R.I.P. KZLA

I can't tell you how disconcerting it is to flip on the radio hoping to hear Big & Rich and hearing Beyonce instead. (They now must do a song together, just to make music fans go mad.)

L.A.'s esteemed country music station KZLA is no more as of last week; it was unceremoniously replaced with an urban dance music station. (I know you think urban = black, but it also means Gwen Stefani and JLo, so maybe I really mean hip hop-esque? Rap-friendly?) The afternoon DJ showed up for work and was told partway into his shift that he was going to be out of a job as of the end of it. What kind of nasty bullshit is that? Why does corporate radio suck so hard?

This means no more Peter Tilden, one of my favorite morning radio guys. He has a good sense of humor, an unmistakable Philadelphia accent, and the ability to be nice without being a sycophant. You might know him from his scenes (especially his hilarious deleted ones) in "The Aristocrats", where he's sitting outside a cafe with Jason Alexander.

L.A. is a huge country market, and now it has no country station. A city that ignores country music is a city dangerously out of touch with mainstream America. Yes, the country scene can be frighteningly small-minded and Jesus-centric, but it is also the voice of many of your countrymen. I liked to listen to KZLA to keep up with my fellow Americans, to feed my love-hate relationship with Toby Keith, to hear those amazing, big female voices, and to puzzle over the inexplicably catchy bizarre minor key harmonizing of marketing geniuses Big & Rich.

Without KZLA, how are we going to recognize the people and songs in car commercials? HOW?!

Somebody bring country back to L.A. terrestrial radio, quick!