# The STUPIDEST thing about JACK-FM. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587 "2005-06-09T13:44:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/21 "2005-06-10T04:24:48Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > As far as I know, they aren’t doing this. > > Furthermore, the amount you are making a fool out of yourself, especially when you consider your infinitessimal chances of actually winning that $1000, especially $1000 Canadian is totally not worth it. > > Stop now while you still have acquiantances that don’t think you’re a total dweeb. Ah, way too late for that. **Ginger** , that never occurred to me. I don’t have caller id, but I can get it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/22 "2005-06-10T04:49:33Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do the Jack FM stations in your necks of the woods not do the incredibly annoying “Answer your phone by saying “I Listen to Jack” and win money” contests? Could you add a little variety and still meet the requirements of the contest? Something like: “I listen to Jack farting in the pool.” “I listen to Jack having loud sex in the apartment next door.” “I listen to Jack offering candy to 6-year-olds.” If the radio station does call, you’ve got them on a technicality. And at worst, some phone solicitor will have a good story to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/23 "2005-06-10T05:09:34Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Furthermore, the amount you are making a fool out of yourself, especially when you consider your infinitessimal chances of actually winning that $1000, especially $1000 Canadian is totally not worth it. Meh. Like you’d say no to $800. (Besides, I believe the exchange is just a few cents short of purchasing parity.) The morning guys on Calgary’s Jack station are decently entertaining – they hired a sports writer who’s reasonably intelligent and when the rock station’s zaaaa-hany morning show is being aggressively annoying there’s something to switch over to, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/24 "2005-06-10T08:27:21Z")
> [@Faruiza](#): > > See, I have no particular issue with the Robo-DJ. It happens. It just so happened, though, to replace an icon in radio, Uncle Joe Benson who was on Arrow 93 (classic rock) for a long time, and I thought he was great. But I digress. This is not what I’m ripping pissed about. I like Jack. I reaaaaally like the music. > [/SIZE] 😃 Uncle Joe is back where he “belongs” (in my mind): 95.5 KLOS. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/25 "2005-06-10T10:19:53Z")
Just coming in to say that I had no idea that there were JACK FM’s all over the place! And a little ignorance is fought. I personally love JACK - it’s the best thing for work, since they play everything. As far as the phone contest goes, they called my aunt. She said, “I’m married to Jack, does that count?” It didn’t. You can set your answering machine to say “I listen to Jack”, and that counts as well! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/26 "2005-06-10T11:34:30Z")
> [@Faruiza](#): > > Ok, so I’m going to really try to express my extreme displeasure with Jack over ONE TINY LITTLE THING without actually breaking the rules of the forum…My want of swearing when I’m angry is why I mostly hang out in the pit, but I don’t want to go over there for this ONE TINY LITTLE THING. > > See, I have no particular issue with the Robo-DJ. It happens. It just so happened, though, to replace an icon in radio, Uncle Joe Benson who was on Arrow 93 (classic rock) for a long time, and I thought he was great. But I digress. This is not what I’m ripping pissed about. I like Jack. I reaaaaally like the music. > So sue me. > > What pisses me off are commercials. I get that radio is business, but they’ve just cut their overhead substantially, and now they’re playing more commercials than Arrow 93 even dreamed of. I HATE this shi…stuff. 20 minutes of music to 5 or 6 for commercials. Not to mention that their audience has been boosted sicne the format change. I have a huge problem with the greed involved in this, not to mention having to listen to the same three fu…darn commercials over and over every 20 minutes. They can take their commercials and their greed and shove it right up…a…very…large, um…tree. > > I feel a little better. But I’ll bet I’d feel A LOT better if I actually did some swearing right now. I think I’ll go outside. 😃 You know they made a new rule in the Pit. A thread doesn’t get pit-worthy just because there’s swearing in it. My corollary to this: we’re all free to swear more in the other fora. See, this wasn’t an all out pitting of JACK, just that stupid fuckin’ shit they do to pretend they have their finger on the local pulse. Totally fuckin’ moronic. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/27 "2005-06-10T12:47:22Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > See, this wasn’t an all out pitting of JACK, just that stupid fuckin’ shit they do to pretend they have their finger on the local pulse. Totally fuckin’ moronic. Let’s not forget the “actual people” who call in to say things like “Every since Jack came to town, I’m doing the funky chicken in my car!” and other generic-city-type horsecrap. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Freakazoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mr\_Freakazoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Freakazoid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/28 "2005-06-10T15:18:22Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > For example, a few things I’ve heard on Baltimore’s new Jack-FM… Have you heard **Hungry Heart** in the car yet? Oh, that would be perfect… “_Got a wife and kids **and** Baltimore JACK. I went out for a ride and I never went back_…” Hehe ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/29 "2005-06-10T17:02:06Z")
> [@rinni](#): > > Just coming in to say that I had no idea that there were JACK FM’s all over the place! And a little ignorance is fought. > > I personally love JACK - it’s the best thing for work, since they play everything. > > As far as the phone contest goes, they called my aunt. She said, “I’m married to Jack, does that count?” It didn’t. You can set your answering machine to say “I listen to Jack”, and that counts as well! I liked JACK when they started up, but now they’re playing the same shit over and over now, too. If I hear Elton John’s “Rocket Man” one more time… I have been listening to rock on the radio since I was a kid, with my little transistor in bed with me after the lights were turned out. I KNOW that there are about a million songs that radio stations _could_ be playing. And here’s a new flash, radio people - music fans listen to more than one genre of music. But they just don’t care. It just saddens me so much that they’re only willing to play the tiniest little fraction of what’s out there. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/30 "2005-06-10T17:03:20Z")
Dang it, forgot so say that I love your idea, **Robot Arm**. Maybe “I listen to Jack, in spite of their asinine, irritating radio contest.” ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/31 "2005-06-10T18:05:42Z")
I guess I don’t completely get the uproar of the non-local status of these stations. Let’s see… uniform programming… sent nationwide… bland and corporate… Hmmm, sounds like network TV. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/32 "2005-06-10T18:23:01Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I liked JACK when they started up, but now they’re playing the same shit over and over now, too. If I hear Elton John’s “Rocket Man” one more time… Our JACK is still pretty new, so they play a pretty good variety of songs. For now. > [@](#): > > I have been listening to rock on the radio since I was a kid, with my little transistor in bed with me after the lights were turned out. I KNOW that there are about a million songs that radio stations _could_ be playing. And here’s a new flash, radio people - music fans listen to more than one genre of music. But they just don’t care. It just saddens me so much that they’re only willing to play the tiniest little fraction of what’s out there. Yeah, me, too. I had a little red transistor radio that I’d listen to when I was supposed to be sleeping. I also can’t imagine how some stations can justify having limited playlists when there’s millions of songs in each genre out there that they could play. I have 4 stations on my car radio that I cycle through on a regular basis. One is JACK, one is 70s & 80s rock, one is country and one is ‘Lite.’ When one starts in on a round of commercials or they play something I don’t care for, I just switch stations. There are a couple others I hit every now and then, just to see what’s on. One does an “80s Flashback Weekend” that I love. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/33 "2005-06-10T18:51:13Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > You know they made a new rule in the Pit. > > A thread doesn’t get pit-worthy just because there’s swearing in it. > > My corollary to this: we’re all free to swear more in the other fora. > > See, this wasn’t an all out pitting of JACK, just that stupid fuckin’ shit they do to pretend they have their finger on the local pulse. Totally fuckin’ moronic. Well, Fuckin’-A! I missed that completely! Feels good to swear in other fora. Still feels like I’m doing something naughty 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/34 "2005-06-10T19:42:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > With all the CDs I have, I may not be able to pay for satellite radio either. But regular radio sucks. I’m not impressed by the fact that JACK-FM’s playlist is roughly five times larger than your average station. That just means it’ll take a little longer to get tired of it. Ditto, ditto, ditto, a nitpick, and more ditto! Here’s the nitpick: many Top-40-heavy stations have playlists pared down to 60 or even 40 songs, and the brand-new “Jack” station in NYC promises a playlist of 1200 past & present hits (no obscure “deep cuts” for Jack!). Which is still only about 100 albums’ worth of music. Big whup. If they don’t freshen that playlist weekly, it could get real old real fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Freakazoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mr\_Freakazoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Freakazoid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587/35 "2005-06-10T20:58:51Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > Here’s the nitpick: many Top-40-heavy stations have playlists pared down to 60 or even 40 songs, and the brand-new “Jack” station in NYC promises a playlist of 1200 past & present hits (no obscure “deep cuts” for Jack!). Which is still only about 100 albums’ worth of music. Big whup. If they don’t freshen that playlist weekly, it could get real old real fast. Well it’s better than the previous format, that’s for sure. And I don’t hear that many repeat songs. Now granted, I don’t listen to radio all day, only during my commutes, but still. On other stations, I hear repeats all the time. Yesterday I heard **Jeff Ferguson** - _Thunder Island_, **Guns-n-Roses** - _Patience_, and **Gary Wright** - _Love Is Alive_, back-to-back-to-back! That’s cool as hell, if you ask me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stupidest-thing-about-jack-fm/307587.md?page=1)