Interestingly, "I Melt With You" did not even rank on KROQ's top 106 in 1983.
http://www.rocklists.com/kroq-1983.html
Thanks for that link. Lots of interesting info and charts from the 80's onward.
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KRTH ......and more
- Thread starter krth101
- Start date
Interestingly, "I Melt With You" did not even rank on KROQ's top 106 in 1983.
http://www.rocklists.com/kroq-1983.html
Thanks for that link. Lots of interesting info and charts from the 80's onward.
"The vast majority" seems to be inaccurate here. Ample research would seem to indicate the target audience wants to hear it, and hear it regularly/often. The reasons are irrelevant, though perhaps interesting as a study of human behavior.
there would be no business justification for deliberately minimizing what it is the audience wants to hear, since you need to sell said audience to the people who actually pay the bills.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
"I Melt With You" has been in a lot of commercials over the years. The two that come to mind are Hershey's chocolate and Taco Bell.
As for oldies76's discounting the song because it did not make the KROQ year-end chart, there are a couple of good reasons for that. (And bear in mind, I am something of an expert as to what constitutes a 1980s New Wave hit, since that is the music programmed on my consulted format The Eighties Channel.)
First, the song got prominence in the movie "Valley Girl", and even though that wasn't enough to get it listener votes for the year-end KROQ list (movie came out the same year) repeated plays of the movie on television made it more familiar to the audience -- plus all those commercials -- and it therefore eventually made it to both the Flashback 500 and the All-Time Request 500, both of which are more important, research-wise, than the year-end charts.
Second, the band stayed active past the 1980s, touring with other New Wave/Modern Rock acts like the Fixx, and so the song continued to be performed in concert. While concertgoers are, admittedly, a relatively small percentage of music fans, it kept the song more in the forefront than it would have been if Modern English had simply disbanded and never performed it again.
Third, when VH1 Classic came onto cable/satellite, it was entirely a video music channel (and, like every other music channel Viacom has ever started, eventually morphed into a channel of MTV "original programming" reruns ... but I digress) and about 25% of its day was 1980s videos. About 75% of the videos in those hours were 1980s New Wave, and "I Melt With You" usually played at least once every two or three days in those blocks.
Fourth (and this is the important part), "I Melt With You" has some very familiar song hooks in it. As David has explained, auditorium music testing consists of playing the recognizable hooks and the respondents rank it based on remembering the entire song from those hooks and how much they would want to hear the whole song on the radio on a regular basis. All of the exposure I listed above means that those familiar song hooks are embedded in people's minds, and that puts them in a good position to rate the song in testing. And, as David says, it must be testing well, or stations wouldn't still be playing it.
In fact, before the Sirius/XM merger, the latter twice did an all-time countdown on the "Fred" channel (classic New Wave/Alternative) and it ranked #21 among 2002 songs in the 2002 version and #108 out of 2044 songs in the 2003 version. You have to admit -- although I know you won't -- ranking in the top 5% both times, two decades after its original release, is the sign of a durable hit.
Explanation done.
As for oldies76's discounting the song because it did not make the KROQ year-end chart, there are a couple of good reasons for that. (And bear in mind, I am something of an expert as to what constitutes a 1980s New Wave hit, since that is the music programmed on my consulted format The Eighties Channel.)
First, the song got prominence in the movie "Valley Girl", and even though that wasn't enough to get it listener votes for the year-end KROQ list (movie came out the same year) repeated plays of the movie on television made it more familiar to the audience -- plus all those commercials -- and it therefore eventually made it to both the Flashback 500 and the All-Time Request 500, both of which are more important, research-wise, than the year-end charts.
Second, the band stayed active past the 1980s, touring with other New Wave/Modern Rock acts like the Fixx, and so the song continued to be performed in concert. While concertgoers are, admittedly, a relatively small percentage of music fans, it kept the song more in the forefront than it would have been if Modern English had simply disbanded and never performed it again.
Third, when VH1 Classic came onto cable/satellite, it was entirely a video music channel (and, like every other music channel Viacom has ever started, eventually morphed into a channel of MTV "original programming" reruns ... but I digress) and about 25% of its day was 1980s videos. About 75% of the videos in those hours were 1980s New Wave, and "I Melt With You" usually played at least once every two or three days in those blocks.
Fourth (and this is the important part), "I Melt With You" has some very familiar song hooks in it. As David has explained, auditorium music testing consists of playing the recognizable hooks and the respondents rank it based on remembering the entire song from those hooks and how much they would want to hear the whole song on the radio on a regular basis. All of the exposure I listed above means that those familiar song hooks are embedded in people's minds, and that puts them in a good position to rate the song in testing. And, as David says, it must be testing well, or stations wouldn't still be playing it.
In fact, before the Sirius/XM merger, the latter twice did an all-time countdown on the "Fred" channel (classic New Wave/Alternative) and it ranked #21 among 2002 songs in the 2002 version and #108 out of 2044 songs in the 2003 version. You have to admit -- although I know you won't -- ranking in the top 5% both times, two decades after its original release, is the sign of a durable hit.
Explanation done.
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Exactly. When talking about 80s music, not enough is said about the impact of MTV. It really had incredible impact on music, radio, and people growing up in LA at that time. To only look at LA radio, and leave out MTV, ignores a major part of the LA music scene at the time.
T
Thomps2525
Guest
In 1983, Billboard's 60-position mainstream rock chart was called "Top Tracks." In April 1983, I Melt With You peaked at #7. (A "Modern Rock Tracks" chart would not be launched until September 1988.) When I Melt With You was #7, Def Leppard's Photograph was number one.
Very thorough and informative explanation KM. And yes, I will admit it's a durable hit, today. But I still would not play it 5 times a day, everyday. That's the difference between you and I.
You're also not programming a radio station. And your income is not based on programming a radio station. You're merely posting your personal taste.
Among other differences.
The station that plays it five times a day is among the most listened-to station in LA, with over 3 million in cume.
T
Thomps2525
Guest
Hey, I bet the ratings would go even higher if KRTH started playing I Melt With You ten times a day! Does anyone have Chris Ebbott's phone number? Or would it be better if I simply e-mailed my suggestion to him?
The ratings are not a function of any one single song, but the mixture of the songs together, combined with the air talent and everything else.
That would be .....dumb. Of course, anything goes these days. Always expect the worst.
Oh, you can try 1-800-232-KRTH and request it every hour. Tell a friend!
And once again, Steve derails clarity in discussion with an inanity, and someone (in this case, Oldies) follows him down the rabbit hole.
Neither of you listen to KRTH. What do you care if they play "I Melt With a You" five times a day?
We may not listen nearly as much, but it's unfortunate, to see what has happened to a once legendary, unique station that was fun to listen to years back. If KRTH were the same or even half of what it was when PD's like Hamilton or Kaye were in charge, I'd listen Michael....and so would Steve.
The ones that continue to listen.....just go with the flow. They know, they have better options, but mostly listen out of habit. KRTH has lost it's edge. I really used to enjoy listening to them, even out of state.
The reason KRTH is such a hot topic, is because they had heritage (going back to Boss radio), they had the jocks, they had the jingles and the music. And many, MANY people enjoyed that and it was well-known throughout. To see it disappear is tragic and many realize it, not just ones who post here.
They could have done the same today, just with newer classics, but chose not to.
Things change. I'm sure there were people 30 years older than you who complained about KRTH in the 80s. Lots of things change. I was talking to some old LA folks who feel the Troubadour is not like it used to be. The House of Blues is very different, appealing to a different clientele than it used to. Same with the other bars on Sunset. It happens out of necessity. The old regulars aren't there any more, and you have to reinvent to attract the new folks. Same as programming a radio station. Once again, we're not running a free museum, but a current business.
35 years ago, Boss Radio was 15 years old. It had nostalgia value for people in their 30s. This year, Boss Radio is 50 years old. You.can do the math from there. You and Steve would listen more if KRTH were like it was when it was #11 in the ratings. You don't, it's not and they're #3.
T
Thomps2525
Guest
I'm not planning to organize a grass-roots campaign (or even a Three Dog Night campaign) but I wonder what KRTH's response would be if hundreds of listeners began calling and e-mailing to say they're sick of hearing I Melt With You several times a day and they wish KRTH would quit playing it (or any of the other 20 songs that get played four to five times a day). Hmmm.
KRTH, I believe, played currents from it's 1972 start with gold mixed in through about 1985. In 1986 they eliminated the currents and stuck with mainly gold. Unless the complaints then were related to the playing of AC currents, I cannot see why people complained, if it had been that way since it's inauguration. I guess the saying goes, you can't please everyone.
I realize things change and I'm all for it, but to eliminate your connection to it's heydays, does not sit very well.
If it wasn't reflected in the ratings, there'd be no reaction.
In terms of ratings and revenue, this is KRTH's heyday.
How did I guess you were going to say that.
Sorry, but I cannot accept it's recent programming methods.
^ Good for you. There are several million people, in its actual geographic market, who do.
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