RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#360: CHYM FM
In the beginning of my job at United Rentals, they had the radio set to local lite-rock station CHYM FM. It is a horrible station, unless you enjoy old Daughtry and Taylor Swift ballads coupled with the biggest hits by the dulcet Lady Gaga. Why, just the other day I was in my dentist’s office. They have CHYM on the radio, and I was treated to some “Bad Romance” by Miss Gaga. That’s dreadful enough, but the squeaky, bubbly on-air personalities are way too much for me to handle. Apparently this was also the case nine years ago when I started at United, according to this 2006 journal entry. We switched stations to Dave FM shortly thereafter. Thank fuck! CHYM TIME journal entry below.
Date: 2006/11/17 17:04
“96 minutes of continuous light rock…for your workday!”
That phrase, friends, is the sound of being welcomed into HELL!
Dear CHYM FM: This is something that I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time. Here it is. Sorry if I’m being rather harsh, but you had this coming.
#1. Nobody needs to hear three Kelly Clarkson songs in one day. Nor do we need three of Jann Arden, Chantal Kreviazuk, Celine Dion, or any other of these wonderful light-rock songstresses.
#2. Lionel Richie has a long, illustrious career. I’m pretty sure he has more than one song. Why then, do you insist on playing the same damn song of his every single day?
#3. Same goes with Elton John.
#4. Tara, from the morning George and Tara Show, is too fucking perky. She’s like a fucking toothpaste commercial! I don’t need that shit at 8:30 am before my coffee.
And finally #5. Why do you call your station “today’s light rock”? Are you not aware that Jann Arden hasn’t had a hit in over a decade?
Yours truly, Mike
mikeladano.com 
When I worked at the hospital in Barrie, in the kitchen, there were three radios in the place in different areas – the cooks’ area, the cold food area and the dishroom. The cooks and dishroom were totally into the RAWK – Rock95 all the way. But, the cold food area where salads and desserts are prepped and suppliments were poured, it was a constant lite rock struggle between staff and the stations they wanted to listen to. A battle between CHAYFM (now the Dock) and B101 – all lite hits, all the time. Yeah, and unfortunately, I had to work back there with they least seniority, so I just shut up and let the ladies fight over stations, as I did my work with my ipod :)
I did all jobs in that place, so when I was in the dishroom, I got to work with the boys rocking to AC/DC and whatever other awesome rock played on the radio.
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Don’t you wish you could somehow drop a bomb and destroy every lite-rock album in the world?
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No, not quite drop a bomb… I do have lite rock staples in my collection that I enjoy. Steely Dan is permanently implanted on my iPod, for example. Hall and Oates and Gino Vanelli are great, too.
But what can go is how radio repeats the same songs over and over. That is true of every station, though. I was even getting tired of rock stations replaying the same Bon Jovi, Hip, Queen and Ozzy over and over. I don’t think anyone would mind any radio station if they’d diversified away from the same old for a change. I know you have found it in DaveFM. I hardly listen to the radio any more to really let it bother me. And I don’t work at the RVH anymore either, so that diffuses that argument! :)
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On CHYM, where lite rock goes to die, they don’t play Steely Dan or Hall & Oates.
Repeat is annoying. I find its mostly CanCon artists that get repeated ad nauseum.
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And there you said a mouthful. CanCon.
Half hour of Canadian, half and hour of “the rest”. Don’t get me wrong. I loves the Canadian artists. Just, Chilliwack three times a day? C’mon now. She been gone so long…let’s leave her there.
Most of these stations are centralized conglomerates that all play the same music with a local DJ chiming in on local stuff. KissFM…I think Suds has a KissFM. The Dock, the Dude, the Donkey….lol…the Q franchises…you’ll hardly find an independent radio station that hasn’t been eaten up by something bigger.
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Gone gone gone she’s been gone so long…
I love my Canadian artists but everything has the right dosage. Chilliwack…they were never THAT great.
One day I’ll have my own station drawing from my own collection. LeBrain FM. No repeat ever, until we’ve gone through the whole damn collection.
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Girl in the add is trying too look way to happy…..faker!
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That’s what I say! That’s Tara, she’s way too chipper. I think she’s actually a robot.
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It’s been years since I have listened to the radio for more than a song. I’m glad my workplace doesn’t have any music playing at it. I couldn’t even imagine how long that would make the day. Radio used to be a place to discover new music. It’s like they’ve given up.
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I feel very lucky that we have a good rock station in town. They’re not afraid to play new bands (been really digging Royal Blood). And yesterday I got to hear Children of Bodom on the radio. I was so shocked I took a video of the radio playing it! Day before that, they played “Cowboys from Hell”. And this is our “on-hold” music when you phone in to the office! Children of Bodom baby.
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I agree with you about Lionel Richie. Why do they only play his one big hit?
However, you cannot diss Jann Arden. She is a Canadian icon. I saw her show once and she is one funny, talented lady. I love her, no matter what!
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I’ve seen her live too, with Ron Sexsmith opening. She was great. But it’s the same problem — they play the same damn song over and over, and not her best song either.
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That is true.
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Mike hates on the radio! I remember when I did that whole series of stations on the KMA, and you and your friend wondered why I bothered if I said it sucked. Well, stations like these are one reason I said what I did. Yes yes, you have a rock station you like, and you know a couple of people who work there, right on and good for you, you are an exception to the rule so revel in it. But radio, in general, isn’t worth the dynamite it would take to blow it up (and yes your friend took exception to that too – of course he would, it’s his bloody job). Ah well, we all have opinions.
My guess, r.e. songs played over and over, is that they pay for rights to play stuff, so they only pay for the songs they think (or maybe market research tells them) people want to hear. Then they hammer you with them.
Most people just don’t care what’s on the radio. It’s background noise for the workplace. I knew many people who swore they didn’t even hear it, and they were right beside a speaker. Stations like these are perfect for them. When they do notice it, they hear a song they know. But by and large, they tune it out. Zombie radio.
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CHYM is worthy of contempt. Not only do they play this shit music, they also broadcast Dr Oz, and John Tesh. They’re a Rogers affiliate and Dave is Corus, which at least has Kim Mitchell, Alan Cross and Jeff Woods. I’m so glad we don’t have CHYM on here. I prefer turning all music right off when it is CHYM. I prefer silence to Gaga.
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Gone gone home she’s been gone so long…
How did that terrible song become a hit? CanCon as well, I’ll reckon
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Haha, I don’t know this show but I think it’s a requirement for every region to have its own overly chipper co-host!
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Sure seems that way doesn’t it? Thankfully there are lots of other choices on the dial. Unless you’re stuck in an office with one centralized radio! In those cases, god help you!
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Mike I’m not sure if you have the best of Will Ferrell snl dvd (it’s a wonderful investment if you don’t already!) – there’s a brief skit on there with he & Cheri OTeri playing an overly enthusiastic morning show team – that’s the visual I had for your story today. Super-energetic in a skit is funny, every day in real life, perhaps less so!
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Ha ha, I know what you mean about radio stations, that’s why I rarely listen to commercial radio anymore. My beef is with rock compilation albums putting the same songs on them. On just about anyone, you are bound to get the following:
Black Sabbath- Paranoid
Boston- More Than A Feeling
Deep Purple- Smoke on the Water
Free- All Right Now
Rainbow- Since You’ve Been Gone
Heart- Alone
Blue Oyster Cult- Don’t Fear the Reaper.
Motorhead- Ace of Spades
I have no problem with any of these songs but I don’t want them on every album. A few years back, I did write a post about my own choices for a compilation album.
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