro area from Albany after graduating college. I stumbled across it one night and I ended up listening to it every night for many years.

Just an amazing piece of radio programming. I can't imagine what my musical tastes would be now without that program.

Thanks John Schaefer

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/arts/music/wnyc-new-sounds-schaefer.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage


drummerboy said:

WNYC says they're getting rid of all music programming, except maybe The Saturday Show.

New Sounds started in 1982, just about the time I moved back to the metro area from Albany after graduating college. I stumbled across it one night and I ended up listening to it every night for many years.

Just an amazing piece of radio programming. I can't imagine what my musical tastes would be now without that program.

Thanks John Schaefer

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/arts/music/wnyc-new-sounds-schaefer.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

 I'm sorry for your loss. For me though, I have not enjoyed this programming and have wondered how long it could continue. "New Sounds" is not necessarily new, nor is the programming what I think of as music. I hear the show late at night in bed, and it has annoyed me as being nerve jangling instead of restful. And Gig Alerts is also not usually my kind of music. It always struck me as being an advertisement for which the monetary payments were not specified.

I wish Mr. Schaefer luck in finding a new home for his show, but his expertise is not my cup of tea. Sorry Drummer.


I've listened since almost day one.   Every evening at 11.  Never had any expectations that it would be lullaby music or it would have been released ON THAT DAY.  The new agey program "From the Hearts of Space" would follow, which was easier to fall asleep to and a bit less interesting, as it had no through-line. Hope at least the archives will be made available.  I would subscribe/donate despite it being Old New music. 


Well, that's the thing about expectations. Eventually I figured out to have none - other than I would be listening to some new and potentially interesting stuff. Sometimes it was too challenging for me, sometimes it was just ok, and sometimes it was transcendent.

I mean the guy put out probably something like 250 shows a year for 37 years. Remarkable.


More useless, are the Saturday quiz shows -- "Wait, Wait and such.


I like wait wait.

I hate the other one. It's dreadful.


drummerboy said:

I like wait wait.

I hate the other one. It's dreadful.

 Ask Me Another? Ophira Eisenberg?

I feel like it tries too hard to be edgy and snarky. But I wouldn't say I hate it.

Wait Wait is fun, especially the celebrity guests I think.

I'm not a "New Sounds" aficionado, but I hear Jon Schaefer in the mornings with his gig alerts. I'm not sure where a show like his might catch on if not NPR. I didn't read the article. Did they give a reason for giving up music programming?


not really. They just said they've been moving towards an all talk/news format for some time and this is just another step.

Yeah - Ask Me Another is just grating and not funny. IMO.  Can't figure out why they even bothered to start that show when they already have Wait, wait.


Is that show syndicated or just on WNYC?


There was a substantial change in WNYC after 9/11.Weekends used to have more talk and informational programing. The Sterns' travel and food show was one that I recall. It wasn't heavy talk but it wasn't more comedy and fluff. Selected Shorts used to be on at 6:00 on Sundays so I could listen to it on my way back form a Sunday photography or bird watching drive.

After 9/11, programing was mixed for about 6 months. Then, Sundays were wasted for me, with Jonathan Schwartz and Saturdays wasn't much better.

I was rescued by Sirius which at that time, had three public radio channels and talk shows.

Now, I primarily look for This American Life, The Moth, On The Media, Radio Lab, and 360.  Snap Judgement is usually good.


yahooyahoo said:

Is that show syndicated or just on WNYC?

 Good question. I don't know.


After 9/11 WNYC betrayed a trust by gradually eliminating all music programming.  Laura Walker made a commitment to bring back the classical music programming and then walked it back by buying the other classical music station in NY, moving it to a lower power frequency, and claiming that satisfied the need.  Then they put the more interesting music on a secondary web stream, but they eventually shut that down, too.

This has been coming for a long time.

That said, I suppose if there was any market at all for interesting serious music in NY this wouldn't be happening.  And there is still the internet, if you don't mind lousy fidelity and vanilla programming.


max_weisenfeld said:


That said, I suppose if there was any market at all for interesting serious music in NY this wouldn't be happening.  And there is still the internet, if you don't mind lousy fidelity and vanilla programming.

 --- The most popular market for bluegrass is N.Y.C.  Do you hear any of it?


max_weisenfeld said:

After 9/11 WNYC betrayed a trust by gradually eliminating all music programming.  Laura Walker made a commitment to bring back the classical music programming and then walked it back by buying the other classical music station in NY, moving it to a lower power frequency, and claiming that satisfied the need.  Then they put the more interesting music on a secondary web stream, but they eventually shut that down, too.

This has been coming for a long time.

That said, I suppose if there was any market at all for interesting serious music in NY this wouldn't be happening.  And there is still the internet, if you don't mind lousy fidelity and vanilla programming.

 I honestly wonder if wqxr would still exist today if it had not been bought by New York Public Radio. I do like the fact that I don't have to hear Lexus commercials with Philip Bosco every time I flip on the classical music station.

I didn't realize that they eliminated the Q2 stream. The day after Thanksgiving in my house we always switch to the holiday Channel on the WNYC app.


Formerlyjerseyjack said:

max_weisenfeld said:


That said, I suppose if there was any market at all for interesting serious music in NY this wouldn't be happening.  And there is still the internet, if you don't mind lousy fidelity and vanilla programming.

 --- The most popular market for bluegrass is N.Y.C.  Do you hear any of it?

 https://widgets.spinitron.com/WKCR/pl/9596374/The-Moonshine-Show

https://widgets.spinitron.com/WKCR/pl/9596794/The-Tennessee-Border-Show


mrincredible said:

max_weisenfeld said:

After 9/11 WNYC betrayed a trust by gradually eliminating all music programming.  Laura Walker made a commitment to bring back the classical music programming and then walked it back by buying the other classical music station in NY, moving it to a lower power frequency, and claiming that satisfied the need.  Then they put the more interesting music on a secondary web stream, but they eventually shut that down, too.

This has been coming for a long time.

That said, I suppose if there was any market at all for interesting serious music in NY this wouldn't be happening.  And there is still the internet, if you don't mind lousy fidelity and vanilla programming.

 I honestly wonder if wqxr would still exist today if it had not been bought by New York Public Radio. I do like the fact that I don't have to hear Lexus commercials with Philip Bosco every time I flip on the classical music station.

I didn't realize that they eliminated the Q2 stream. The day after Thanksgiving in my house we always switch to the holiday Channel on the WNYC app.

 I think WQXR is better now than it was as a commercial station but my point was that was not what she committed to do.  When I moved here there were four radio stations playing serious music in NYC, now there is 1 1/8.   I understand why, but I don't have to like it.

For that matter, why does the only jazz station in NYC play 10 hours a day of only one style of jazz?  They have more variety in their 4 hours of classical.


The current quality of the NYC radio market for music is as low as I can remember.  I've lived in the general NYC area most of my life.  The best stations are the small independent/college stations that can barely survive financially.

Popular music radio stations are dreadful, in general.


WNYC and WQXR were competing for the classical fans until WNYC started to play other additional music forms, but to no avail.  Sensing an approaching problem for WNYC, and learning of the approaching financial problem for WQXR as a  commercial supported enterprise, WNYC decided to buy WQXR and retain the classical music as is, while abandoning it's own classical effort.  Shortly after taking on the additional expense, they made a deal with a lower power Spanish language station to switch frequencies and station powers.  Thus we  have a lower power WQXR station, but still a viable classical NY station.   WNYC would give up the classical effort, thus New Sounds was born.

Additionally I find that much of Mr. Schafer's music taste to be very repetitious sounding.  Not sure if that is his preference or a comment on the state of contemporary music composition.  It seems to me to be highly influenced to be either machine or computer inspired, much like minimalist music.  Indeed his morning gig alert today was a plug for a Steve Reich concert.  For those unaware, Steve Reich is a founder of the minimalist genre some decades ago.




This makes me sad. I started listening to New Sounds when it started. I've been unable to listen to New Sounds for a few years, so I don't know what it's been like recently, but there was a lot I liked, and it introduced me to many musicians I ended up following. Schaefer even interviewed me on his other show during the 2004 Maplewood religious music controversy. Did you know New Sounds was his first job?


Direct action (protests) works!


I'm sure it was the comments here on MOL which turned the tide.

I got an email today from the station. 


mrincredible said:

I'm sure it was the comments here on MOL which turned the tide.

I got an email today from the station. 

 I am glad to take credit.  smile


mrincredible said:

I'm sure it was the comments here on MOL which turned the tide.

I got an email today from the station. 

 Some of us are capable of commenting here and taking independent action such as emailing the station about what we learned about first because someone commented on here.

Just sayin'



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