I have to start off by pointing out that initially, Press took even more liberties with the Alternative format a couple of years ago than they are currently with G Rock Radio.
Beejus: Do you think the following acts belong on an Alternative station ... Nelly Furtado, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, Gavin DeGraw, Train, Five For Fighting, Santana, and Norah Jones? In the roughly 4 1/2 years between Press's purchase of WHTG and the rechristening of WHTG/WBBO as "G Rock Radio", all of these acts were played at some point on G 106.3, all while the station was branding itself as "Your Rock Alternative".
The station has improved dramatically since then, but upon listening to the station, you can't tell me that the powers that be that operate G Rock Radio have even the slightest clue of what an Alternative station should sound like and how G Rock Radio should sound relative to the competition. Why go after the middle aged Woman (who already is listening to something else) when you can go after the audience that has no loyalty: The Male listener? If they're under 50, they're not listening to The Hawk, they probably get bored with The Rat, and Free-FM? After O&A, forget about it, especially when The Radio Chick is on. G Rock Radio can easily solidify its audience and establish listener loyalty by going edgier or by staying true to the roots of Alternative by embracing the past, looking toward the future, and dumping the arena rock tripe that doesn't belong. I doubt that anyone requests Evanescence - they just play it because their out-of-touch consultants tell them that it's "the hot thing right now". For what it's worth, they seldom ever even play requests - soliciting for them on the air is more of a formality than anything else.
Beejus said:
Actually, Nickelback was #37 in 2005 on WHTG, a year where Nickelback placed #42 overall on the Alternative Charts When you stop exaggerating to get your way... maybe other people will listen.
The "roots" of Alternative are skewed. Some people will say the roots go back to the Clash & Sex Pistols... some will say the roots begin with Nirvana. Nickelback Hit #1 on the charts, so did Evanescence. Let's not forget Lifehouse hit #1, Sarah McLachlan hit #1, The Goo Goo Dolls hit #1, The Calling went Top 10, so did Nine Days, The Cardigans, Natalie Imbruglia, Maroon 5 hit Top 20. That's part of the Alternative "roots," so why not play them still?
I'm not sure where you get your information from on the first paragraph, but I seem to remember G Rock Radio playing the ever-living
hell out of Nickelback in 2005. Maybe Top 5 was a slight exaggeration, but how did you arrive at #37? They were played every hour on the hour at times, especially during the day.
While you are correct on pointing out several MOR acts charting high with some tracks, take note of Sean's message, and also remember that most of these acts were one hit wonders, at least on the Alternative format. It also must be stated that Goo Goo Dolls were a decent loud garage rock band that was reminiscent of The Replacements at one time. Yes, I'm well aware that "Iris" and "Slide" were among the tracks that charted well on Alternative, but that was mostly because of what they used to be. Now they're a slick, glossy pop act that's no different from the Bon Jovis of the world, and they are no longer on Alternative (their post A Boy Named Goo material, at least).
The last thing that needs to be pointed out is this: Maroon 5 did not even come remotely close to the Top 20 on Alternative. "Harder To Breathe" barely cracked the Top 50 (but hey, G Rock Radio played it - they even played "This Love" as well!), at which point the label decided to focus on the ever-lucrative soccer mom market - a move that, deservedly or not, paid off big time.
hubcity said:
He's right. He may have a skewed view of how to accomplish a repair to the station (in my world, people who think Alternative started with Nirvana are laughed out of the room - but that's in my world) but he's right on the money on that.
I'm
not one of those people, though an approach that replaces G Rock Radio's Hot AC leanings with more edgier rock acts like System Of A Down and Korn would be preferable and more effective.
I really don't understand why Press decided to blow up FM 106.3 and start from scratch anyway. It sounded just fine the way it was and really only needed an enhanced presence through a higher advertising budget and an improved signal. Instead of being so hasty to replace it, they really should have given it a few ratings books to see if it would have improved (it definitely would have).
Personally, I think that G Rock Radio should tinker with the approach of the station toward a sound closer to Indie, The End, and FM 106.3. They should definitely play some Sex Pistols, Bauhaus and Joy Division tracks while playing more songs by Depeche Mode, R.E.M., Pixies, The Smiths & Morrissey, and they should definitely tone down the pop/punk juvenilia and the dumbed-down post-grunge - and honestly, would anyone shed a tear if they played Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots just a little bit less? They could drop the Shinedown, Stone Sour and Evanescence and start featuring more acts that better fit the format instead. Would people become disinterested in G Rock Radio if this were to happen? Maybe the soccer moms and their tanning-salon-obsessed daughters, but they probably only tuned in when The Point was playing a song they didn't like.
