102.1 The Edge is reviving 'The Spirit of Radio' with Scot Turner

by Mark Teo

February 26, 2014

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Whether you’re a Dean Blundell acolyte or a ’90s enthusiast pining for the days of vintage CFNY, Torontonians, can agree on one thing: That 102.1 can’t seem to get anything right. Indeed, there’s been no shortage of kvetching around the radio station and its personalities—old-school music heads swore off the station after Alan Cross and his iconic show, The Ongoing History of New Music, departed. The hordes blasted ex-morning host Dean Blundell for his blunt, sophomoric sense of humour—especially when homophobic comments appeared on his show, which had some whispering about a mistrial—but when the disgraced shock jock was canned, the station’s ratings plummeted. And with the arrival of Indie 88, the Edge’s former audience, who claimed they were tired of hearing the same Nickelback song thousands of times daily, threatened to jump ship.

And many did.

Indeed, things are looking dire for The Edge. (Even if, somehow, we still all listen to the venerable station.) But today, amidst the plummeting ratings and the cries for CFNY of yore, the station announced a potential solution: They’re bringing back an old favourite. Namely, The Spirit of Radio.

According to a statement released by Corus—the Edge’s parent company—the show will be a “a tribute show to honour the music of a special era of CFNY,” and will now occupy a weekly six-hour block, running on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hosted by station regular Scot Turner, who worked for CFNY from 1982-1992 and now works for Corus in Kitchener, ON, The Spirit of Radio 2.0 debuts on March 9, 2014. The show, meanwhile, wasn’t created by Turner; that distinction goes to David Marsden.

It was “[d]riven by exploring new music and allowing freedom of expression, individuality and music choice by DJ’s [sic],” the Edge writes in the statement, noting that it championed bands such the Sex Pistols. “It was the birth of the Alternative Radio format.”

In other words, 102.1’s revival of The Spirit means one of two things: They’re either going back to the station’s roots, or they’re finally admitting that their demographic simply wants retro rock from the ’80s and ’90s. As The Grid notes, it’s likely that the show will lean heavily on moody Brit fare like The Smiths and Depeche Mode—i.e. the stuff of yore you’d hear at, say, Toronto’s Velvet Underground—which is no surprise, considering that, according to his bio, Turner hosted CFNY nights at places like Club Focus, Club Z, Empire Club, Twilight Zone, and the Domino Club.

So, what do you think? Is this a welcome return to the Edge’s roots? Is the station woefully stuck in the past? Is this a desperate move to attempt to compete with Indie 88? Or should they just bring back Dean Blundell?

Judge for yourself. Here’s a playlist of songs from the Spirit of Radio, compiled by Youtube user Johnmcboston.

Tags: Music, News, Dean Blundell, Spirit of Radio

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