KCRW Goes Untitled

Bye-bye, "Metropolis"? See ya later, "Nocturna"? Adios, "The Open Road"?

Nah, Jason Bentley, Raul Campos, Gary Calamar and their KCRW colleagues aren't going anywhere. But from the looks of it, the titles of their shows are going away.

The new KCRW newsletter, just out for January 2008, does away with the titles for all of the public radio station's music shows -- save "Morning Becomes Eclectic," which is too big of a franchise to eliminate the name. But every other show, it appears, will now go by the DJ's name. So now, you won't be listening to "Metropolis" weeknights from 7:30 to 10, you'll be listening to "Jason Bentley."

Is this a permanent change? And if so, why? I've got an email in to KCRW, and will report back here when I hear.

UPDATE: Confirmed! In an email to Franklin Avenue, KCRW's Rachel Reynolds says I assumed correctly:

Hi Mike,

You sure have a good eye! :)

The reason we made the change is because the station wants to focus on the personalities behind the shows first and foremost. KCRW's music hosts have a special relationship with their listeners and that personal relationship is one of the main reasons people love KCRW so much.

Hope that helps...

Rachel

Betcha it will probably take a while for the hosts to get used to the change -- get ready to hear DJs begin to say the old show name, stop, stumble, and then say their name instead. (I say that from experience -- I only do my show once a week, but if I were told I couldn't say "Hawaiian Eye" anymore, I'm sure I'd slip and still say it at least once or twice!)