The saxy smooth sounds that accompanied the Weather Channel’s Local On The 8s forecast breaks became so synonymous with the cable network’s identity, there were even Weather Channel-branded CD compilations. But it’s a new day, and the sultrier side of jazz is being abandoned by program directors en masse–and the Weather Channel, no stranger to which way the wind is blowing, has decided to follow suit. (“We wanted music that would get their attention–and this has,” an exec told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.) So what’s on the channel’s new, up-to-date playlist? Glad you asked! After the jump, the station’s 5 a.m.-8 p.m. music picks for June 2009.

The Smiths, “Oscillate Wildly”

DEVO, “Gut Feeling”

Ryan Farish, “Colortones”
The Allman Brothers Band, “Blue Sky”
The Rolling Stones, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”

The Clash, “Time is Tight”
Patrick Droney, “The Other Side”
David Helping, “Deppest Days”
Bernie Williams, “He Reigns”
Maceo Parker, “Advanced Funk”
Dominic Gaudious, “Dance Reilly”
Jesse Cook, “Rattle and Burn”
Gooding, “Distance to the Sun”
Present Tense, “Smiles”
B.B. King, “Why I Sing the Blues”

I never thought, ever, that I would see former Yankees great Bernie Williams and the Smiths on the same playlist–but that’s just an amuse for after 8 p.m., when things get really crazy and Phish gets added to the proceedings. Whoa Nelly!

Music [Weather Channel]
The Weather Channel Turns To Rock [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]