Boston's Classic Rock Stations

[BoscoGoldBear]

I have long thought that Boston has a high overload of hard rock/heavy metal stations. Right now I'm just looking at the 3 (some say 4) classic rock stations, plus the one which is heavily swinging that way since January. My criteria for a song being labeled as heavy metal is simply that I must have heard that song on WCOZ, WZLX and/or WAAF. Example: I recently heard Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" on heavy metal-formatted WAAF, therefore a) I can claim that Tom Petty is heavy metal, and b) I can claim that Magic, which has played that song, is passing the heavy metal classic off as "soft rock" and may as well go on to AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Van Halen.

Anyway, assuming that 100% of WZLX is of the WCOZ/WAAF heavy metal cloth, here are the percentages of the other classic rock stations:

WROR - copies WZLX 86%
WMKK - is 59% classic rock (high enough for me to label the station as classic rock), but is 22% alt-rock (WROR is only 4% alt-rock)
WODS - is 47% a copy of WZLX - not quite high enough to stamp the station as classic rock, but it should crack 50% or higher soon enough, especially when it replaces Motown with Cars and Aerosmith deep AOR tracks not ordinarily heard on hit music stations

I can provide the titles which each of those classic rock stations (and those leaning in that direction) play upon request. (Based on yes.com)

 

[Uncle Kaimbridge]

I have long thought that Boston has a high overload of hard rock/heavy metal stations. Right now I'm just looking at the 3 (some say 4) classic rock stations, plus the one which is heavily swinging that way since January. My criteria for a song being labeled as heavy metal is simply that I must have heard that song on WCOZ, WZLX and/or WAAF. Example: I recently heard Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" on heavy metal-formatted WAAF, therefore a) I can claim that Tom Petty is heavy metal, and b) I can claim that Magic, which has played that song, is passing the heavy metal classic off as "soft rock" and may as well go on to AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Van Halen.

So, Jackson Browne's "Load Out/Stay" and the Eagles' "Take It To The Limit" (both heard on all three stations at one time or another) are heavy metal?!? ;D ;D

 

[motormouth]

Hmmm, both of them are heard on WATD." The South Shore's Heavy Metal Station?" lol.. More like good ol' songs that people like to hear.

 

[raccoonradio]

The Rolling Stones did a country song called "Far Away Eyes" therefore they are a country artist...

 

[mistermicrophone]

Ahhhh, the every three month obligatory "(insert artist here) is heavy metal" Steve N. post. For the heck of it, I just played Free Fallin' backwards and there is a secret heavy metal message...it says...Satan rules and the Bruins should resign him.

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

My long-held contention is that people who like rock DON'T like disco, and people who like disco DON'T like rock. (If you remember my past posts you will remember that I was big on the late Sunny Joe White and Vinnie Peruzzi.) My brother (a heavy metal fan) was going to hire a heavy metal DJ for his wedding in 1998 until we started to fight. The DJ who was ultimately hired was Dru Errico from Southie (a friend of Vinnie's). The result: my mom (then aged 58, now 70) was p***ed off at me after the reception for keeping the steady disco beat and not including party killers like AC/DC and Van Halen on the playlist! Meanwhile, the people at WODS seem to think that there are listeners who like BOTH rock AND disco (an impossibility in my estimation, based on my family history). That would be like whites and blacks getting along with each other in both Roxbury AND my native Southie, something that will never happen in my lifetime.

 

[Schuyler]

Wow! Born into a focus group, were ya? Does your ego have its own zip code?

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

Anyway, if anyone's interested, here's the 4% alternative rock in WROR's 100 most played songs:

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This - Eurhythmics
The One I Love - R.E.M.
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police
Don't Stand So Close To Me - The Police

....and the 22% alt-rock played on Mike FM's 100 most played songs (both according to yes.com):

Obsession - Animotion
Mystery Achievement - Pretenders (never heard that song before)
B**** - Meredith Brooks
Don't You Want Me - Human League
The One I Love - R.E.M.
The One Thing - INXS
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
So Lonely - The Police
Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Tempted - Squeeze
Girls On Film - Duran Duran (non-hit; AOR track)
Whip It - Devo
Burning Down The House - Talking Heads
And She Was - Talking Heads
Cradle Of Love - Billy Idol
The Tide Is High - Blondie
Rio - Duran Duran
Dancing With Myself - Billy Idol
I Ran (So Far Away) - A Flock Of Seagulls
Jane Says - Jane's Addiction (strictly AOR; never a pop hit)

In case anyone's wondering, I do consider new wave and alternative rock to be one and the same (yes, I am anal retentive about that).

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

Wow! Born into a focus group, were ya? Does your ego have its own zip code?

I believe it's 02127 - God's Country, for those of you who don't already know!

 

[NHRadio]

I'm sorry but that statement isn't true. Many people who grew up in the 70's enjoy both kinds of music, myself included.
The correct statement should be SOME people who like rock DON'T like disco...

My long-held contention is that people who like rock DON'T like disco, and people who like disco DON'T like rock.

 

[mcamp]

I'm sorry but that statement isn't true. Many people who grew up in the 70's enjoy both kinds of music, myself included.
The correct statement should be SOME people who like rock DON'T like disco...

My long-held contention is that people who like rock DON'T like disco, and people who like disco DON'T like rock.

Well then you were a minority.
Go to any rock concert back in those days, and you saw just as many "Disco Sucks" shirts as you did the band you were seeing.
There were two crowds back then: the disco dance crowd, and the house party rock crowd.....and there was rarely a crossover.
I think as "we" have all grown older, those lines have blurred.

 

[DToTheJ]

I have long thought that Boston has a high overload of hard rock/heavy metal stations. Right now I'm just looking at the 3 (some say 4) classic rock stations, plus the one which is heavily swinging that way since January. My criteria for a song being labeled as heavy metal is simply that I must have heard that song on WCOZ, WZLX and/or WAAF...

So, Jackson Browne's "Load Out/Stay" and the Eagles' "Take It To The Limit" (both heard on all three stations at one time or another) are heavy metal?!? ;D ;D

You mean there are actually radio stations that play both "The Load Out" and "Stay" together? ???

 

[MassMusicMan]

This thread is good for one thing, and one thing only: Raising autism awareness.

 

[Neanderpaul]

Wow.

I love this thread. Please continue.

 

[KB1OKL]

I have never heard WZLX play heavy metal and Tom Petty is definitely not anywhere near heavy metal. WAAF yes, ZLX, no. WCOZ? I haven't thought of that station since 1975 and they weren't heavy metal any more than BCN was heavy metal.
I hated disco when it was popular, i can take a little of it nowadays, I mean maybe one decent disco tune once a month. WAAF is a Worcester station anyway, no matter how hard they try to pass themselves off as being Boston based, uh uh.

 

[pqgeorge]

I have never heard WZLX play heavy metal and Tom Petty is definitely not anywhere near heavy metal. WAAF yes, ZLX, no. WCOZ? I haven't thought of that station since 1975 and they weren't heavy metal any more than BCN was heavy metal.
I hated disco when it was popular, i can take a little of it nowadays, I mean maybe one decent disco tune once a month. WAAF is a Worcester station anyway, no matter how hard they try to pass themselves off as being Boston based, uh uh.

That was the thing about WAAF. The fact that WAAF was originally a Worcester station, and had a killer signal to match, that's what made it so exotic. It was THE station for rock and roll. Back in the late 70's, it was all I listened to. It was really popular to the college crowd, especially in the areas of Springfield, Amherst, Westfield and of course in the Boston area. It was so cool to be able to listen to 'AAF from Great Barrington to the South Shore of Boston and never lose it. I still wonder WHY they don't go back to Paxton (the original 107.3 transmitter site), considering they've already got the 97.7 (WKAF) repeater on Great Blue Hill? I would.

 

[Neanderpaul]

I find the definition of "heavy metal" in this thread to be hilarious.

It's a microcosm of what's wrong with radio as a whole. Our definitions and the audience's perceptions are so askew, it's no wonder we have some issues serving them properly.

The largest being "what is 'Classic Rock' vs. 'Oldies' vs. 'Rock'"

And 'heavy metal?" Most of you have no idea what that is anymore. The definitions have all changed. Unfortunately, we as an industry have not. Because we're run by analysts over music experts.

"...and that is why you fail" - Yoda.

 

[radiojay1]

My answer for Steve N. is simple. Sirius Satellite radio. Channel 53 Soul Town, classic soul, channel 81 The Strobe, classic dance. Also I like channel 71 Watercolors, Smooth Jazz. I rented a car for a trip to Cooperstown, NY, a Kia Soul (like the name also, hehe) which had Sirius and it was great, clear reception and sound all the way. I found myself listening more to Sirius then regular radio especially in the Cooperstown area where there are no local stations that play dance or soul music. The closest I could find there were two weak signal stations from Utica and Rome, NY, Oldies 96.1 (True Oldies Channel) and Kiss 105.5 Top 40 with a lot of rhythmic.

 

[DCBurns]

Autism Speaks... just not very well.

 

[lost45]

>The people at WODS seem to think that there are listeners who like BOTH rock AND disco (an impossibility in my estimation, based on my family history). That would be like whites and blacks getting along with each other in both Roxbury AND my native Southie, something that will never happen in my lifetime.

Speechless at that one. It's full of Boston-bred discrimination. Simply put, yeah, the rock artists weren't making money by 1979 unless they went disco like Rod Stewart. The 'disco sucks' movement started for a lot of reasons: The constant over the top thumping as every station jumped on it 24/7 (just like they did with Boy Bands; Hootie and Alanis in the 90s). Middle America hated the connotations 'disco' music evoked from the media: Studio 54, coke, rich folk, gays, black people, the cities where disco's were huge.

The word 'disco' went away. Madonna helped usher in dance music in the early 80s and it was the same. Dance music has existed from the day music started. And, yeh, I can rock out with the best of 'em and own more Classic Rock CDs than any other genre, but there are disco/dance tunes I love (not the overplayed ones). So "Carry on Wayward Son" and KC & The Sunshine Band exist in my library and when I mix tunes for dance crowds AC/DC can meld with Donna Summer...wouldn't have it any other way. Variety, without the prejudice.