Happy TGIFriday, August 14, 2020, and thanks for hanging out with me today here on KCast Radio! James Michael Keats here with you! In addition to lining up some most excellent Classic ROCK for you this Friday afternoon, I also brought with me some interesting stories I came across online while getting ready for the set today. Check 'em out in today's show notes!
Noon - 1pC: Would you care if FM radio functionality disappeared from you car? I mean, let's be honest here... when was the last time you tuned into a local FM station for anything?
If you're like me, you likely use an app on your smartphone to source your news, get traffic reports, and listen to music or podcasts... and why not!? It's super freggin' easy, not to mention incredibly convenient—considering that it's not attached to your car dashboard and can come along with you throughout your day.
When it comes to music, there are plenty options available on your smartphone, and they’re all quite a bit more portable than a traditional FM dial; plus, between crazy long commercial-breaks, lame jocks, and an almost ever present and painfully obvious sensation that some huge corporation has bought up all the radio stations, terrestrial FM radio just doesn’t offer anything comparable to what’s available on smartphones.
While new tech in automobiles is providing even more accessibility to smartphones than ever before, there’s definitely a certain feel that was present on the radio before the days of subscription music services (like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon) has been all but lost.
This shift to Internet music, available on smart devices like our phones as well as these newfangled car stereos now shipping with pretty much all new cars, ironically makes way for a resurgence of the radio platform, complete with that amazing radio feel that has been missing for years.
This is the exact reason we're working so hard over here to develop KCast Radio! We believe the radio format should never die, but we know that means doing something that others haven't really done yet. Sure, iHeart Radio—which simulcasts the programming of their more than 850 FM stations through their app over the Internet—but nearly all of those station suffer from that awful corporate feel, and that's a far cry from that radio feel.
KCast Radio is owned and operated by us, and that means we can do what ever we want instead of bowing to the wishes of our corporate overlords who prioritize their own accumulation of wealth over you, the listener. We're stoked to see things moving in the direction of the Internet and away from the corporate radio complex which you hear on FM stations and their companion apps, but we've still got a ton of work to do to show the world that real radio can live again on the Internet. We're all about it, though; we do this everyday, and we're ready to ROCK into the future so you can have kick ass radio without the dumb asses who don't know a thing about the music you love.
WARNING: The are a couple quotes during the 1 - 2 hour that contain some profanity. Just a heads up!
1pC - 2pC: COVID concerts? Some entertainment companies and concert organizers are doing their part to bring the music to the people safely while others are apparently unworried, even saying "F@#$ the COVID S@&T!" right on stage. Who dropped the eff-bomb?
That'd be none other than "Bandleader-with-his-foot-in-his-mouth" Steve Harwell as he performed at Sturgis in South Dakota at this year's biker come together saying "Now we're all here together tonight, and we're being human once again. Fuck that COVID shit."
That's all well and good, I get that all those bikers probably wouldn't have responded super well if Harwell said some weak/lame/libral thing like wear a mask or no Smash Mouth for you, but if a bunch of them get COVID at the concert and take it home to their family, none of the effing of that 'COVID shit' they did at the Sturgis COVID Come-together will have mattered
Alternatively, the U.K.'s first socially distanced outdoor concert venue has hosted its debut show, as the Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle, England, welcomed 2,500 music fans for a performance by rising rocker Sam Fender a couple days ago.
"The arena is designed to keep you safe, with organized parking and a socially distanced queuing system into the arena where you will be directed to your personal area," SSD Concerts said on Facebook. The parent company also unveiled a concept illustration at the time, showing a stage facing a large open lawn, with numerous raised platforms containing room for small groups to watch the show. The real-life execution was very similar to that initial mock-up. A total of 500 platforms were spread throughout the viewing area, with each one allowing a maximum of five people.
2pC - 3pC: Wanna go to the movies on the cheap? AMC is celebrating their centennial birthday on August 20 this year, and to celebrate they're selling tickets for 15 cents! Should we go?
That's right! It's only 15 cents for a movie ticket at 100 AMC theater locations on August 20. Pretty sweet deal, eh? I mean, surely they've taken all the proper precautions in consideration of the fact that they're trying to pack out theaters with people, and they'll be laughing, talking, eating, etcetera, for 2+ hours almost on top of each other. But hey, we gotta reopen stuff to make them dolla-bills mayne.
Ironically enough, if the average theater has 25 rows with 30 seats in each, 750 seats in all, then the theater is only getting $112.50 for a packed show. I guess they're counting on people coming back for more COVID.
I don't think you could pay me to go to the theater right now. As a matter of fact, I think I'd be down to buy out the whole theater for little over $100 if I just had to see a movie at the theater just to have the place to myself. I mean look, if you were feeling generous on one pre-COVID Friday night and offered to take a couple friends out to the movies, buy a some of those big refillable popcorn buckets, and sneak in a six-pack or two, that'd easily set you back at least 1hundo.
I have been James Michael Keats! Thanks for rocking with me here on KCast Radio this Friday, August 14, 2020. Make sure to listen for Jack Ryan over the weekend and every Monday through Friday from 3pm to 7pm, tune-in to The Kurre and Klapow Show on Monday morning and every weekday morning between 7am and Noon, and hang out with me from Noon to 3pm every weekday! Have a badass weekend, get some rest, and stay safe.
JMK signing out
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