During the past few weeks Nashville has had some major changes in formats and DJ’s over the radio dial. Here’s a summary.

• I like Jack. Oldies 96.3 is no more. The Jack FM concept has come to Nashville. Mostly its a mix of 70s, 80s, and 90s music with alot of variety and no DJs, news, weather, or traffic. Where else could you find Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus playing back to back with Jewell’s You Were Meant for Me…? I am guessing Jack FM is radio’s answer to XM.
• With Oldies 96.3 gone, 97.1 which played a mix of 80s and 90s music, is now Oldies 97.1. They brought Coyote McCloud and Cathy Martindale, who were DJs on 96.3. Coyote and Cathy needed to have a home here in Nashville. They are locals (in lieu of bland syndication), and they’re good at what they do.
• With Coyote and Cathy filling the morning DJ position, Rick and Bubba have no home in Nashville. Rick and Bubba are syndicated DJs based in Birmingham. They usually are Alabama-centric, telling us in-jokes about Alabama sports teams and the like. What do you do when your favorite DJs are off the air? Well you start up a blog for support. And the comments on the blog are funny and sad at the same time. Some gems:
  • ” I am almost in a state of depression since Rick and Bubba have been taken off the air.”
  • “One of the major reasons I retired at Pensacola was that I could listen to Rick and Bubba in the morning.”
  • ” My mornings are completely wrecked now!”
  • “The commute to work is horrible now.”

What has happened is basically Star 97 and Oldies 96.3 traded formats, with the 70s, 80s, and 90s format getting a bit better without DJs and traffic reports. The other positive thing is that it got Rick and Bubba off the air. As one discussion board poster said “Nashville is way too sophisticated for Rick and Bubba.” This is probably why Rick and Bubba never made it to Atlanta. Atlanta doesn’t want them and neither does Nashville.