Double J and triple J sound exactly the same to me.
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and thatās the way I like it. Double J is my go-to station to get away from the endless news and traffic reports of other stations.
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I do think JJJ can use with a bit of an overhaul. Much of the on-air bumpers and audio branding today remain identical to what could be heard when I started listening over a decade ago.
And tbh, many of the hosts are let down by just letting things stay the same for much the past two decades, when the rest of the industry has really embraced better production. Radio 1 for instance takes samples of backing tracks from popular songs and will play that as a background track, after that song has finished, while the presenter is talking. It just elevates the sound and keeps listeners engaged. The hosts donāt sound frantic to fill airtime. I was listening the other day to JJJ and the essence of my thinking was, the hosts are fine - itās letting them talk for 2 minutes with no extra energy injected from the surrounding production that really betrays them. Give them something in the background so they can take a second to pause, breathe and take their time engaging with the audience.
The actual JJJ core product is fine - it just needs elevation. On a list of changes, I think these need to be prioritised:
- New on-air IDs, sweepers, promos. Move towards a unified sound but make it more lively than what weāve heard for the past 15 years
- Aforementioned backing tracks from popular songs for presenters, to give shows a bit more energy and help hosts
- Refreshed news theme - keep Majestic Fanfare but give it something different
- Background theme for news bulletins could be a consideration, like what Radio 1 does
Just those four things would inject a lot more life into the station IMO. Notice how it doesnāt require any changes to hosts or even the song selection - really all thatās needed is embracing JJJās sound and upgrading it to 2024 production values.
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Is Triple J still using the distorted Majestic Fanfare that theyāve had for the last 30 years??
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Yes, it has not changed.
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Iām listening to old Rage playlists via the āRage Againā site today which got me thinking: why canāt Double J take on a more āRageā like format? I get the impression 2JJJ-FM in Sydney was like this in the 80s, playing mostly alternative music but not shunning the mainstream entirely.
I would love to hear some 2JJJ airchecks from the 80s; @Frankster doesnāt seem to have much available in his locker. Iāve heard the launch of 2JJJ-FM and of course the 2JJ launch but not much more.
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I could be wrong but I thought the original 2JJ was a bit alternative and a bit mainstream.
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Yes, itās likely 2JJ (1540/1539) was indeed a bit mainstream, but Iām only going off what others have told me. Unfortunately I was born too late.
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I donāt remember a lot about the original Sydney only JJ / JJJ either. I was more 2SM, 2DAY or 2MMM back then.
Though I remember hearing Rusty Nails on breakfast. Which I suppose is better than having Rusty Nails for breakfast!
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Does anyone know if triple jās new 3:30-7pm Drive show is fully live? Or does it have some ābest ofā aspect
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Happy Hottest 100 day
Found this interesting article on the history and evolution of the Hottest 100 ahead of todays countdown
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Triple Jās Hottest 100 of 2023 kicks off 12:00pm AEDT today.
Total votes submitted decreased this year with 2,355,870 voted, compared to 2,436,565 last year.
We hope you enjoy the countdown from your home, listening in your car or, maybe at a listening party. Itās gonna be a Hottest countdown.
FYI: The Hottest 200-101 is tomorrow 10am local time.
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Curious to know how QLD, SA and WA transition from the usual delayed AEDT programming to live Hottest 100.
eg. Do they just ācrashā'into it mid song in those states, or is it timed in correctly? (hope that makes sense)
IIRC last year, yes this is what happened, timed correctly.
I havenāt listened to it early enough today as we also have the warm up live.
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Disappointing that thereās no RDS song tally for the countdown this year, like there was last year.
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Yes, Sydney was only displaying station name for me. But then itās RDS level is quite low, meaning it takes a few minutes to appear, instead of just 1 or 2 seconds. So i may not have been seeing everything as i should.
Considering the music subscription apps can schedule your own 100 or choose from many more, this is symptomatic of the decline of current music radio.
Ben Latimer needs the confidence to present a bold vision to the ABC board for a monumental change to the national youth broadcaster.
The station can continue to support emerging Australian music yet needs to sharpen its relevance with its intended audience by providing compelling content from its staff, between the music. More talk content.
Not all of it will work and will need a long term commitment beyond the nervous Nellie mindset of most decision makers in 2024, yet major change to attract, grow and retain audience is vital.
Weāve seen it with the Ten Network, they didnāt evolve with the audience evolution and are now the Motorola of the TV sector. The ABCās board needs to be very mindful of not letting Triple J reach a stage where the concept is beyond salvaging and their influence of the Australian youth is whittled to close to zero.
Will the ABC consider such change? Unfortunately unlikely.
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Today is the only day of the year that I listen to Triple J for any real length of time.
I just love a good countdown, and there is a real sense of event about this one, with Hottest 100 parties everywhere and people ringing or messaging in from all over the globe.
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Iām going to be honest this year has been the worst hottest 100 by fareā¦ no live count down, no social media announcements? What were they thinking.
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