S
Sandscott
Guest
Let me begin by stating that I love the 80's hard rock and hair bands. I never stopped listening to that type of music along with classic rock, so this is by no means a slam against any of that. In fact, I feel the 80's for the most part has been ignored by radio (sure you hear a little Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, GNR, and Crue but that is about it) and there are still some of us out there who are fans of that genre. In fact, I always listen to Dee Snider's House of Hair on Dyersburg rock station, 100.1 on Saturday Nights. The HoH has been a successful national syndicated show for over a decade (in fact it briefly was carried on 103 in Memphis). There are some other good ones out there such as Eddie Trunk, The Tour Bus, etc.
Anyway, recently 98.1 started its own local show playing the hair bands on Sunday Nights at 10. I was excited, since I love this type of music and I know several others who did as well. Well after about a month, I have already had it and here is why I am bringing this up as a topic. Once again it speaks volumes about what radio has become. That show comes across as a bad public access show. Tom Roadrage Nolley seems like a nice guy and I appreciate what he is trying to do, but there seems to be no preparation for the show. In the four or five weeks it has been on, he has played the exact same bands EVERY week. It is like the station owns ten hair band albums and those are the only ones they are going to play. Let me give you an example, one time he played something off an album by Don Dokken, lead singer of Dokken. Don Dokken put up one solo album called Up From the Ashes. It is a pretty good record and the first time it was played. I thought "cool, this is sort of an obscure album" rare for 98.1 to show any variety in their playlist. I thought that was great, well they have played something off that same album EVERY show, which speaks volumes about how the station is run. It was like they got their hands on a not very well known album, so they are going to run it into the game along with the very predicatable Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, etc. songs. How about since it is a novelty show switching up the bands on the show. How about throwing in something by I don't know Motorhead one week, Savatage one week, etc. In other words, act like you put some time in the show, that you own more than the same 50 songs, and stop playing some much by the bands classic rock plays all the time anyway. We don't need to hear Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, they get played all the time anyway. Make the show worthwhile or just carry one of the syndicated playlist.
One or two obscure bands every show is very cool, and then mix the more familiar ones up, where is Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper etc?
I know this has gone way too long, but it is a metaphor for what radio has become. A few minutes before the show came on, I predicted what bands were going to be played and I nailed EVERY one of them because it is always the same bands every week. When even a novelty show is like that, what hope is their for Memphis radio. 98.1 has the most predictable playlist, I think I have ever seen and it's weird how they do it. I hear Billy Idol's "Jessie James" almost daily on the station STILL. Don't get me wrong, I love Billy Idol, but that song was not a hit at all, yet once it got in the playlist it stayed there. A newer song, yet not hit, but 98.1 will play it to death, but yet I never hear something like let's say "Highway Star" by Deep Purple or "School's Out" by Alice Cooper. It doesn't make sense.
Anyway, recently 98.1 started its own local show playing the hair bands on Sunday Nights at 10. I was excited, since I love this type of music and I know several others who did as well. Well after about a month, I have already had it and here is why I am bringing this up as a topic. Once again it speaks volumes about what radio has become. That show comes across as a bad public access show. Tom Roadrage Nolley seems like a nice guy and I appreciate what he is trying to do, but there seems to be no preparation for the show. In the four or five weeks it has been on, he has played the exact same bands EVERY week. It is like the station owns ten hair band albums and those are the only ones they are going to play. Let me give you an example, one time he played something off an album by Don Dokken, lead singer of Dokken. Don Dokken put up one solo album called Up From the Ashes. It is a pretty good record and the first time it was played. I thought "cool, this is sort of an obscure album" rare for 98.1 to show any variety in their playlist. I thought that was great, well they have played something off that same album EVERY show, which speaks volumes about how the station is run. It was like they got their hands on a not very well known album, so they are going to run it into the game along with the very predicatable Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, etc. songs. How about since it is a novelty show switching up the bands on the show. How about throwing in something by I don't know Motorhead one week, Savatage one week, etc. In other words, act like you put some time in the show, that you own more than the same 50 songs, and stop playing some much by the bands classic rock plays all the time anyway. We don't need to hear Bon Jovi and Def Leppard, they get played all the time anyway. Make the show worthwhile or just carry one of the syndicated playlist.
One or two obscure bands every show is very cool, and then mix the more familiar ones up, where is Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper etc?
I know this has gone way too long, but it is a metaphor for what radio has become. A few minutes before the show came on, I predicted what bands were going to be played and I nailed EVERY one of them because it is always the same bands every week. When even a novelty show is like that, what hope is their for Memphis radio. 98.1 has the most predictable playlist, I think I have ever seen and it's weird how they do it. I hear Billy Idol's "Jessie James" almost daily on the station STILL. Don't get me wrong, I love Billy Idol, but that song was not a hit at all, yet once it got in the playlist it stayed there. A newer song, yet not hit, but 98.1 will play it to death, but yet I never hear something like let's say "Highway Star" by Deep Purple or "School's Out" by Alice Cooper. It doesn't make sense.
