I heard "Go Your Own Way", " We Will Rock You" and "Dream On" earlier today within an hour...I said, really? Isn't this what K-Earth plays already?
Now, "Sweet Talkin' Guy", "Have You Seen Her" and the album version of "Miracles"....I'll take!
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K-Surf 1260 growing playlist
- Thread starter oldies76
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I heard "Go Your Own Way", " We Will Rock You" and "Dream On" earlier today within an hour...I said, really? Isn't this what K-Earth plays already?
Now, "Sweet Talkin' Guy", "Have You Seen Her" and the album version of "Miracles"....I'll take!
I bailed at "In the Air Tonight". I never liked that tune.
As BigA has said, Saul is programming for himself and doesn't care if someone might tune out at some point because he or she doesn't like the song. If you're going to be playing pop, rock, soul, bubblegum and whatever else from four decades on one station, you're bound to be playing the occasional disliked tune of every listener. I'd wager that most of them are still staying tuned in, putting up with the 3 minutes of irritation caused by "In The Air Tonight" to hear what comes next -- which in this case was the Supremes' "Baby Love."
I don't believe for a minute Saul is programming for himself with these new additions. When he had jazz, classical, and standards on, I believe he was both programming to an undersereved niche (that is what he has publicly said) and putting on the types of music he likes. Unless I hear differently from him, I really don't think he is programming "In the Air Tonight" and "Foreplay/Longtime" for himself. I think he is making a mistake he rarely makes - he is listening to advisors.
To be fair, I don't think he is programming KKGO for himself either. That is serving a different underserved niche for a purely profit motive. If he thought underserved polka fans would make him more money on that station, he would probably flip. Having that station make the money allows for all of these various forays on his tiny AM station.
He really doesn't have advisors.
He probably realizes two things: that the '50s/early '60s fans are dying off, and that people who were born in the mid- to late baby boom years, who are 55-65 years old today, are likely to still have been listening to Top 40 radio in the early to mid-'80s, when they were 30 to 35 years old, so why not add those pre-grunge, pre-rap years to the playlist? Grunge and rap pushed a lot of baby boomers off to oldies formats or to AC or country, but I can tell you that I (now 64) found most of the '80s songs that Saul has added great fun to listen to back in the day.
I admit that I did listen when the first mention of the station appeared on this board. It really was an interesting throwback to the carefree days of California sun, convertibles and cool architecture in LA. I cannot guess or speak to what Saul is thinking or doing. My guess is he well may be in the mode to give up the reigns or even sell? I did see where it was apparently mentioned on that laradio website that changes were coming. That was announced in May, but I could not find it on the site. May be time for Big A to make a call.
As for songs...literally every dang song has as many lovers and haters. Anyone that has been on the air or programmed or managed a radio station knows that happens within the first HOUR of ever listening to what the station (or you) is playing. Funny you all bring up the Phil Collins song. It's a grueling 5 minutes to me. I agree. But, every time I play that damn song, I swear someone, usually female, calls and says we should play more rock songs like that. Admittedly, they are usually on the younger end of the engaging listening audience. I guess Saul needs to update the word "oldies..." I venture to say, he is getting some publicity out of this....never know what might re-appear after the backlash. This is a fun one to watch.
It's "sadly" more conventional with the 80's, but still, all in all, a pretty dang decent listen for a stand alone station. I agree with you on the 80's and even Boston. I'm 56 and I love that no matter what age you are these days, rock is ok! Oldies music of today is not oldies music that our parents listened too. Well, wait. My mom loved Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode even at the age of 84.
Probably more haters than lovers take the time to call or write the station. I would think the positive responses would be from those who love just about every song you're playing, but it only takes one "I can't stand this" song to trigger a bunch of angry "WTF are you doing?" phone calls, emails or social media posts. It's human nature to be quicker to criticize than praise.
FYI Saul turned 92 in December.
CT - Trust me - you are so right. Especially now that the "bitch button" is so easy to hit.
BigA - I have been reading up on Saul Levine. I remember bits and pieces on him, over the years. Admittedly, I just don't get time to study up on things, like I once did. I laughed outloud when I saw Mr. Levine was a young 92. THAT alone is worth listening, even if you hate every stickin' song. We need more Saul's that will rock til thee needle drops.
BigA - I have been reading up on Saul Levine. I remember bits and pieces on him, over the years. Admittedly, I just don't get time to study up on things, like I once did. I laughed outloud when I saw Mr. Levine was a young 92. THAT alone is worth listening, even if you hate every stickin' song. We need more Saul's that will rock til thee needle drops.
Forgive me, I said he was 92. He's actually 93. Here's local video from his birthday party:
https://youtu.be/VtCyH3RtQps
He'll have to check with his GF
Scared to even ask her age. Haha. Admittedly, I love his story. Maybe he has skeletons and issues. Who doesn't! I have read just a few articles about the man. Seen two interviews with him, BigA. He certainly took some risks to get going and while what he bought was not "cheap" back when he bought things, it looks like he never spent beyond his ability and thus has never had to be strapped for cash. Pretty impressive that is two children are involved with the stations.I can only imagine the stories he would tell over a glass of chardonnay....
Every couple weeks??? For a song that reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100, and as popular as that song is, most classic hits/classic rock stations would ever play it that inconsistently. It's just not practical. Is that your opinion for most songs as well, or just that particular ditty? I don't mind hearing it every day.
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It's one thing for the station to play Hotel California every day. It's something different for an individual listener to hear the song every day, which implies the station is playing it several times a day.
My personal taste on rotations for classic hits stations is that no song should rotate twice during a standard work day. But honestly very few listeners would notice if you did play the same song at 9:14am and 2:48pm.
My personal taste on rotations for classic hits stations is that no song should rotate twice during a standard work day. But honestly very few listeners would notice if you did play the same song at 9:14am and 2:48pm.
Decades ago, some people were saying the same thing about 30's and 40's music. 80's music is this generations 50's & 60's music.
For someone who enjoys a variety of music, I don't mind it one bit. It makes for exciting listening!
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