Alan Cross' new job

Spirit Admin (Admin) · Mon Jan 05, 2004 10:09 pm

From Alan Cross, January 5 2004:

There's been a change at the Edge. Dave Farrough has moved over to become the program director of Q107. The new PD at the Edge is...me. This will be effective Monday, January 12.

Metal Mike · Post by **Metal Mike** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 12:08 am

You have to be **** me.

NOMAD · Post by **NOMAD** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 7:33 am

I was just thinking that CFNY was starting to sound a little better. Is this really true? This could be great!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 12:08 pm

Don't count on anything drastic changing at The Edge, which I don't care to listen to anyway, just because Alan is back. The only way it can get better is for Alan to have influence in playing a much wider variety of retro and digging deeper for new releases with a wider range of genres / artists played EXCLUSIVELY by the station. When these two things happen let me know, I'll give it a try after bailing over 16 years ago.

Boldo · Post by **Boldo** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 12:26 pm

The Edge is nothing more than a glorified Top 40 station. I agree with you Anonymous, they have to at least do something a little different. It didn't seem to matter who was the program director, it always sounded the same with the same songs played over and over again. Let's see what happens.

Rawbie · Post by **Rawbie** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:35 am

At least he could hire some better announcers. I don't want Allan Cross to hire announcers from the past, since the edge caters to mostly 16-24 year olds, however what's the deal with some of these new crappy announcers? They either lose or get rid of Kim, Visjna, Maie, and Allan, and still, Martin Streak has a job. Ahhh... I get it, they don't like smart people!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 5:07 pm

To Alan Cross: We don't know what your mandate will be and no one is expecting drastic changes but certainly there are a few things that could be done to make the Edge better. One that stands out is expanding the genres played on 102.1. Not all bands have to sound like Creed, Our Lady Peace or Linkin' Park. There is a ton of stuff happening in the underground, in Europe, etc in "alternative" music that the Edge could break in this city. That sure would be nice.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 8:20 am

Absoultely. This station has gone from one horror show to the next since 1988. Do what the station used to do during the great Spirit Of Radio days and put in the extra effort to grab those imports covering numerous genres instead of simply relying on the domestic labels feeding you one sound-a-like band after the other.

Disco Stu · Post by **Disco Stu** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 2:14 pm

The Eagle has landed.

kev · Post by **kev** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 12:34 am

I find it very interesting that Alan Cross would make specific effort to notify the visitors of this website that he is taking on this position. What influence does a P.D. really have over what will be generically played on a radio station? Nobody could be better suited for taking on the role of programming a "New Music" station than Al if he really does have 'pull'. (gee, what will happen at Q-107?) From what I gather, New Rock radio is a cookie cutter format 'purchased' by the exec's. How much can he/they expand on this format? - without changing the format? Even back in the early 90's when they took on the "New Music" moniker, coming out of the FM-102 phase, they had a great variety of new and classic faves. I would LOVE to see that happen again 14 years later! Not that the station should should strive to appeal to the Spirit listeners, thats an entire format altogether(Marsden is doing QUITE fine), but a time to expand beyond the 4 member "rock" bands all sounding so similarlly the same(God we sound like our fathers reading this and previous threads), but to venture into everything else out there - and there is so MUCH! I try hard to follow the new music out there today, much very good and interesting, by way of community radio, The New Music on Much Music, music mags (CMJ New Music Monthly-cd included - GREAT) As with the Spirit days and the few minutes between Fm-102 and the edge days, I would love nothing more than to tune into a radio station that I couldn't wait to tune in to to hear what they would play next. That kind of radio doesn't exist anymore. It appealed to me as a young'en, it would appeal to me now. Maybe it might appeal to young'ens today? Al knows, we know. Can big corporate radio of today take the challenge? Al, turn me on to radio again, turn on a new generation of listeners to a NEW music radio station. Is there a NEW format to be purchased? Forgive me for sounding ignorant to the radio biz, because I am. As I said, I did find it interesting that you notified the visitors of this website. Is there opportunity for change? I would be excited to see a response!
Long time fan, Hamiltonian, sianara Y-108.

NoMoreHeroes · Post by **NoMoreHeroes** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:44 pm

Hey! Al Cross – Great!
All hail to the King, the King has returned…

I was thinking that maybe I could use this website as a forum for us listeners to make suggestions to Al on just where CFNY/102.1/The Edge lost some of that Spirit…

I am sure that others will have different points of view – feel free to make you own suggestions!

Lost LPs
Stereophonics - "Performance and Cocktails" was a fabulous anti-dote to Oasis overplay.

James - “Pleased To Meet You” is more fun than “Laid”.

Primal Scream - "EXTRMNTR" cuts the fingers off the pablum jock-rock that curently plagues the airwaves. CFNY dropped the ball on this band and I don’t know why.

Elvis Costello - To be honest, I didn’t even tune into the latest incarnation of “The Edge” to see if they were playing anything from “When I Was Cruel”.

Gomez - "In Our Own Gun" – three albums in and I don’t think that 102.1 has paid any attention to this band yet – this latest album is the one that should have been played

Missed Bands
Wilco - "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was completely missed… maybe my memory fails… but I can’t recall hearing anything from “Being There” or “Summerteeth” on 102.1 either… next I’ll form a government, pass a law and incarcerate all of the ex-CFNY DJs for crimes against music – wilful neglect of music past and reckless endangerment of the future of music …

Doves - These guys are great – 102.1 is one of the only stations in the world that is capable of bringing this type of music to an appreciative audience. In some years time I will write my own “History of Real Modern Rock” booklets with anecdotal trivia on bands such as this and everyone will herald me as a prophet and messiah…

Sigur Ros - ditto

Belle and Sebastian - 102.1 did so much to build the foundation of an audience for a band like this. And the audience is still present and looking for songs and sounds like this. I am surprised that commercial marketing would fail so badly, but at least it doesn't sufer overexposure. Does anybody out there want to hear anything more from "Beck" right now?

His Name Is Alive - ditto

Rufus Wainwright - I like Rufus. I think that he would have fit right into the old Spirit format.

Flaming Lips - “The Soft Bulletin” and “Yoshimi…” are fabulous. Strange that they received such positive press during and after the Rolling Stones-SARS benefit. “Yoshimi…” doesn’t even break the radar on Edge-102.1 top 102 of 2003.

There are plenty others. I think that there has never existed such a time where a greater disparity existed between what the music press was saying and what commercial radio stations saw fit to play. Just look at Exclaim or Now’s top lists of 2003 and the Edge’s listing. I favour Exclaim’s.

Other notable mentions:
Interpol, Ash, Idlewild, Weakerthans, Starsailor, Sarah Harmer, Lhasa, The Waifs, Ladytron, Cinerama, New Pornographers

I haven’t even heard:
The Dears, Broken Social Scene, The Constantines,

Alan, I am sure that readers of this site would be happy to help – let me know if you ever run short on ideas for picking music!

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 9:13 am

This list could go on forever. The station in its prime (1978-1987) had both an IMPORT Music Director and a Domestic Music Director who selected non-mainstream various genre acts for programming. The station was also unique in that it would play b-sides of the singles and tracks off the albums that were never released as singles. After 5 years (1988-1992) of who knows what you were going to hear next (Vanilla Ice, Metallica etc...) CFNY became obsessed with going after the Q 107 listener with guitar dominated drivel that still exists today. It's become obvious that the station doesn't seem to have any interest in exploring different sounds for programming relying instead on the tried and true. In other words what's popular. What a waste!

Fox M · Post by **Fox M** » Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:24 am

Here's a bold prediction.....Nothing will change! I can almost guarantee it! Everything is so carefully programmed these days. Sorry Alan, but this news does not excite me.

AntiMason · Post by **AntiMason** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 9:39 am

I agree with Fox.....Alan you are just another puppet in this carefully crafted and corporate world.

Weisenberg · Post by **Weisenberg** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:30 am

All The best Alan. You can't please everyone, but i have a feeling you'll appease some of the disenfranchised. They have some valid points and paying attention to some of them could positivelt impact radio in Toronto.

Just do everything you do with passion