Either Curtis Media Group has something against music, or the company is determined to make the commercial airwaves around here even ghastlier than they were before. Whatever the reason, Curtis has deep-sixed my two favorite commercial radio stations recently.

First it was country oldies station WQDR, 570-AM, which last month dropped its "Country Legends" format for a standup-comedy format called "Funny 570" that is quite frankly funny in name only. And now, the axe has fallen on WKIX, which used to broadcast pop oldies at 850-AM.

No more. Tune in 850-AM now, and it's simulcasting the talk radio format of another Curtis station, WPTF 680-AM. My understanding is that 850-AM will still broadcast music on the weekends. But the other five days, it's gonna be all yammering all the time.

Fortunately, the Triangle has ample college-radio options. But having a couple of quirky oldies options on the AM dial sure was a nice change-of-pace option. Guess it was fun while it lasted because where commercial radio is concerned, nothing decent seems to last.