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AAA = AOR?

W

westlife

Guest
Is AAA (Adult Album Alternative) the same thing as AOR (Album-Oriented Rock)? I ask because I've always referred to this format as AOR, and it seems strange to refer to it as "Alternative" when so many of the groups and artists it features eventually do gain mainstream success, like Keane, Gavin DeGraw, and Jason Mraz, just to name a few. Of course, many of the artists don't make it into the mainstream -- like, when's the last time you've heard the Holmes Brothers' "We Meet, We Part, We Remember" on your local Top 40 station? -- but that's what makes it so refreshing to listen to, at least for me.
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Let me take a stab at the question; I'm sure others will jump in with their takes.

To me, Triple-A is the best of AOR without the harder edges. Someone once described AAA to me as "Modern AC for very hip adults". I couldn't argue with that descriptor. But, its a bit more than that.

"Traditional" AOR had groups like It's A Beautiful Day, Velvet Underground and many, many others; the music was killer but far from the commercial successes of AM Top-40 groups. They didn't get much airplay on commercial stations. The cuts that WERE played from a commercial group's album were the longer, more-involved and definitely heavier, i.e., "non-Top-40" cuts from those albums.

Sometimes, there was a crossover from AOR/Underground FM to mainstream Top-40. One of the best examples was 1968's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" from Iron Butterfly. That album version was about 18:00 long! Back in the day, most AM T-40s played cuts that were anywhere from 2:00 to 3:30 long. Over 3:30 was almost unheard of! Anyway, "In-A-Gadda..." got so much airplay on FMs that the label was forced to make a Top-40 version that ran about 3:40 long for play on AMs. AOR radio started to make noise and waves in the mainstream.

College FMs were the breeding grounds for this music. WBRU-FM at Brown U in Providence is legendary as a station that gave many "underground" groups their first airplay. WXPN in Philadelphia has a similar rep, although, XPN's music is broader and less of a "rock outlet". (My opinion, only)

Lastly, AOR was at the center of the counter-culture. Peace, love, dope, no more war, end world hunger and "if it feels good, do it" sentiments were top of mind. It was hip to be hip, so to speak. Who would a 14 year old kid want to emulate in 1974...Lou Reed or Donny Osmond? No contest, at my house! :)

Sorry for the long answer, but, you raised an excellent question. Hope my take helped. Anyone else?
 
As a programmer, I would disagree with AAA being for adults only. Here at WEEM, we are run from a high school and have had very good reaction to the music we play. Our students have shown a great interest! However...with our demographic base (high school students and young alumni) we do rock a little more than the average AAA. Bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Dressy Bessy, Foo Fighters, ect. don't usually get the spins on the 'normal' AAA. We do like to mix in Howie Day, Keane, the occasional classic, the occasional pop-punk song, even some Avril and Kelly Clarkson! Most people agree the change to this form of AAA was better than the oldies we had run in the past. 9 months in, and it looks good! No one else in Indianapolis plays the Pixies, ect...why shouldn't we?!
 
> As a programmer, I would disagree with AAA being for adults
> only. Here at WEEM, we are run from a high school and have
> had very good reaction to the music we play. Our students
> have shown a great interest! However...with our demographic
> base (high school students and young alumni) we do rock a
> little more than the average AAA. Bands like Motion City
> Soundtrack, Dressy Bessy, Foo Fighters, ect. don't usually
> get the spins on the 'normal' AAA. We do like to mix in
> Howie Day, Keane, the occasional classic, the occasional
> pop-punk song, even some Avril and Kelly Clarkson! Most
> people agree the change to this form of AAA was better than
> the oldies we had run in the past. 9 months in, and it looks
> good! No one else in Indianapolis plays the Pixies,
> ect...why shouldn't we?!
>

AAA isn't really today's AOR. It did spring from the same roots as AOR, but today, AAA fits more in the center of a Venn diagram of AOR/Alt Rock, Hot AC, and CHR. Commercial triple AAA abandoned playing albums cuts about ten years after AOR dropped the practice (for good or bad). Depending on the market, a AAA can slide in the direction needed to fill the particular market hole.

In the case of our station, we are the AC for hip adults, the CHR for folks that don't like Hip Hop/R & B, and the Alternative station for folks that the Limp Bizkits and heavy alternative rock area passed them by. It helps that all the pop/rock artists that are receiving a lot of popularity all started at AAA.
 
Re: AAA = Modern AC for Very Hip Adults?

Modern AC for very hip adults. Great descriptor for the AAAs in some markets. But in other markets, the AAA station is very, very mainstream. Here's an hour today at Cities 97 in Minneapolis.

02:24 PM THE PRETENDERS I'll Stand By You Last Of The Independents (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
02:21 PM JET Look What You've Done Get Born (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
02:13 PM COLDPLAY Speed Of Sound Speed Of Sound [Single] (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
02:09 PM VAN MORRISON Moondance Moondance (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
02:05 PM THE FRAY Over My Head (Cable Car) Demo [EP] (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
02:01 PM NICKELBACK How You Remind Me Silver Side Up (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
01:53 PM DAVE MATTHEWS BAND American Baby Stand Up (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
01:50 PM PEARL JAM Last Kiss Last Kiss (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
01:46 PM R.E.M. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) Eponymous (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
01:43 PM 3 DOORS DOWN Away From The Sun Away From The Sun (at amazon.com or ebay.com)

So in some places, it's pretty much "Top of the Pops" music.
 
Re: AAA = Progressive AC

> Modern AC for very hip adults. Great descriptor for the
> AAAs in some markets. But in other markets, the AAA station
> is very, very mainstream.

I like to call it "Progressive AC". All the good stuff that doesn't (or didn't) make it to regular AC gets played on AAA. For example, on WXPN recently I heard Ozomatli's "(Who Discovered) America?" and two thoughts came into my mind: 1.) the lead singer sounds an awful lot like Ricky Martin, and 2.) why did mainstream AC never pick up on this song?
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Re: Ozomatli

For example, on WXPN recently I heard Ozomatli's "(Who
> Discovered) America?" and two thoughts came into my mind:
> 1.) the lead singer sounds an awful lot like Ricky Martin,
> and 2.) why did mainstream AC never pick up on this song?

That is a great cut!! I regularly listen to RadioParadise.com who play a lot of Ozomatli, but I heard that one only on "Krystal 93" KYSL in Frisco, Colorado a very good AAA station that broadcasts in a 80kbps stereo stream. I happened to record that song and burned it on a CD. Here's the link for the station:

http://www.krystal93.com/listen.php

Mainstream AC is not hip enough to play anything by this group
 
Re: AAA = Progressive AC

> > Modern AC for very hip adults. Great descriptor for the
> > AAAs in some markets. But in other markets, the AAA
> station
> > is very, very mainstream.
>
> I like to call it "Progressive AC". All the good stuff that
> doesn't (or didn't) make it to regular AC gets played on
> AAA. For example, on WXPN recently I heard Ozomatli's "(Who
> Discovered) America?" and two thoughts came into my mind:
> 1.) the lead singer sounds an awful lot like Ricky Martin,
> and 2.) why did mainstream AC never pick up on this song?
>

Ozomatli's "Who Discovered America" got lots of airplay for several weeks on AAA 107.1 WXPK "The Peak" just outside of NYC......But other than WXPK the only other station in the NYC area that would have given it airplay would have been 90.7 WFUV.


Defining AAA is tough b/c I think it depends on the AAA station you are listening to.....There are some that play more pop oriented while others are rock oriented (107.1 WXPK is rock oriented).....Then there are some that play very obscure music....98.1 WOCM in Selbyville, Delaware is commercial AAA with a very obscure playlist (at least it was the last time I heard it a few years ago).<P ID="signature">______________
V

NOT NEW YORK....
NOT PHILADELPHIA....
PROUD TO BE NEW JERSEY....</P>
 
> As a programmer, I would disagree with AAA being for adults
> only. Here at WEEM, we are run from a high school and have
> had very good reaction to the music we play. Our students
> have shown a great interest!

Hey, I apologize if I implied that Trip-A was for adults ONLY; I was only speaking from a personal contextural perspective. Of COURSE Trip-A is very broad-based and many teens rightly enjoy the music. Sorry if I expressed myself poorly.

> However...with our demographic
> base (high school students and young alumni) we do rock a
> little more than the average AAA. Bands like Motion City
> Soundtrack, Dressy Bessy, Foo Fighters, ect. don't usually
> get the spins on the 'normal' AAA. We do like to mix in
> Howie Day, Keane, the occasional classic, the occasional
> pop-punk song, even some Avril and Kelly Clarkson!

Excellent! Howie Day is god (imho) and his "Brace Yourself", "More You Understand" and "Disco" are indeed awesome. Keane rocks as well. I'd add Oasis, Five For Fighting, Patrick Park, The Verve, Trespassers, Coldplay, Savage Garden and No Doubt to that "must play" list.

> Most
> people agree the change to this form of AAA was better than
> the oldies we had run in the past. 9 months in, and it looks
> good! No one else in Indianapolis plays the Pixies,
> ect...why shouldn't we?!

Absolutely! Play Pixies and anyone else who fits within the formatic framework. That's just smart programming. Congrats on having a clue when it comes to programming; many so-called programmers older than you STILL don't get it! :)
 
Re: Ozomatli

> Mainstream AC is not hip enough to play anything by this
> group
>

Yeah...I feel that way about "Scissor Sisters". Check out their incredible tune "Mary": it'll peel away the layers of your mind down to the core.
 
WOCM Update

> > > Modern AC for very hip adults. Great descriptor for the
>
> > > AAAs in some markets. But in other markets, the AAA
> > station
> > > is very, very mainstream.
> >
> > I like to call it "Progressive AC". All the good stuff
> that
> > doesn't (or didn't) make it to regular AC gets played on
> > AAA. For example, on WXPN recently I heard Ozomatli's
> "(Who
> > Discovered) America?" and two thoughts came into my mind:
> > 1.) the lead singer sounds an awful lot like Ricky Martin,
>
> > and 2.) why did mainstream AC never pick up on this song?
> >
>
> Ozomatli's "Who Discovered America" got lots of airplay for
> several weeks on AAA 107.1 WXPK "The Peak" just outside of
> NYC......But other than WXPK the only other station in the
> NYC area that would have given it airplay would have been
> 90.7 WFUV.
>
>
> Defining AAA is tough b/c I think it depends on the AAA
> station you are listening to.....There are some that play
> more pop oriented while others are rock oriented (107.1 WXPK
> is rock oriented).....Then there are some that play very
> obscure music....98.1 WOCM in Selbyville, Delaware is
> commercial AAA with a very obscure playlist (at least it was
> the last time I heard it a few years ago).
>


I found WOCM's website (irieradio.com) I got a chance to listen to them online.....They appeared to have changed to a rock oriented AAA as the "New Ocean 98".....So much for the obscure playlist they once had.<P ID="signature">______________
V

NOT NEW YORK....
NOT PHILADELPHIA....
PROUD TO BE NEW JERSEY....</P>
 
Re: AAA = Modern AC for Very Hip Adults?

> Modern AC for very hip adults. Great descriptor for the
> AAAs in some markets. But in other markets, the AAA station
> is very, very mainstream. Here's an hour today at Cities 97
> in Minneapolis.
>
> 02:24 PM THE PRETENDERS I'll Stand By You Last Of The
> Independents (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
> 02:21 PM JET Look What You've Done Get Born (at amazon.com
> or ebay.com)
> 02:13 PM COLDPLAY Speed Of Sound Speed Of Sound [Single] (at
> amazon.com or ebay.com)
> 02:09 PM VAN MORRISON Moondance Moondance (at amazon.com or
> ebay.com)
> 02:05 PM THE FRAY Over My Head (Cable Car) Demo [EP] (at
> amazon.com or ebay.com)
> 02:01 PM NICKELBACK How You Remind Me Silver Side Up (at
> amazon.com or ebay.com)
> 01:53 PM DAVE MATTHEWS BAND American Baby Stand Up (at
> amazon.com or ebay.com)
> 01:50 PM PEARL JAM Last Kiss Last Kiss (at amazon.com or
> ebay.com)
> 01:46 PM R.E.M. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And
> I Feel Fine) Eponymous (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
> 01:43 PM 3 DOORS DOWN Away From The Sun Away From The Sun
> (at amazon.com or ebay.com)
>
> So in some places, it's pretty much "Top of the Pops" music.
>

The Cities 97 is very Mod AC for hip adults. Kill the Van Morrison and you've got my station. Ok, and add some Smashing Pumpkins, The Cult and the like to lean a little more Modern Rock...
 
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