EZ Music Log

[wgliradio]

Music log I extracted from my Part 15 FM station (EZ-93). I'm really happy with the mix and am looking to tweak and maybe get this on the net. Basically it's 60's, 70's and 80's (main focus is 1964-1984... with a FEW exceptions). There are almost 800 songs in the library right now and I am debating on adding some others. Here is a sample hour & change. Songs with * probably test better, I try to fit at least 3 in a break so that it would keep casual people listening. The others are candy for those who like the sappy love songs (Debbie Boone IS in rotation) ;D

Slogans: Your Relaxing Favorites - EZ 93
Relax, Refresh, Unwind, EZ 93

Audio Processing:CRL-SPP 800 & Optimod 8100


Thoughts???


Sad to Belong - England Dan & John Ford Coley
*Take My Breath Away - Berlin
LINER
*Soul & Inspiration - Righteous Brothers
*Let It Be Me - Betty Everett & Jerry Butler
LINER over intro
*Get Here - Oleta Adams
Have I Told You Lately - Van Morrison
BREAK
==
*Sunshine - Johnathan Edwards
For All We Know - Carpenters
LINER over intro
Crazy Love - Poco
*I'll Stand By You - Pretenders
Time Will Reveal - DeBarge
LINER
*Because - Dave Clark Five
BREAK
==
*Day After Day - Badfinger
*Against The Wind - Seger
LINER over intro
Never Gonna Fall In Love Again - Eric Carmen
Falling - LeBlanc & Carr
LINER
*If I Fell - Beatles
It's A Heartache - Bonnie Tyler
BREAK
==
*You Got It All - The Jets
Love Takes Time - Orleans
LINER
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do - Sedaka (75)
*Kiss & Say Goodbye - Manhattans
*Surfer Girl - Beach Boys
LINER over intro
You Never Done It Like That - Captain & Tennille
Morning Train - Sheena Easton

 

[RMarino]

Looks good. Reminds me of Sunny on XM 24. Also I think "Crazy Love" from Poco tests pretty well too. Not only do I still hear it often on the radio, it's also on a lot in a lot of stores (a.k.a. MUZAK)

 

[Chuck]

It looks like Soft AC to me.

For some reason this board is titled "Soft AC/EZ Listening/Adult Standards" which is an incredibly wide spread, at least musically speaking. I doubt that many of the songs you list would ever get airplay on a Standards station, but they are entirely appropriate on a Soft AC station.

 

[wgliradio]

That's why I posted here, because I thought B-EZ was part of this.

 

[oaktree]

I like it, but find it to be on the high side of a soft-A/C at best. I still grind my teeth hearing Bonnie Tyler in any format, let alone here (which I agree with Chuck, the list would not classified as Soft AC/EZ. Nostalgia, Standards or MOR it's not...) On the other hand, "If I Fell", "Morning Train", "For All We Know" and maybe "Sad To Belong" would work for me. I'd also think there would be a problem with a few other things, but for an A/C, I think it's fine. I also like the Oleta Adams song, but probably not for a "pure" MOR, Standards format. I'd take Mathis, Williams, Manilow, Carps, Alpert, Como, Mendes, Simon & Garf and many "core" artists like Martin, Bennett and Sinatra with these, as well. Sounds good on my iPod. Anybody know, incidentally, the depth of the Dial Global format? Someone told me it was closer to 1500. Sounds like 300 to me...

 

[vchimpanzee]

This sounds like the old Unforgettable Favorites to me.

Most of these should be forgotten, in my opinion.

 

[publisher]

I like it, but find it to be on the high side of a soft-A/C at best. I still grind my teeth hearing Bonnie Tyler in any format, let alone here (which I agree with Chuck, the list would not classified as Soft AC/EZ. Nostalgia, Standards or MOR it's not...) On the other hand, "If I Fell", "Morning Train", "For All We Know" and maybe "Sad To Belong" would work for me. I'd also think there would be a problem with a few other things, but for an A/C, I think it's fine. I also like the Oleta Adams song, but probably not for a "pure" MOR, Standards format. I'd take Mathis, Williams, Manilow, Carps, Alpert, Como, Mendes, Simon & Garf and many "core" artists like Martin, Bennett and Sinatra with these, as well. Sounds good on my iPod. Anybody know, incidentally, the depth of the Dial Global format? Someone told me it was closer to 1500. Sounds like 300 to me...

I've done modest research on both the Dial Global (formerly WWI) and Timeless Classics format and only come up with a little over 2,000 songs for both formats combined. There is some overlap with those formats, but I counted each song only once. I would be surprised if the Dial Global format exceeded 1,000 songs and it certainly seems like there are fewer songs in regular rotation.

 

[oaktree]

Good input and thank you for checking this important info out. My research discovered close, with significantly high rotations on some songs...way too many, I feel. I find it difficult to believe that in this format, we can only find 1000 (or less) significant songs to play.

My feeling is that these particular listeners, on high TSL stations especially, know, too, that there are plenty of great songs out there ... but judge only by what they hear ... not what they don't hear.

So, to listen to "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" for the 634th time in the last two months doesn't matter, it seems, which I don't quite understand. Just because someone, somewhere is still humming that "safe favorite" song as they only listen 22 minutes at a time and don't hear it as often as we think they do doesn't make it "right" or "best." (Plus, I don't think the song should be in the format, period. Too many other great standard classics unplayed.)

Playing what was 1960s "Top 40 grown old" doesn't, to me, make it "standards material." It doesn't need to sound "old" to sound "good" and "standards" with the new artists like Norah Jones, Michael Buble', even the new Manilow stuff, along with so many really cool things that Tony Bennett has been doing of late is just a kick to hear in this format.

Make room for the real "standards" and stop trying to "fake it" by catching baby boomers up with what we long ago gave up just because everyone "thinks" we hated that music our parents of the 50s and even 60s probably liked. I, for one, have grown to love the very music (and more) my parents liked so much...and, some here, hopefully, will agree.

I'll take "Misty" by Sarah Vaughn any day over "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" (though it remains a favorite "Top 40 oldie" for me...but not in this format.) Those 1400 other "standards" are not difficult to find, believe me. With better rotations, that library will last a lot longer, rotate a lot better with more music and still keep people humming their favorite songs over and over without burning them, or the songs, out -- like some are today.

 

[vchimpanzee]

So, to listen to "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" for the 634th time in the last two months doesn't matter, it seems, which I don't quite understand. Just because someone, somewhere is still humming that "safe favorite" song as they only listen 22 minutes at a time and don't hear it as often as we think they do doesn't make it "right" or "best." (Plus, I don't think the song should be in the format, period. Too many other great standard classics unplayed.)

I agree.

Playing what was 1960s "Top 40 grown old" doesn't, to me, make it "standards material." It doesn't need to sound "old" to sound "good" and "standards" with the new artists like Norah Jones, Michael Buble', even the new Manilow stuff, along with so many really cool things that Tony Bennett has been doing of late is just a kick to hear in this format.

Make room for the real "standards" and stop trying to "fake it" by catching baby boomers up with what we long ago gave up just because everyone "thinks" we hated that music our parents of the 50s and even 60s probably liked. I, for one, have grown to love the very music (and more) my parents liked so much...and, some here, hopefully, will agree.

I'll take "Misty" by Sarah Vaughn any day over "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" (though it remains a favorite "Top 40 oldie" for me...but not in this format.)

Again, I agree, except I could do without the Righteous Brothers, period, except "Ebb Tide".

Those 1400 other "standards" are not difficult to find, believe me. With better rotations, that library will last a lot longer, rotate a lot better with more music and still keep people humming their favorite songs over and over without burning them, or the songs, out -- like some are today.

I agree again.

 

[oaktree]

And don't forget Frank Chacksfield's "standards" version of "Ebb Tide" ... and while I agree about the Righteous Bros. version, the screamin' ending makes me breathe rough at times. I also like "Just Once in My Life" by them. Both, though, too much Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" ... except maybe once in a while, in my opinion. Hey! I just heard "You've Lost..." on Dial Global! Make that...635 times in two months!

 

[publisher]

Agreed. I have never been a big fan of the Righteous Brothers and find their music particularly grating in this format.

 

[vchimpanzee]

About "Unchained Melody"--I like Les Baxter's version and even Al Hibbler's version better. AM Only, now called Dial Global, did both.

 

[BlueHen]

Anybody know, incidentally, the depth of the Dial Global format? Someone told me it was closer to 1500. Sounds like 300 to me...

I've done modest research on both the Dial Global (formerly WWI) and Timeless Classics format and only come up with a little over 2,000 songs for both formats combined. There is some overlap with those formats, but I counted each song only once. I would be surprised if the Dial Global format exceeded 1,000 songs and it certainly seems like there are fewer songs in regular rotation.

This week I had an opportunity to listen to the Dial Global format for an extended period. I believe it was Tuesday when I heard "Sloop John B" by the Beach Boys in the morning with Jeff Rollins... then again later that afternoon with Chick Watkins. I don't know - maybe the average listener wouldn't notice, but this is why it would be hard for me to make DG my first choice for everyday listening. Again, another case of that laziness factor oaktree talked about in the Defining Standards Radio thread.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Sad to Belong - England Dan, John Ford Coley.....One of the most overplayed songs and the least worthy of all time!

 

[IBadget1]

I too am not very satisfied with Dial Global Adult Standards. One minute they would play a really good song, e.g., Patti Page's "You Belong to Me" and another minute they would play a rather ho-hum song, e.g., Steve Perry's "Foolish Heart." IMHO Steve Perry doesn't belong on an Adult Standards format because he is a rock singer who once was a member of the rock group Journey. If I wanted to hear Steve Perry, Celine Dion, or Vanessa Williams, I'd tune to an AC station.

IMHO The Music Of Your Life and Jones Adult Standards do a much better job of focusing on real Adult Standards material than Dial Global Adult Standards or ABC Timeless Favorites. Good thing I have an iPod loaded with authentic Adult Standards tunes so that I don't have to put up with Dial Global's mediocre and watered-down mix of Adult Standards tunes.

 

[amlover]

The 80's music has to go. Too much A/C music for my taste.

 

[BlueHen]

Excellent points, Mike, Ivan, & amlover. I've noticed that, too. One minute, something great from the '50s or a nice Sinatra tune, then one of those sappy soft rock things. And that's indeed the problem - songs which you can just as easily hear elsewhere on 5 or 6 other spots on the dial, which sort of diminishes the "charm" of the Dial Global format.

(Mike, I don't think I'm bothered as much by England Dan & John Ford Coley as you, perhaps, but the one which really makes me cringe is "Emotion" by Samantha Sang from that same period.)

I do like some '70s/'80s material - Abba, Olivia, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, Dan Fogelberg - so I don't think it should be completely excluded. But they need to do a better job of finding a good mix. I don't know how they conduct their testing - if they do any at all - but with the Celine Dion type stuff thrown in (and, God knows, how many Barry Manilow songs), they're obviously aiming for the 40-year-old soccer mom. It's almost as though they've lost sight of two things... (1) that 40-year-old soccer mom has plenty of alternatives for hearing Celine & Barry on the radio, and (2) there are people under 55 who like to hear the great standards & MOR artists even though they didn't necessarily grow up listening to them.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Excellent points, Mike, Ivan, & amlover. I've noticed that, too. One minute, something great from the '50s or a nice Sinatra tune, then one of those sappy soft rock things. And that's indeed the problem - songs which you can just as easily hear elsewhere on 5 or 6 other spots on the dial, which sort of diminishes the "charm" of the Dial Global format.

(Mike, I don't think I'm bothered as much by England Dan & John Ford Coley as you, perhaps, but the one which really makes me cringe is "Emotion" by Samantha Sang from that same period.)

I do like some '70s/'80s material - Abba, Olivia, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, Dan Fogelberg - so I don't think it should be completely excluded. But they need to do a better job of finding a good mix. I don't know how they conduct their testing - if they do any at all - but with the Celine Dion type stuff thrown in (and, God knows, how many Barry Manilow songs), they're obviously aiming for the 40-year-old soccer mom. It's almost as though they've lost sight of two things... (1) that 40-year-old soccer mom has plenty of alternatives for hearing Celine & Barry on the radio, and (2) there are people under 55 who like to hear the great standards & MOR artists even though they didn't necessarily grow up listening to them.

Thanks Blue,

I don't see that it makes any sense to play songs that the A/C down the dial is playing into the ground. I mentioned the England Dan song and the song you mentioned, Emotion by Samantha Sang is another excellent example of a much overplayed song.

The artists you listed are fine, no objections here. I do take issue with you on Celine and Barry. There are not very many stations where I live playing these two artists. It's like their success somehow started working against them.

I'm 55 and enjoy all kinds of music. The top 40 station I listened to in my youth played a wide variety of music. Whatever hit the top 40, be it MOR, Country, Soul or Rock & Roll. My parents listened to mine and I listened to theirs. They never pushed their music on me though. To me a good song is a good song no matter when it came out.

I think it's also a shame that A/C radio will not play any new songs by established artists like Billy Joel, James Taylor, or even Paul McCartney. Instead they keep playing the same old stuff that has been overplayed for years. Some of the new stuff by these guys (and others) is pretty good.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I too am not very satisfied with Dial Global Adult Standards. One minute they would play a really good song, e.g., Patti and another minute they would play a rather ho-hum song, e.g., Steve Perry's "Foolish Heart." IMHO Steve Perry doesn't belong on an Adult Standards format because he is a rock singer who once was a member of the rock group Journey. If I wanted to hear Steve Perry, Celine Dion, or Vanessa Williams, I'd tune to an AC station.

I don't find them ho-hum. I find them annoying.

But really, depending on when you listen, Dial Global can be really good. During the time I listened this morning, they sounded like Music of Your Life on a bad day. For example, Bing Crosby's "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". And the last song I heard was "Softly As I Leave You".

It was much worse when it was still Westwood One. And of course there's no hope for Timeless Classics.

 

[BlueHen]

I don't find them ho-hum. I find them annoying.

It was much worse when it was still Westwood One. And of course there's no hope for Timeless Classics.

For me, Barry is ho-hum, but I guess I can't deny he belongs on the format. Celine, on the other hand, is annoying, along with others of that ilk, such as Faith Hill & Mariah Carey - whom I thankfully have not yet heard on the Dial Global format. I don't find their shrill caterwauling enjoyable to listen to at all. It's disruptive.

I can't say I know much about Timeless Classics, if anything, since I know of no affiliates. Is this the offshoot of what was Unforgettable Favorites about 5 years ago? I heard that for an hour once on a trip... every song except one was from the '70s. Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed.

The top 40 station I listened to in my youth played a wide variety of music. Whatever hit the top 40, be it MOR, Country, Soul or Rock & Roll.

I think it's also a shame that A/C radio will not play any new songs by established artists like Billy Joel, James Taylor, or even Paul McCartney. Instead they keep playing the same old stuff that has been overplayed for years. Some of the new stuff by these guys (and others) is pretty good.

Your point about Top 40 radio in its heyday is well-taken. Listened to Dial Global again this morning. Heard "Axel F" Harold Faltermeyer, "You Don't Have To Be A Star" Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr, and "Break Up To Make Up" the Stylistics. See the comparison? Back in those days you might easily hear Led Zeppelin followed by the Carpenters. I'm not saying Dial Global is heading for something that drastic, but since it's one of the few spots to hear Sinatra, Mathis, and Como today, we'll just have to persevere with the '70s & '80s pop... for now.

(By the way, my intent in mentioning "Sloop John B" by the Beach Boys in an earlier post was not whether it belonged on the format, but that it was played twice in the same day just hours apart. I don't think a 40-year-old pop song which really isn't MOR should warrant a heavy rotation - if twice in a day can be considered heavy. The song stands out too much, and could make the repeat factor noticeable to the casual listener).

As for new songs by established artists, I did hear that new Dan Fogelberg song, "Sometimes A Song," whose proceeds benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation, on Dial Global the other day. I think it has the potential to be a hit much like "Longer," so I hope they keep it in regular rotation.