January 12, 2005
WHFS, R.I.P.
Just under two hours ago, venerable alternative radio flagship station WHFS, 99.1 on your FM dial, was taken off the air and replaced by "El Sol" which will play "a mixture of Salsa, Merengue and Bachata, targeting adults 25-54." Ack! The move took many area radio listeners by surprise. Billboard Radio Monitor called the format change "a shocking move."
"We have made clear our desire to expand into this burgeoning market and believe this move marks an important step in our commitment to Spanish radio," Infinity president/CEO Joel Hollander said in statement. "There exists a tremendous opportunity for Infinity to launch a Spanish-language format in Washington, D.C. where almost 10% of the population is not being directly served. El Zol will be the most powerful Spanish radio station in the area and will provide listeners with the music, entertainment and information relevant to the many segments of the Latino culture."
Color DCist shocked. Yes, the station played too much Good Charlotte (even playing an influential role in breaking the band nationally), other mall-ternative punk bands and mid 90's grunge, but they peppered that with the occasional tune by Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and their indie rock peers. Savvy DCist readers have pointed out We have, at this moment, no alternative station, no college rock station, no AAA station, no indie station, nothing, nada. True indeed, but we'll always have our iPods.
Worst of all? No more HFStival!
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Good riddance. I was too young and foolish to appreciate it at the time, but back in the mid-90s HFS actually did interesting themed shows like Flashback Cafe and the Local Music Spotlight. I fondly recall hearing the Daily Feed, those weird-ass ads for Bardo and DJs who talked about things besides how drunk they got in Adams Morgan last night.
It's true that they began to redeem themselves *slightly* in past years with better music and HFStival lineups. But it's still a station that deserves a few long years in a merenguified hell.
So you don't think the ZOLstival will be as good? Racist.
:)
Be sure to check out the internet archive of whfs.com, for a trip down memory lane.
Now's the time to check out www.kexp.org, a fan-damn-tastic Seattle station that you can listen to online. John in the Morning's show (9 AM - noon our time) is the best show out there, period.
This is quite disappointing... WHFS had a lot of history in the DC/B-more area.
No college radio? Try WMUC-FM (88.1) in College Park, Md. Far more alternative than HFS was, and you can listen online, too.
I know this is DCist but those of you in the MD 'burbs might be able to catch 103.1 WRNR a pretty good alternative station broadcasting from Annapolis. Maybe even DC folks if they point their antenna just so can catch it. And RNR has alot of 'HFS staffers floating around.
Tom
It is sad, I remember when HFS was really great, when it played all kinds of local underground stuff, not even just in a special hour at night. Then it went bad.
All in all, I second the "good riddance." Now maybe there'll be enough of a makret gap that something semi-decent may come in. /fantasy
They played Jeff Buckley's 'Last Goodbye' as the final track before the switchover, so in my eyes they redeemed themselves before sigining off. It was a great station in the late 80s/early 90s. I'll miss the 90s Nooner, even if they did play the same songs every week.
Good riddance! Sorry but this station was past it's prime years ago...clear channel/infinity/others have taken the fun out of radio and this is what comes of it...a fucking salsa station. As the corps have taken over, the original programming and "indie (shudder...I HATE USING THIS WORD to describe a genre of music) acts" that are not represented by a major label are never heard on the airwaves in this area.
5 or 10 years ago...HFStival was great...a solid mix of has beens, there nows, up and comers and never heard ofs would grace the three stages (hell I have seen acts that would now sell out most mid sized venues in an hour at the sidestages!). Then came the fucking suits...out went the original programming (remember the acoustic brunch on Sunday? Or the Planet of the Apes sing along? Or what is the theme for these three songs?) and the DJs (Damien, Gina Crash and others who are too numerous to name).
Enjoy listening to the drivel that comprises DC101 and WJFK...I switched to XM this summer and I am glad!
End of my rant...sorry for the trip down memory lane.
BSmith - My Three Songs! Under the covers! Acoustic Brunch!
You're so right, that sation died long ago.
"a fucking salsa station"? woah, turn down your cultural intolerance a notch or two.
The good thing is that in balto we have WTMD (89.7, http://wtmd.org), which is WAY better than hfs. At least when they aren't broadcasting Towson basketball.
WTMD --- That's the old 'CVT....member the good 'ole days when it hard to choose between CVT and HFS!
Remember when the hfstival had bands like pavement, shudder to think, afghan whigs, jawbox, the ramones for chrissakes. I don't think anyone's going to miss hfs. Not anyone older than 15, anyway. It was so quirky in the early 90's - it's truly stunning that the Weasel survived on the air as long as he did - can you imagine a major market station booking him today?
And i never could figure out what in god's name "the daily feed" was supposed to be.
How sad and pathetic. How am I going to listen Loveline and crappy nu-metal? *sniff*
Yet another reason to get XM radio.
radio is dying anyway, good riddance.
I love the Sport Junkies though; I thought they were really funny and way better than Elliot in the Morning on DC 101. I am going to miss listening to my Junkies in the morning.
Those of you in the southern burbs may be able to pull in 99.3 http://www.wysk.com/ from Fredericksburg. It's about as alternative as HLS was.
You killed my son. YOU KLINGON BASTARD!!!!
HFS was good for like, one year when I was in college (94) and then promptly sucked. I guess if you consider mainstream music interesting, it did play "alternative" mainstream music- though last time I even turned it on it bombarded me with either bad grunge circa 1992, or mall punk.
damn... i'm just coming back to the area.
HFS used to be really cool growing up.
no more, though.
sad to see it go either way.
sunday reggae splashdown was awesome.
You johnny-come-lately DCers don't understand, because WHFS has been moving toward the mainstream and away from its roots as a true alternative to top 40 radio for years now (surely due to the influence of their benevolent owner). And you smarmy assholes saying "good riddance" are the same guys who complain about bands selling out. It's not about what they played in the last 2 years, it's about the 20 years when WHFS was the only radio station playing anything approaching alternative rock whose signal was strong enough to actually hear in DC (sorry, DC101, but you've never been more than MTV radio).
Nobody's pointing out the obvious here: they wouldn't change formats if the new format weren't more profitable. Infinity doesn't care about cultural or historical value (as much value as one can ascribe to a radio station, that is)--they care about making money. Whatever bullshit their spokesmen spout, this came down to dollars and cents, and they screwed their long-time patrons by not even having the decency to announce the change in advance.
I swear when I was in College HFS played the hell out of some Creed.
Then I came back a few years later and I heard them making fun of all the stations playing them.
God, why can't we have something like indie103 here!?
http://indie1031.fm/main.html
And you smarmy assholes saying "good riddance" are the same guys who complain about bands selling out
Fine, let me put it another way: I'm glad they finally pulled the feeding tube. HFS deserved to die with dignity years ago. At least it won't suffer any longer -- and neither will we.
Does anyone know how long in advance HFS knew they were going off-air? I ask because it was literally just yesterday that I was emailing with a staffmember about a summer internship. Why purposefully waste my time? What BS.
I just thought I'd toss in anoyhrt vote of support behind going to DC-based XM as an alternative. There are a slew of XM stations to scratch the itch left from HFS getting abruptly yanked off the dial.
XM Options: If you really like what HFS was like in it's last couple of years, there's Mix. And then for it's better years, there's XMU, Lucy, Ethel, Fred, Fungus, and Unsigned.
Truth be told, WHFS' glory days were the '70s and '80s. It had become less interesting in recent years, and effectively died when Weasel left.
As a living memorial to WHFS, I propose that at RFK Stadium -- site of those HFStivals -- the Nationals play the great "Cynical Girl" by Marshall Crenshaw (whose D.C.-area popularity is largely been due to HFS) at the seventh-inning stretch, after "Take Me Out To The Ballgame."
I'm looking forward to my Sirius radio later this year.
Ok, HFS was great and all, but im really pissed off cause this means I cant listen to loveline anymore! Ive been listening to that show since i was in the 4th grade!! And now some assholes decide to turn it into a fucking ranchero music station!? What the fuck! This isnt just about loveline though. Its about not being able to listen to anything but bullshit mainstream music, without having to shell out 40 bucks a month for sattelite radio. Well I say that if you really care about your music, make your voices heard! Call Infinity!
I did not live in Washington when it started, but I do go back to when WHFS was high atop Triangle Towers at 102.3, I can remember: what Damien sounded like before his accident, Murray the K's being a DJ, the Persuasions' doing a logo for the station. By the time I had gotten here, Spiritus Cheese had long since left even WHMC but did make occasional appearances on WGTB. You could listen to alternative even on AM: WAYE, 860, Baltimore, except they went off at sundown for a Montreal station, but then you could hear the Expos in French.
Anyhow, they were a mere shadow of what they used to be, but I am sorry to see them go. DC-101 is acceptable and WIYY, when you can get it, is allright, too, but I will miss WHFS. Maybe the new format will call for a change in call letters and the Einsteins will get them back again for the Annapolis station. Too bad you can't hear that one, either.
Anyhow, I am showing my age. Our 23 year old secretary is an 'HFS-er and used to like to laugh at my bell-bottoms and my listening to WHFS, but I go way back with both. I will miss it and hope to see it again.
HFS was the best now it's gone and we are left with some spanish shit! Fuck infinity, and fuck all of you who dissed hfs , what do we have to listen to now DC 101, they suck ass just like all of you!
Talk about a shock. I tuned in at 10pm last Wednesday for my usual dose of Loveline. I thought I had stumbled onto an extended version of Ace's Mexican Ranchero Countdown, but it turns out that's the new format for WHFS!! How ironic that Adam's least favorite music has replaced one of Loveline's affiliates. Guess I have no choice but to stay up late and catch the webcast on 91x.com
I've kind of lost interest in music on the radio lately, I think most of the stations that play alternative or rock have too small of a library, and tend to play the same songs OVER AND OVER, and I've just gotten kind of sick of them. Try listening to some of the political stuff out there, it's more interesting and it'll make you feel smarter.
latino music over WHFS? i don't care how bad the station had become ove rthe years you replaced it what garbage that most of the population really doesn't understand? You think u'll make big bucks by promoting to Latinos? I don't think most have time to listen to Salsa on the radio, they have their Cds for that. WHFS was first with MASH-Up radio the latest craze of mixing rap with rock, awesome! what yougonna do now Salsa with Biggie??!!!! are you insane? do youknow how much revenue came from HFStival. Do you know that was the concert of choice for most concert goers??? What are you gonna have now? Jenifer Lopez and Mark Anthony playing a 2-day show? Peoplwent to it because it was AWESOME, it had your electronic music if that was your pick, local bands, and big name bands! it was the place to be. I have no concerts to look forward to like I looked forward to the HFtival...
KLOL was taken from Houston 3 months ago and we have been in a fight every since this happened.
Our Fight paid off and we are getting a new Rock station next month. If anybody is interested in trying to bring this or a new station back contact me at brandon@rockaid.com .
We will setup a forum and information on how to get your cause known to other broadcasters who might be interested in making a station of similar format.
Brandon,
RockAid.com
Bringing Rock Back Nation Wide..
Thanks alot for taking off an entertaining group and replacing it with a group who can't even speak our LANGUAGE!!! This is another major slap in the face of Americans. This is America, not the country they left so they could be free. Nothing wrong with embracing their traditions BUT they could at least respect their new land AND SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE!!!!!!!!!!
Great station you can actually hear the songs I am so happy to have a radio stations for the latinos in the washington area. It has better reception than La mega. Your music is better you have a variety of music is great!
welcome. All my friends listen to your station.
Gracias. We love it!!
sincerely,
a Latin lady from Nicaragua!!
What a bummer. Im pissed, I really liked hfs been listening to them for at least 23 years now its beaner radio. what a crock of shit this is, no more HFSTIVAL, now a fuckin salsa shit sound, fuck it, I hope they choke on that salsa shit, FUCK!!!!!
Finally a real spanish station with power
I'm sorry mark about you KKK words about spanish
hey ! Thanx infinity.!
To err is human,
and to really foul things up you do in fact need a computer.
BUT to cause long term permanent damage
you need an executive in New York
in search of market share. ....
R.I.P. WHFS
Dear fellow 99.1 WHFS fans,
On Wednesday, January 12, 2005 the modern and progressive rock pioneer 99.1 WHFS stunned its loyal fans when at noon it played it's last song (Jeff Buckley's "Last Goodbye") and switched to spanish-language radio. With no thought or care to its listeners, Infinity Broadcasting (and its parent Viacom) has taken away one of the last great independent radio stations.
This site is so that WHFS will never be forgotten. You'll be able to share your thoughts, sign a petition and support the drive to not only revive the HFStival, but to put a new WHFS back on the air. A Benefit concert commemorating the loss of 99.1 WHFS will be held this summer, dates to be announced soon.
Please help make our voice heard and support this site. Together our voices will be heard and together we can make a difference. We are not the kids of Enrique Iglesias, we are the followers of Green Day, Good Charlotte, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Postal Service, Jeff Buckley, The Misfits, Echo and the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, the Lost Prophets and so many others.
Some say Good Charlotte might not seem progressive, but they are native to Washington DC and they got their first radio play on 99.1 WHFS, and for that they hold a special place.
While their music has been commercialized over the last 5 years, when they started out when we were in high school, it was such a joy to hang out with them and watch them play at the local clubs. Sitting there, we all knew they were going to go somewhere and WHFS gave them that podium to the national stage at their annual HFStival summer concert.
Since WHFS's buyout in the early nineties by Infinity, they did lose some outright control to the playlists, but the DJ's still put new music that no one anywhere was playing or even heard of. For that they deserve our praise.
They fought even when the battle had been lost. And it is in battle that we learn our greatest strengths.
I need your support and patronage for this site and this movement to be effective. Spread the word to all of your friends, send it out via E-mail, via Chat of via Blog. Will you join me?
Sincerely,
Justin Schuck
--
info@bringbackwhfs.com
www.BringBackWHFS.com
Well, I was going to say something nostalgic about the Good Old Days of HFS (the late '70s and the '80s) and about how the corporate world will be our undoing. But I'm really amazed at the racist crap some people have written. America's a melting pot. Maybe Mary, who suggested that "they" should "respect their new land AND SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE!!!," should visit www.native-languages.org so she can follow her own advice. What an idiot!
Anyway, I miss the old HFS and WGTB, too. Thank goodness for internet radio.
Bart N.
This sucks!!!Why would they take off such a popular radio station and replace it with a station I can't even understand!!!This is soooo bogus!!!Again, this sucks!!!
This is just a sign how this area is getting worse. Traffic is getting worse, housing more expensive, democrats, and now spanish stations replacing rock. I'm moving.....
FINALLY EL ZOL IS HERE, and fuck you to all you small towned gringos, yep ur right, WE R TAKING OVER!
Anybody know who posted the WHFS R.I.P iMix on the iTunes music store? They compiled some good songs that reminded them of HFS. The MC 900 Ft. Jesus one really took me back. They left out some, though, like "Pepper" by Butthole Surfers, "Guilty" by Gravity Kills, and anything from "Pretty Hate Machine."
The Rolling Stones postpone a show in the US to allow singer Sir Mick Jagger time to rest his voice...