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93.7 Mike-FM: Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me

D

D. R. Tucker

Guest
I know a lot of folks aren’t thrilled with Entercom Boston these days--but can I just say that they’re doing a great job with WMKK?

It’s not exactly “cool” to admit to being a fan of the so-called “Jack FM” format, but 93.7 has become my favorite station over the last few months. It’s great to hear songs that I haven’t heard in years on the radio again.

Maybe it’s because I’m tired of the repetitive playlists on WZLX and WBOS (how many Pink Floyd songs can you hear on the former, and how many Talking Heads and Bob Marley songs can you hear on the latter?), but I think I’m the world’s biggest Mike FM fan at this point.

While the station’s promotional spots are a little corny (not as bad as the Dana Hersey spots on WRKO, though), the variety of the playlist is much appreciated. How sad is it that we had to wait until this station switched formats (from “Star 93.7”, a/k/a all disco all the time) to hear some of the long-forgotten songs now heard on the station?

Listening to these “oldies but goodies”, one truly begins to understand just how much popular music has declined over the last decade or so (not that there weren’t popular duds between the 1960s and the 1990s). Even the old-school hip-hop songs Mike FM plays have an artistry and craft that’s almost nonexistent on WJMN’s current playlist.

In fact, if there’s one weakness on Mike FM, it’s the occasional inclusion of songs from the 2000s. I understand that they “play everything,” but the songs from the past seven years generally pale in comparison to the “ancient” material. The only tolerable 2000s tunes that regularly appear on Mike FM are the songs from Outkast and Coldplay. I’d rather hear “Mack The Knife” twenty-four hours straight than listen to almost anything else from the 2000s. I know people like to knock 1980s music, but even “The Safety Dance” and “Come On Eileen” are preferable to the modern monstrosities.

Say what you will about the way Entercom Boston is handling ‘RKO, but they seem to be doing a decent job with ‘MKK. The station is as close to flawless as possible; it is the least stale of the major music stations in this region. I know 93.7 has gone through many format changes over the years, but as long as they stick with this current format, I’ll be proud to declare that I like Mike.
 
You maybe the only Fan ( or just a few ) of Mike FM . Mike-FM is Garbage . Star 93.7 was a good station until Entercom killed it with X-mas music .
 
I tune in once in awhile because they'll play something off the wall--like Perry Como, or
Brad Paisley's "Alcohol" (country)....
 
"but can I just say that they’re doing a great job with WMKK?"

Have to disagree with you D.R. - was driving around listening to Mike FM and realized that the original promise has morphed into a quasi 1980s/1990s station without all the disco of Starz 93.7 which, all due respect to Rap King, was like being caught in a Twilight Zone episode with Barry Scott as the only jock.

The expanded playlist formula should include what Mike FM originally gave the marketplace - "Louie Louie",
"Brandy" (You're a Fine Girl), "Smoke On The Water" - yep - tracks from Oldies 103, WROR, WZLX and deep cuts from other acts (DOORS, etc) while playing the glop they are currently throwing out there and some Mix 98.5 and Magic 106.7 as well. It just seems to me that the original format idea is now out the window and Mike FM plays only one thing, 80's/90s. They might throw an occasional surprise but Entercom trashed the potential pretty quickly.
 
D.R. is not the only one who likes MIKE...#7 in A25-54 in the last rating book, as high as #5 in the last year. I know the PD and the effort that he puts into the station (3x the playlist of any of its competitors, very specific scheduling rules) is paying off with a radio station that seems to be striking a chord in the market. It does a little better with women than men. I'm thinking that the commercial free 9-12 will help them get some more exposure in offices.

Yeah, WRKO is struggling, but WEEI, WAAF and MIKE are in pretty strong shape. As Meatloaf might say, three out of four ain't bad. If they ever fix the schedule on WRKO, they have a chance to thrive too, given the huge cume infusion of the Sox.

Speaking of WRKO, I'm thinking about starting a thread here whenever a certain other site censors a post of mine that doesn't fit the skewed radio view of the host. Anyone else have a similar experience?
 
...even “The Safety Dance” and “Come On Eileen” are preferable to the modern monstrosities.


[/quote]

I'd rather hear "Security" by Men Without Hats and "Burn It Down" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. If they REALLY played everything, they'd play those earlier gems by those bands.

yes, I'm kidding--but do like those songs better. Hey Raccoon, I remember WMWM was all over that first Dexy's album in the summer of '80.
 
im a big fan of mike-fm. im really baffled as to why it is belittled on these fora.

actually, i have a theory as to why it is talked bad about here. the theory is closely related to my theory on why tom finneran is constantly badmouthed here. but i wont go there...
 
it's all cookie cutter radio - from Tom Finneran to Todd Feinburg to Mike FM - what is compelling about any of it?

Which is why WBCN licenses material from Sirius or whatever they do to get Opie & Anthony back.

The David Lee Roth thing is just proof of how not to follow-up losing what once was a highly creative product that bucked the system - Howard Stern.

If Finneran or Mike FM displayed a bit of competitive edge or creativity you'd hear great things about them both.

Finneran knows people, like Blute he gets hired. MikeFm attempts to replicate Jack, Tom, Dick & Harry, but is cut from the corporate cloth.

Keep in mind those ratings don't reflect the population, they reflect who is listening out of a very diminished pool. You can make money on it today but a few years down the road after you've over fished...
 
rapking said:
You maybe the only Fan ( or just a few ) of Mike FM . Mike-FM is Garbage . Star 93.7 was a good station until Entercom killed it with X-mas music .

It's not fair to say that just because you don't like it. I don't know the ratings of Mike FM and there is something to be said for a little dance music here and there, but the previoius poster does make some very good points. The "Variety Hits/Adult Hits" format is an answer to the gap that is being left by the rest of the radio world. The over division of formats and business as usual that takes place at the majority of radio stations creates some very tight playlists, forcing many people to go to the Ipod where they can hear more than the same 60 songs a week. I would venture to guess that a station like Mike has some 1200 songs on their weekly playlist.

And while I do agree that the absence of disco or dance music is frustrating (such a gap exists in my neck of the woods too), I find the JACK FM format to be a refreshing change. Mike-FM may not be your cup of Tea Rapking, but it's not "Garbage."

Why must we radio geeks insist on taking formats so personally? These are commercial broadcasters they can do whatever they want. In Mike FM's case, they thought there would be an audience. The only trouble I see competition from WROR, which has a very similar playlist.
 
Garrett said:
rapking said:
You maybe the only Fan ( or just a few ) of Mike FM . Mike-FM is Garbage . Star 93.7 was a good station until Entercom killed it with X-mas music .

It's not fair to say that just because you don't like it. I don't know the ratings of Mike FM and there is something to be said for a little dance music here and there, but the previoius poster does make some very good points. The "Variety Hits/Adult Hits" format is an answer to the gap that is being left by the rest of the radio world. The over division of formats and business as usual that takes place at the majority of radio stations creates some very tight playlists, forcing many people to go to the Ipod where they can hear more than the same 60 songs a week. I would venture to guess that a station like Mike has some 1200 songs on their weekly playlist.

And while I do agree that the absence of disco or dance music is frustrating (such a gap exists in my neck of the woods too), I find the JACK FM format to be a refreshing change. Mike-FM may not be your cup of Tea Rapking, but it's not "Garbage."

Why must we radio geeks insist on taking formats so personally? These are commercial broadcasters they can do whatever they want. In Mike FM's case, they thought there would be an audience. The only trouble I see competition from WROR, which has a very similar playlist.
Why dont all stations follow Mike-Fm format ? Fire all Radio personalities ,and collect all the money, and who care's if the stations ratings fall in the 2's . I cant understand folks on this board , Who want different formats on The radio , but only want Rock and Sports on the Dial , and Bitch and cry about Radio Owners ( Hate Act of 96, but lets kiss The Owners A$$ ) but love The Jack Format , AkA see you at the Unemployment line . Satellite is Rising , Free Radio is dying , HD Radio is Garbage !
 
My brother is a Super Stop and Shop manager, the store employees love Mike FM, its the only station everyone in various departments can agree on mostly because of the lack of continuous repetition on Kiss, Jam'n, WZLX and even WKLB. You may
not like it Rapking (big surprise) but it seems that there are quite a few people
that do.
 
jacobr said:
forget all that.....BRING BACK WCGY!
bring back AOR.

While I'd love it, it'll never happen. WCGY never had good ratings (I'm sure part of that was poor signal in Boston itself), and didn't BOS try AOR back in the early 80's for a few months? It bombed IIRC.

If there was money in it, WBCN or someone else would still be doing it. XM has very good channels for Deep Cuts, conventional Classic Rock, albeit with a much wider playlist, and Big Tracks (Classic Rock roughly 75-95).
 
rapking said:
You maybe the only Fan ( or just a few ) of Mike FM . Mike-FM is Garbage . Star 93.7 was a good station until Entercom killed it with X-mas music .

There was a reason for that: the person behind Star's dance music, Vinnie Peruzzi, was struck down with cancer and needed time off to try to fight it (i.e., the XMas music was a way to camoflauge Vinnie's absence from the airwaves). I didn't think anything of it until Vinnie didn't show for his annual Memorial Day countdown at all that weekend (I knew something was up then because Vinnie wouldn't miss doing a countdown show, especially the top 50 disco tunes). Sadly Vinnie passed later on that summer. :(
 
chrish said:
My brother is a Super Stop and Shop manager, the store employees love Mike FM, its the only station everyone in various departments can agree on mostly because of the lack of continuous repetition on Kiss, Jam'n, WZLX and even WKLB. You may
not like it Rapking (big surprise) but it seems that there are quite a few people
that do.
And there is Millions ( Like myself ) who dont work at Stop and Shop, and Hate Mike-FM . Thank god , I dont have to depend on my Radio Job, to bring home The Bacon !
 
i like mike also. probably my most listened to station other than npr.

im a country fan. particularly classic country. wklb doesnt do it for me. there is only so much martina mcbride, faith hill and kenny chesney that i can stand.

i like talk radio. but the anti mexican rants of the angry white males on rko and the 'tom brady is the greatest player ever' crap on eei doesnt appeal to me.

so. i tune to mike to hear songs i remember from the 80s.
 
the rants are anti-illegal immigrant. Ask Bob Clark, director of "A Christmas Story", how he feels--no wait,
you can't because he and his son were killed by an illegal alien driving drunk...Classic country is great.
Porter Wagoner!
 
>>I remember WMWM was all over that first Dexy's album in the summer of '80.

I remember "Burn it down". Also the 12 inch single version of Come On Eileen which featured a brief
fiddle bit at the start (otherwise identical to the single)
 
NHRadio said:
jacobr said:
forget all that.....BRING BACK WCGY!
bring back AOR.

While I'd love it, it'll never happen. WCGY never had good ratings

Actually, when WCGY first arrived on the scene (after breaking off from their sister station WCCM), the had a year or two when they regulalry hit a 2 share in Boston. I remember them getting a 2.2, etc. This is when they ran the automated "Rcok Garden" format.

At some point they decided they didn't want to pay TM for the format and wanted to "do things on their own".

I don't think the Gowdy family ever reached that number again with any of it's home-grown formats.
 
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