94.5 THE BUZZ KTBZ-FM

I moved from Houston to Rhode Island and miss this station so much. Thank God for I Radio!

They have a very weird playlist that is so predictable becuase their over played sings and some weird Indi music

They call themselves «Houston’s New Rock Alternative,» but when I listen to them, I feel like I’m in a time warp. The playlist is heavy on songs that were huge in the 90’s and the few newer songs are either by artists from that dated era or are more hard rock than alternative rock. (Their morning show even sounds like your typical 90’s morning show.)
Look, Buzz, if you want to cater to old rock crowd, fine — just be honest with yourself. You are not «alternative,» you’re not «cool,» you’re just a rock station for those who have a very narrow music taste.
Why someone doesn’t start a true commercial alternative radio station in this town puzzles me. Oh wait, that’s right … all true music fans have already left traditional radio behind and have found greener pastures through satellite and internet radio. :-)

GEEK MOMENT: I hate to sound old but growing up in the Beaumont/​Port Arthur area in the late-90’s, I used to tune my radio & pick up The Buzz from their 107.5 frequency (I guess Lake Jackson’s towers have better range there) & I LOVED The Buzz because it was waaay more hip than KRBE & the radio stations in Beaumont (yeah I’m referring to you KIOC & KQXY). The Buzz turned me on to more new bands than I could ever imagine & programs like «Lunar Rotation» & «The Nightly News» helped shape my music preferences to this day…
Then in the year 2000, they changed to 94.5 & what the hell happened? I have since left the Houston/​Southeast-​Texas area but still travel there from time to time to visit friends/​family/​etc, etc. I no loner listen to any radio in Houston as I felt it’s all gone down the tube & the Buzz is no exception. When I have tuned in, I hear the same hard rock over & over. I am aware that KLOL changed formats & Clear Channel still wants to reach out to fans of hard rock/​nu-​metal but when I remember how the Buzz used to be, it saddens me that it’s come to this.
What happened, Buzz? More like Buzz-​kill.

I really owe 94.5 and other Houston FM stations a debt of gratitude. They made me finally realize that $ 10 a month was not really expensive if it meant enjoying listening to the radio in my car again — especially since «the buzz» still has songs in heavy rotation that were popular ten years ago! I think «the buzz kill» is probably a more appropriate name for this station.
Yes, I know this isn’t an iPod, but when you are playing poppy crap then you aren’t alternative.
I thank you and I’m sure Sirius radio would like to thank you as well.

Music is ok but not a fan of it like before. I wonder if they changed their format or something?

Easily one of the best Modern rock stations in the country. Plays everything from Coldplay and Seether to Metallica and Slipknot. The morning show couldnt be better. Been listening to the Rod RyanShow for years and never gets old. Some of these other reviewers need to acknowledge that this IS a radio station. Not an iPod. Give this station a listen no matter where you live on i heartradio i promise you won’t be dissapointed.

Nothing stinks more these days than the «alternative» punks too picky to like two bands from the same sonic mother ship.
Snobs have plastered their laughable displeasure on message boards around the globe. When it comes to modern rock outlets, the stinging criticisms tend to overlap. «Worst station ever. How and when did it become so crappy? They play the same crap on an endless loop.»
My message to those impossible-​to-​satisfy critics: a commercial radio frequency – an entity designed to make money, not hemorrhage it – isn’t your personal freaking iPod.
Get over it.
I love KTBZ. That may put me in the minority on this site and others. Reviewers should understand that the average listener tunes in for 5 – 10 minutes and does not participate enough to publish scathing or glowing critiques.
I am one of the few music aficionados I know with true diverse taste. I don’t mind R.E.M., The Clash or The Smiths, but I need my Metallica. I want the new Silversun Pickups jam and a spoonful of the latest «indie» craze, but I also demand loud rock that crunches.
Anyone searching for pure active rock, pure classic alternative, pure 90s rock or a station that resembles Sirius/XM’s Alt Nation may flock elsewhere.
If you can live with an interesting blend of those sub genres, The Buzz ranks as one of the best frequencies in the country.
When it comes to The Smiths, Don Jantzen only plays «How Soon is Now» every once in a while on the 4 0′ clock flashback. The KTBZ playlist, then, will not give any hipsters elongated orgasms.
Yet, it works as a rare hybrid.
The Mandatory Metallica segment blows its competitors around the U.S. to bits. Sorry, folks, but sometimes I need to rock out to Limp Bizkit’s «Break Stuff.» I have never purchased an Ed Hardy shirt, either.
Grown men with developed taste do like hard rock. The Buzz also plays enough new stuff to satisfy my hungry radar – Airborne Toxic Event, for example.
I also love the recent infusion of cuts the station used to play or never did – Gnarls Barkley, Cypress Hill, House of Pain, more Rage Against the Machine, Johnny Cash’s cover of «Hurt,» Gin Blossoms, etc.
I tried Satellite Radio for a few weeks and found that my preferred stations played the same number of unsatisfactory tunes as the terrestrial counterparts.
A station that catered 100 percent to me would not make a dime. That applies to the rest of you, too.
The Buzz indeed rocks because it fills the middle ground void as well as anyone could expect. It gets five stars from me for that alone.
Listeners determined to skip the active-​leaning songs should sample KHJK, 1037 FM. If not for the dreadful signal in some areas, it would provide significant competition.

My clock radio has 94.5 for the alarm because Rod Ryan makes me storm over to shut him up immediately and I can get to work on time.

I have grown up in Houston and I remember this radio station when it used to be 107.5 the buzz. Eventually it switched with the oldies station and became 94.5 the buzz. This was my go to station the whole time while I was in high school and I remember it being good. Then I left to San Diego, CA and experienced a better quality of public of radio. Since then I have come back and Houston by far has the crappiest radio stations ever. I am not saying I am a globe trotter or anything, but I have been to a few places in the states and you know your city has bad radio when the only tolerable radio stations are the classic rock stations.
To sum up 94.5 the buzz, they play the same music over and over and it is always redneck rock. 94.5 is really the only station in the city of Houston that is the closest thing a kid who likes new rock can listen to and I feel pretty bad for them. Houston is pretty much dominated by hip-​hop and tejano music, and we need a better station to rock out to then the crap the buzz plays. My only solution if you like alt rock, metal, or punk and live in Houston is to quit listening to terrestrial radio and get Sirius. Make this Clear Channel radio station wake up and try to get back listeners because they are complete garbage.

My Pandora plays a better selection than this Clear Channel radio station. The only time I really listen to 94.5 The Buzz is in the Morning, and even then I’ll listen to the morning show when I forgot my MP3 player or don’t have any new music in my CD changer. The morning show is really the saving grace of this station.
94.5 is sub-​par radio. I agree with A.G. San Antonio rock stations are good, Dallas rock stations are good. I also will on occasions stream 98.9 The Rock in Kansas City because that is the station of my youth.
I’ll listen to 94.5 only because it’s better than some of the other CR@P Clear Channel has decided to screw up.
The only other good rock station is the 101.1 revival (another Clear Channel screw up) in 107.5 The Eagle… and it hardly compares.
«Screw the listeners, lets cater.» ~ a Clear Channel executive

So I’m not sure what buzz the other reviewers are listening to, but the 94.5 I listen to everyday is outstanding. The rod Ryan show is amazing, and they play lots of new stuff, some bands mentioned in earlier reviews such as muse silversun pickups and the such are played often

Sometimes, when I’m tired of everything on my iPod, have no new cd’s, know every talking point on 1560 the Game, Jim Rome, and the Herd, don’t want classical, and can’t find anything else on the radio… I will turn the dial to 94.5 the Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
It is hard to truly qualify the level of suck that is 94.5 the Buzz, so I am listening to the station while writing this review so the stench stays fresh in my mind. Whoever is the program director at this station you can rest assured that this guy is a complete a-​hole. Houston is one of the largest markets in the country, but this asshat is treating us all like mullet-​ed douche bags at a Nickelback concert. For a station that purports itself as Houston’s alt rock leader, the play list is populated almost entirely with butt rock shite.
Are we still in the late nineties or is it the ’10’s? Is there a shortage of brand spanking new rock acts putting out brand spanking new songs or must we be subjected to Metallica retreads, Creed, and the fucking Gin Blossoms? If the Buzz happens to play a song from say a band like the Killers, it was their hit, 5 singles ago. Here are some bands that get played on radio stations all across the country, but are somehow overlooked by the frauds at the Buzz: Silversun Picksups, MGMT, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab For Cutie, 30Seconds to Mars, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and Muse. What is completely strange is these bands are plastered all over the 94.5 the Buzz web page but somehow never make the playlist.
It is entities like 94.5 the Buzz that make people in other parts of the country think Houston is some kind of backwater hick town, instead of the 4^th largest metropolis in the land. 94.5 is responsible for lowering the standard of living for millions of Houstonites with its underwhelmingly mediocre song selection. Six-​pack Joe wants to hear something newer and more cutting edge than the pablum 94.5 Buzz is perpetrating. Shame on you 94.5; Taliban of radio stations: outdated and myopic! All of you should be deported to Guantanamo for immediate water boarding, thrown in a cell and subjected to your reprehensible play lists, blasted at insanely loud decibel levels.

The buzz actually provides a good mix of new and old rock/​alternative music. They have been around for a good amount of time now and stay pretty consistant with what they are willing to play. Now it seems like TOP 40 is the only type of music around these days when you walk into stores and in clubs it’s nice to be able to tune into something different once in awhile.