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IF YOU COULD BRING BACK AN ATLANTA RADIO STATION....
- Thread starter onetake
- Start date
Any of them. Anything is better than what we got now. If I had to choose, it would be 96 Rock. In the mid 80's, my radio didn't move from WKLS.
--96 Rock when they started adding all the MTV new wave (A Flock of Seagulls, Thomas Dolby, etc.) and early hair bands (Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, etc.) to their playlist c.1982-1984, before the "cool it with the heavy metal, we want Pure Rock & Roll" boomer classic rock backlash of the mid-80s when their playlist went to hell, all Skynyrd, all the time. It took a deep-cutting classic rock Z93 to wake them up from that rut and force them to bring back current AOR.
I don't think 96 Rock ever had a more adventuresome and diverse playlist since, not even with the hair bands returning in the late 1980s or grunge in the early 1990s.
--Power 99 in the first few years (1986-1988) when they took more chances with their playlist. They win the CHR vote over Z-93 in the late 1970s/early 1980s for that reason.
I don't think 96 Rock ever had a more adventuresome and diverse playlist since, not even with the hair bands returning in the late 1980s or grunge in the early 1990s.
--Power 99 in the first few years (1986-1988) when they took more chances with their playlist. They win the CHR vote over Z-93 in the late 1970s/early 1980s for that reason.
Y106 no doubt about it.
Mine's a huge favorite from the past but with twist of today........
POWER 99 - The name could be adjusted for modern day...maybe, "THE ATL's HIT MUSIC CHANNEL.....CHANNEL 99"
And like another poster mentioned, don't be afraid to take risks. It would be the updated, 2010 version of a full-on, pure
CHR station. Why, even during middays, you might hear dance-remix of a current single. Bring back the hot local hot-jock
night shows. And okay, Seacrest from Midnight to 4am...(just being realistic)....lol! But, something that sounds like radio in
MARKET #7. You felt the pulse of a city when you turned on "power"! I loved that they were that pure, "kiddie-city",
pop-40 but, with a slight emphasis on edgier electro-pop and dance. (wow, hard to believe this was Atlanta?)
peace.
POWER 99 - The name could be adjusted for modern day...maybe, "THE ATL's HIT MUSIC CHANNEL.....CHANNEL 99"
And like another poster mentioned, don't be afraid to take risks. It would be the updated, 2010 version of a full-on, pure
CHR station. Why, even during middays, you might hear dance-remix of a current single. Bring back the hot local hot-jock
night shows. And okay, Seacrest from Midnight to 4am...(just being realistic)....lol! But, something that sounds like radio in
MARKET #7. You felt the pulse of a city when you turned on "power"! I loved that they were that pure, "kiddie-city",
pop-40 but, with a slight emphasis on edgier electro-pop and dance. (wow, hard to believe this was Atlanta?)
peace.
929 Radio Atlanta when I program it.
99X ca. 1996-2000.
Adventure and Planet Radio.
Only one was a real answer.
99X ca. 1996-2000.
Adventure and Planet Radio.
Only one was a real answer.
T
Twitch
Guest
Neil Millman said:
Hmm....gotta be Planet Radio.
G
gravelgertie
Guest
Did Disney actually own Fox 97 at one time?
WFOX was owned for some time by Shamrock, which was privately held by some members of the Disney family.
In most cases, thinking logically you'd realize that it wouldn't matter whether or not you "brought back" a station because even if you did, it would only be modernized to the way things are today. However, in THIS case, when it comes to bringing back an Atlanta station, it's different. Why? Because although it would be a modernized version of the station, that station just may fill in a gap that has been missing for quite a while, and do so in a more traditional, proper way.
For example, I used to reminisce over how I missed 103.9 KPTY ever since we lost 103.9 Arizona's Party Station, twice, in 1998 and the final time again in 2001. I used to wish endlessly for years that it would come back, even after we got the rhythmic 101.5 JamZ in 2007, until rather recently when I thought about it logically and came to the realization that even if it did come back or stick around until today, IT WOULD NOT HAVE REMAINED THE SAME! People/employees would have come and gone, different ideas taking over, and modernization over time would've changed things up to some degree. As a matter of fact, our 101.5 IS today's version of 103.9 Arizona's Party Station, and who am I to say that the result of keeping the old thing would've turned out to be better in the end than getting rid of the old and bringing possibility to something new? I've learned to get over the past to some degree. I face the fact that rhythmic radio has changed quite a bit, and latin house, meaningful hip hop, and what was once booty bass & freestyle and all that mixshow party stuff I once enjoyed is now pretty much dead. Having an afterhourz electronic mix show the way it once was is pretty much a thing of the past. Today it's all about tik tok, and songs by Flo Rida, Jay Sean, Cascada, Pitbull, Lady Gaga...etc. So in other words, for me, I'm just thankful we have two rhythmics and a rhythmic top 40 that now ALL somewhat reflect what The Party used to be. However, in Atlanta, it's a different story. There are actually MORE stations, yet a huge lack of certain things and not much improvement as a result, so in that case it's safe to assume if the past wasn't "destroyed" in the first place, then things could've evolved in a much better way through today, but then again, WHO KNOWS.....??
With the direction music is headed in today, you'd imagine that everyone would at least have a traditional rhythmic top 40 in their town, playing those hits party style. Too bad that's just not the way it is. I still believe for those in Atlanta still pushing for that rhythmic top 40 sound there is a bit more hope today than there was three months ago, now that certain stations are beginning to tweak away from the top 40 sound. If anything, if I were a business seeking to fulfill Atlanta with that sound, I'd jump in RIGHT NOW while I had the chance! I'd do it quick, before someone decides to do a halfway decent job of the format I'm seeking to provide, and only do it good enough to the point where my chance to come in and successfully provide the "real deal" would be blocked. I'd step right in there, between the sound of Q100 and 95.5 The Part.. I meant, BEAT. I would jump in with all my rhythmic hits, AND baltimore club music, modernized booty bass, electro-hip hop, house...etc in the mix shows on Friday & Saturday nights. It would be a WiLD station to listen to, to say the least, and 1, 2, 4, 3, no other station would do it better than me, better than me, better better than me. If it were up to me, it would have two half hour mix shows in the morning, a wild workout style mix at noon, 4 o clock 4 play mix, traffic jam at 5, and the club / party mix from 10p-12a. ..and that is JUST the weekdays, outside of holidays!
Then after that, I'd work on a traditional Soft / Lite rock format to replace Peach, or be like B98.5 with more currents added in as well.
I'd probably make Star*94 to be Mix 94 instead, although the name "Star" is good enough for their current sound. Not sure what I'd do with The groove.
For example, I used to reminisce over how I missed 103.9 KPTY ever since we lost 103.9 Arizona's Party Station, twice, in 1998 and the final time again in 2001. I used to wish endlessly for years that it would come back, even after we got the rhythmic 101.5 JamZ in 2007, until rather recently when I thought about it logically and came to the realization that even if it did come back or stick around until today, IT WOULD NOT HAVE REMAINED THE SAME! People/employees would have come and gone, different ideas taking over, and modernization over time would've changed things up to some degree. As a matter of fact, our 101.5 IS today's version of 103.9 Arizona's Party Station, and who am I to say that the result of keeping the old thing would've turned out to be better in the end than getting rid of the old and bringing possibility to something new? I've learned to get over the past to some degree. I face the fact that rhythmic radio has changed quite a bit, and latin house, meaningful hip hop, and what was once booty bass & freestyle and all that mixshow party stuff I once enjoyed is now pretty much dead. Having an afterhourz electronic mix show the way it once was is pretty much a thing of the past. Today it's all about tik tok, and songs by Flo Rida, Jay Sean, Cascada, Pitbull, Lady Gaga...etc. So in other words, for me, I'm just thankful we have two rhythmics and a rhythmic top 40 that now ALL somewhat reflect what The Party used to be. However, in Atlanta, it's a different story. There are actually MORE stations, yet a huge lack of certain things and not much improvement as a result, so in that case it's safe to assume if the past wasn't "destroyed" in the first place, then things could've evolved in a much better way through today, but then again, WHO KNOWS.....??
With the direction music is headed in today, you'd imagine that everyone would at least have a traditional rhythmic top 40 in their town, playing those hits party style. Too bad that's just not the way it is. I still believe for those in Atlanta still pushing for that rhythmic top 40 sound there is a bit more hope today than there was three months ago, now that certain stations are beginning to tweak away from the top 40 sound. If anything, if I were a business seeking to fulfill Atlanta with that sound, I'd jump in RIGHT NOW while I had the chance! I'd do it quick, before someone decides to do a halfway decent job of the format I'm seeking to provide, and only do it good enough to the point where my chance to come in and successfully provide the "real deal" would be blocked. I'd step right in there, between the sound of Q100 and 95.5 The Part.. I meant, BEAT. I would jump in with all my rhythmic hits, AND baltimore club music, modernized booty bass, electro-hip hop, house...etc in the mix shows on Friday & Saturday nights. It would be a WiLD station to listen to, to say the least, and 1, 2, 4, 3, no other station would do it better than me, better than me, better better than me. If it were up to me, it would have two half hour mix shows in the morning, a wild workout style mix at noon, 4 o clock 4 play mix, traffic jam at 5, and the club / party mix from 10p-12a. ..and that is JUST the weekdays, outside of holidays!
Then after that, I'd work on a traditional Soft / Lite rock format to replace Peach, or be like B98.5 with more currents added in as well.
I'd probably make Star*94 to be Mix 94 instead, although the name "Star" is good enough for their current sound. Not sure what I'd do with The groove.
RTibbs said:
I intentionally left that part out since I cannot speak with experience for people who never lived in Atlanta, like I did for 8 years.
KDM makes an interesting point. While it would be easy to suppose that a late-70s/early 80s Z-93 or a mid-late 80s Power 99 would just be a current CHR with a deeper playlist and a hotter mix than the incumbents (Beat, Star, Q100), would it be possible to re-create 96 Rock during any specified time period in a way that would be musically and formatically relevant today?
Let's go back to 1979-1980-1981, before the influence of MTV. It's not hard to imagine what 96 Rock's playlist was--tune into any given classic rock station, right? But--there was no 1980s arena rock yet. British Invasion--the Beatles*, Stones, Kinks, et al., coexisted with the Styx, Skynyrd, and Boston. Late-1960s psychedelia hadn't come back yet--so that playlist was light on the Doors and Hendrix. AOR was a one-stop shop, although 94Q did create somewhat of a fusion of AOR and Top 40 during that same timeframe.
Could you do that anymore? Doubtful. Nobody wants British Invasion--or even 1960s psychedelia--on their AOR station anymore, even if they style themselves as "classic rock".
Move forward a few years to the early-mid-1980s. Let's add early-1980s MTV alternative. While AOR played it back then (96 Rock had Prince's "Purple Rain" on their playlist!, that kind of music is now primarily the domain of AC stations.
So, if you want to clone one of the many old 96 Rocks, you have a decision to make--one that's going to involve deciding on music compatibility and who you want to compete with. Add too much 1960s AOR, and you compete with True Oldies--not to mention clashing with 1990s alt. 1970s AOR is an easier decision, as long as you stay away from too much softer stuff that's now the domain of AM gold stations like True Oldies and Majic 102.9. 1980s AOR is fragmented--the early 1980s alt is now the domain of AC stations. 1980s hair and 1990s grunge, besides not being mixable with each other, tend to produce very strong positive and negative reactions from "core" AOR fans, based on their leanings.
So, what you're left with is a "safe" but shallow and unimaginative mix of 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s AOR--stuff that's hard enough to stay off the oldies and AC stations, but not too alternative and not too "period" (e.g., hair metal).
Want to know how this plays out for real? Watch what River and Rock 100.5 are doing. River is hardening up their playlist--AC/DC, The Clash, and Guns N' Roses--which sounds weird when they just came off the greatest-hits remix of Blondie's "Heart of Glass". Rock100.5 dumped most of the 1990s alt (if you hear Nirvana anymore, it's going to be "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and not "Lithium"), and now relies on a solid core of 1980s AOR--sounds just like late-1980s 96 Rock, and that's not intended as flattery.
There is some really good hard rock coming out now--the Dollyrots, for example. But who's going to play them? A 99X "classic alternative" station won't touch them. And some consider acts like that to be CHR and not AOR, for some reason. Are they too slick? When was that ever a problem for AOR?
*96 Rock's mascot was Rocky Raccoon, pronounced ruh-COON like the Beatles' song.
Let's go back to 1979-1980-1981, before the influence of MTV. It's not hard to imagine what 96 Rock's playlist was--tune into any given classic rock station, right? But--there was no 1980s arena rock yet. British Invasion--the Beatles*, Stones, Kinks, et al., coexisted with the Styx, Skynyrd, and Boston. Late-1960s psychedelia hadn't come back yet--so that playlist was light on the Doors and Hendrix. AOR was a one-stop shop, although 94Q did create somewhat of a fusion of AOR and Top 40 during that same timeframe.
Could you do that anymore? Doubtful. Nobody wants British Invasion--or even 1960s psychedelia--on their AOR station anymore, even if they style themselves as "classic rock".
Move forward a few years to the early-mid-1980s. Let's add early-1980s MTV alternative. While AOR played it back then (96 Rock had Prince's "Purple Rain" on their playlist!, that kind of music is now primarily the domain of AC stations.
So, if you want to clone one of the many old 96 Rocks, you have a decision to make--one that's going to involve deciding on music compatibility and who you want to compete with. Add too much 1960s AOR, and you compete with True Oldies--not to mention clashing with 1990s alt. 1970s AOR is an easier decision, as long as you stay away from too much softer stuff that's now the domain of AM gold stations like True Oldies and Majic 102.9. 1980s AOR is fragmented--the early 1980s alt is now the domain of AC stations. 1980s hair and 1990s grunge, besides not being mixable with each other, tend to produce very strong positive and negative reactions from "core" AOR fans, based on their leanings.
So, what you're left with is a "safe" but shallow and unimaginative mix of 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s AOR--stuff that's hard enough to stay off the oldies and AC stations, but not too alternative and not too "period" (e.g., hair metal).
Want to know how this plays out for real? Watch what River and Rock 100.5 are doing. River is hardening up their playlist--AC/DC, The Clash, and Guns N' Roses--which sounds weird when they just came off the greatest-hits remix of Blondie's "Heart of Glass". Rock100.5 dumped most of the 1990s alt (if you hear Nirvana anymore, it's going to be "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and not "Lithium"), and now relies on a solid core of 1980s AOR--sounds just like late-1980s 96 Rock, and that's not intended as flattery.
There is some really good hard rock coming out now--the Dollyrots, for example. But who's going to play them? A 99X "classic alternative" station won't touch them. And some consider acts like that to be CHR and not AOR, for some reason. Are they too slick? When was that ever a problem for AOR?
*96 Rock's mascot was Rocky Raccoon, pronounced ruh-COON like the Beatles' song.
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