No Longer ‘The Jewel’

Remember when I told you I had a new default radio station? “The Jewel” – 99.5 FM? The Hawaii radio station that played some very beautiful, really oldies music – easy listening and golden oldies rock and roll from the ‘40s through the early ‘70s?

Well, that didn’t last long. Soon after Christmas, right after they regaled me with Christmas music all the time, 24 hours a day, they changed their format.

KHUI 99.5 is now “Hawaii Christian Teach and Talk Radio,” simulcasting with KGU 760 AM, so it’s no longer “The Jewel” … not on the air, and certainly, not in my book.

Needless to say, I’ve changed my default back to 107.9 FM. It used to be Oldies 107.9, and they used to play music that I grew up with. I remember hearing pop music from the ‘40s on the radio when I was a kid in Hilo, I love ‘50s and ‘60s music, and could tolerate some of the later ‘70s music.

But y’know, “oldies” is a relative term. Music from the ‘80s is 30+ years old now, and music from the early ‘90s is 20 years or older. And 107.9 has “youthened-up” its music to include those.

Their format is no longer “gold,” it’s “kool gold.” Not exactly what I like, but until someone comes up with something better, it’s the best I can find in Hawaii.

Damn.