Wow, yeah! The fourth (I think) or fifth (that's probably right) Indiepop A To Z in Portland is now on KBOO, as is Self Help Radio. The show is three hours long, so there's an hour more indiepop. That's kinda cool, yeah?
But I was thinking something interesting - back in the day, on KVRX, the Programming Directors (I was one of them for a while) were very stingy about what we called "specialty shows." We wanted deejays to learn how to do good freeform shows, so one very rarely got one of those shows. In general, they were mostly genre-specific: a metal show, a blues show, a dance show, etc.
In those days, I preferred a freeform-type show. I didn't mind the requirements - we had to choose new stuff to play from a shelf called the "new bin" - because I felt I had more freedom. I didn't want to be trapped within a genre. But the truth is, most deejays hated the requirements & most of them wanted a "specialty show." Even if, you know, once they chose to do a hip hop show, they pretty much were expected to play nothing but hip hop.
Fast-forward to Portland & pretty much every show on KBOO & Freeform are what we used to call "specialty shows." There's almost no policing them, either - someone with a jazz show might not play jazz one week & no one would bat an eye. As for me, I'm still a little freaked out about having a "specialty show." I imagine a Program Director coming to me & saying, "Hey, Gary. Self Help Radio is supposed to be based around a theme. How does a show about indiepop bands in alphabetical order fit that theme?"
It doesn't. But every show is a "specialty show." It's what the deejays think the show is, not necessarily what they described when they filled out their program proposal. It might raise a few eyebrows if a metal show suddenly became a gospel show, but other than that, the deejays are in charge.
Which is fine by me. I still think I'm going to get reprimanded or something for these indiepop shows though. Sixty-four of them! & no end in sight!
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