STEREOSOUL, THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF MUSIC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Basic Principle of Music. That was the slogan of the Stereosoul radio station, which might seem exaggerated, but it wasn't.

 

 

I want to take advantage of the free time I have to dust off memories of those glorious days of Stereosoul. It wasn't a facile, complacent, payola-like, and sellout station. It didn't shove bubblegum music in your face that you chew for half an hour and then spit out. It didn't lend itself to payola. Stereosoul was an institution in Guadalajara, which, if I recall correctly, broadcast music of the highest quality for over 25 years.

 

 

The first time I tuned in, I was about 12 years old, a teenager searching for new horizons. The sounds I found caught my attention, and I tuned in to 89.9 FM while several songs played, making it impossible for me to move the dial. Finally, the announcers came on stage, and I discovered that the last song was called "Loser" by a certain Beck, previously unknown. I remember it perfectly because I was still obsessed with the Beatles at the time, and the similarity of the title to another song by the Liverpool band bothered me. But the truth is that, in terms of sound, it was nothing I'd ever heard before (and it's not that I had very little listening experience, but Beck hasn't sounded like anything else), and I didn't dislike it at all. I also remember it because the announcers, a man and a woman, commented that Stereosoul's was one of the richest audio libraries in the entire quadrant. At that moment, I said, "Oh, yeeeeees..." I don't remember if I changed it or not, but it didn't take long for me to go back and forth until the needle stopped moving.

 

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The hosts were always characterized by being fresh and spontaneous, but without falling into clowning or complacency. Most had considerable musical knowledge and delivered excellent preambles to the songs. I remember Claudia Angélica López, Sofía Solórzano, and Ricardo Mejía with special affection and respect. Of the others, unfortunately, their names have been erased, but there was never a single one that I found tiresome; just the opposite.

 

Certainly, there were other stations that offered rock, but they were very focused on current affairs. Music accounted for 3% of the airtime between commercials, long-winded jokes, and insipid monologues, not to mention that many hosts were incredibly tiresome (the laughter of the insufferable Charo Fernández, from SuperStereo, I believe, and the insufferable pedantry of Tavares still resonate in my ears). 89.9 didn't. It maintained a very solid foundation of classic rock but presented the best offerings and realities of current rock. Thus, they were the very first to program Beck, months before the song I heard became a global hit. And they did so discreetly, with good taste, with sobriety, but without becoming boring. Later, I realized that this boast of having the richest musical collection in the quadrant wasn't arrogance, but pride. And it's very different.

 

The programming was something that didn't exist, nor will it ever exist, on any other radio station in Guadalajara. A fusion, as I've already said, of the cream of classic rock from the 60s and 70s, along with current events and songs that were barely emerging from the womb on their way to stardom. And they definitely didn't play the same old, scratchy record over and over again, playing the same tired songs every day, like, "Eh, eh ... So you could easily listen to the Beatles' "Revolution," followed by Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Threes," followed by the unplugged version of "Hotel California," Pearl Jam's "Even Flow," then some Genesis, La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata's "Nasty Sex" by (I haven't heard it on any other station, gadame!!!), Guns' "Patience," Moodie Blues' "Nights in White Satin," Sound Garden's "Black Hole Sun," and not infrequently they would end the block with Metallica's "Enter the Sandman." Not to mention that they also included jazz, soul, blues, and other styles that are very difficult to find elsewhere.

  

That's where I discovered Pink Floyd and Cream. That's where I came across Genesis. With them, I realized that Radiohead wasn't just Creep, since they were the only ones I remember promoting The Bends at the time.

 

 

There was a show called Tour X (the x represents the year). We were in. For example, if it was 1996, it was called Tour '96) and they broadcast iconic concerts weekly, from the oldest to the most recent. There were also specials dedicated to bands or album releases. Thus, it was the only program that didn't sound fake during the presentation of the first Beatles Anthology, or a live Spiders concert.

 

Anyway... it was one of the few stations that truly respected and placed its place in the radio listener's lives. One of the few that didn't insult intelligence, and one of the few, if not the only one to date, that didn't serve as a backdrop for my daily activities, but instead commanded my full attention. A great teacher, without a doubt.

 

The causes of her death are still uncertain, like those of all music legends. The truth is that she never had a publicity machine to garner ratings, as this was never her goal. They say she didn't have many listeners and that she sold few radio shows. However, many of my friends and acquaintances didn't listen to anything else and it was undoubtedly a station that taught music, an intergenerational heritage that was priceless...

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On the last day, they aired a special featuring the best songs from their 25-year history. I was at the demonstration outside the station, protesting such an unjust and arbitrary decision while we listened through the loudspeakers to the final moments, the final songs, the final notes... The announcers wept on air, and it infected us all. They left us, as the last song, the first one ever broadcast on the station of the same name, fifteen years ago: Crunchy Granola Suite by Neil Diamond... Then the first chords of the national anthem played, and when it ended, there was only silence. It was all over.

 

The station became just another piece of garbage, with pop and regional music programming. They didn't realize they left us with a musical void; they took away a legacy, a master whose only flaw (or greatest virtue, I still don't know) was not playing anything in spanish. Many stations have come and gone. Factor 91, which attempted to fill the gap with a similar proposal, even with some of the announcers, also failed, despite the enormous amount of advertising and news coverage it provided.

 

 

Here's the link to YB with the edit of the last few minutes of this station's broadcast featuring the magical voice of Claudia Angélica, the one with the smile, although it cracks at times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtnLqgUwOkQ

 

 

I'm copying an excerpt from a post after the station's closure:

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The Farewell:

  

 

"At 9:28 p.m., a Department of Public Safety van appeared. Rumors had reached Stereo Soul early in the morning that a demonstration would be held at 10:00 p.m., so management decided to take precautions.

 

A few minutes after 10:00 p.m., a white compact car arrived with the first five people who would wait near the station for the finale. On air, Claudia Angélica began presenting the songs listeners had been requesting.

 

On "línea directa," at 10:35 p.m., a listener called in to thank Stereo Soul for "a 24-year concert." Claudia Angélica mentioned this on air, while station staff gathered in the booths to be present for the finale.

 

The minutes and songs passed, and The Mission UK, Phil Collins, The Wallflowers, Durán Durán, Lenny Kravitz, Corey Heart, and In front of Pablo Casals 567, cars of all kinds began to gather, their radios tuned to 89.9 and their flashing lights on. Two more patrol cars discreetly parked a few meters away.

 

 

 

The End

 

Several young people, gathered in a circle, lit candles. Some recalled the images broadcast on television when John Lennon or Kurt Cobain died; people holding candles sang their songs, just as the attendees of this peaceful demonstration sang Led Zeppelin's Rock 'n' Roll, which was linked to Elvis Presley's version of "Las Golondrinas."

 

With a faltering voice, the announcer began her farewell. "Say what you will, everything requires an end, and the greatest disappointment comes when, at the highest end, you see emptiness." She then thanked Miguel Angel Torres, in charge of technical controls, and the announcers who were not present, while the supportive staff stood in the booth watching, listening to the The end.

 

 

 

"We bid farewell to Stereo Soul, and we're going to do so with our heads held high and feeling your company, frankly and simply," he continued, on the verge of tears, "gentlemen, this is the end."

 

The last song was already prepared: "The End," by The Doors, which, when identified by the listeners who had already united as a single group, was greeted with jubilant shouts.

 

 

 

José Luis Montes appeared in the booth to dedicate his final words live: "Simply thank you all, after these four years (during which he worked on the project) of having shared Stereo Soul, the music, but above all, also, the coexistence with the people, the communication, that's not lost, that remains... thank you."

 

 

 

This is the End, my only friend, The End... (This is the end, my only friend, the end) said Jim Morrison, while the Souleans sang with him.

 

 

 

Don Salvador already had his candle in his hand and He sang, as did those who asked everyone to join together. More cars arrived, taxis, vans, and trucks, stopping and flashing their lights as well.

I'll never look into your eyes...again, Can you picture what will be? they sang in low tones, and the audience, hugging each other on the median strip in front of the radio station, waved their candles. The police just watched.

 

The End ended, (What a phrase!) and the first long applause was heard.

 

​A special farewell was prepared, set to Peter Gabriel's "Here Comes the Flood": "The inevitable moment has arrived. Life is a cycle, and today the cycle closes for Stereo Soul (…) We lack words to express this endless array of conflicting words that, even at the last minute, disturb our foundations, our sanity, so we will do it with a word that encapsulates the feelings of all of us who, for 24 years, were part of a project that made history for you and for you (…) We offer a simple, sincere, and powerful word: thank you. We share with you the sadness of saying goodbye to a project in which we grew and believed for 24 years, but at the same time we feel happy, proud to have belonged to a unique station, to a frequency that, over time, became bigger, more important, and more transcendent for Guadalajara radio. We leave with the certainty and satisfaction of having achieved things that many believed impossible, and without false modesty, we bid farewell like the greats, with "Heads held high and in the best moment..."

 

 

The hourly call sounded for the last time. The final hourly call came with the legendary farewell of Francisco Santana, culminating with Neil Diamond's Crunchy Granola Suite. The assembled Souleans gave their final applause as the National Anthem was played, which gave way to silence. Thus, Stereo Soul entered the book of good memories.

 

The station staff present looked at the listeners from the door, the listeners looked at them from the median. Most of them got into their cars and left a record of their feelings: five clear honks of the horn.

 

The Beginning of Magia Digital

 

Just under two hours after the end of Stereo Soul, just under two hours without broadcasting, were broken with a new call at 2:19 a.m.

 

The program opened with a medley of Juan Gabriel's hits, followed by Maná, then Luis Miguel. Completely different sounds. The value of silence was then understood.”

 

 

To this day, both on AM and FM, we Guadalajara residents remain orphaned, waiting for something to remind us of the best station Guadalajara has ever had.

 

What memories... A minute of silence for the greatness of Stereosoul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Bt Corvan

Nov/14//2007

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