Kiss 108 - in the beginning

[Retro]

The point was: "Even though they added more pop/Top 40...it was always a rhythmic mix of newer songs."

So, no memory here of "Whole Lotta Love", Joey Scarbury or Dolly Parton.

But, it's OK, Your memory could be better than mine...and I don't really care that much. ;-)

Okie dokie!

 

[Least]

I remember them playing the top three hits from Aerosmith's Get A Grip album (Cryin', Amazing, and Crazy) well before the fore mentioned January 1995. Crazy was even #1 on their Top 20 countdown shows for a few weeks.

 

[Retro]

I remember them playing the top three hits from Aerosmith's Get A Grip album (Cryin', Amazing, and Crazy) well before the fore mentioned January 1995. Crazy was even #1 on their Top 20 countdown shows for a few weeks.

I did not say they didn't play rock hits. What I said was the shift from being a Rhyhmic leaning station ended with the new PD, who took over tge helm back then instead.

 

[Wimmmex]

What I said was the shift from being a Rhyhmic leaning station ended with the new PD, who took over the helm back then instead.

What year was this "new PD"? Sunny Joe White was the PD from the day/night they flipped from WWEL-FM.

 

[Retro]

What year was this "new PD"? Sunny Joe White was the PD from the day/night they flipped from WWEL-FM.

Sunny Joe White (Launch-1990)
Steve Rivers (1991-1994)
John Ivey (1995-2001)

I stopped keeping track of them after that.

 

[Least]

I did not say they didn't play rock hits. What I said was the shift from being a Rhyhmic leaning station ended with the new PD, who took over tge helm back then instead.

Simply adding a notice. The date was said as January 1995, that's all. I think it would absent minded to see the station as not a rhythmic leaning station. Most songs on CHR for the last few decades have been rhythmic.

 

[Retro]

Simply adding a notice. The date was said as January 1995, that's all. I think it would absent minded to see the station as not a rhythmic leaning station. Most songs on CHR for the last few decades have been rhythmic.

I suppose you forgot about the late 1990s then. that was when virtually every CHR-Mainstream in the USA was all Modern, all the time!

I mean, of course they were not Modern AC, however just like during the very early 90's, almost every CHR was highly Dance/Rhythmic, with a handful of regular pop/rock hits still blended in for good measure. Do you remember when CHR did not want to touch Nirvana's mammoth hit back then?

I have considered WXKS-FM a fully balanced CHR since the start of the 2000s.

 

[Least]

I suppose you forgot about the late 1990s then. that was when virtually every CHR-Mainstream in the USA was all Modern, all the time!

I mean, of course they were not Modern AC, however just like during the very early 90's, almost every CHR was highly Dance/Rhythmic, with a handful of regular pop/rock hits still blended in for good measure. Do you remember when CHR did not want to touch Nirvana's mammoth hit back then?

I have considered WXKS-FM a fully balanced CHR since the start of the 2000s.

Was your first paragraph meant for me? I said that CHR is mostly rhythmic, which I stand by. It had nothing to do with being being modern or not. We are in agreement that it's modern/current. Also, a date of January 1995 was stated. My point was Kiss 108 did play some rock songs before that date. "Some" is the key word. But my first reply acknowledged that they played rock songs (yet, not many at all) even before that January 1995 date quoted.

Regarding it being balanced, I disagree. Adding a Blink-182 songs into the mix in the late 90s doesn't change that it still was mostly rhythmic based songs on the station. That was the same era where boy bands and Britney Spears rose to dominance. To me, the pop/rock sound that broke through wasn't dominant. It was more of a niche fringe from the alt-rock movement that passed us like Haley's Commet. Just like how Green Day will pop their collective head up like gophers once in a blue moon on CHR. Outside the alt-rock bands, it included ballads from bands like Nickelback and The Goo Goo Dolls, who completely changed their sound to lean into Top 40. Still not rhythmic, so it supports your perspective. Again, I don't see it as balancing, and pop/dance songs were and are still dominant on CHR.

I far from see it balanced today. We bring up modern rock, and people basically say that it's dying. They say that people today like rhythmic music. Modern alternative is rhythmic much like alternative's origin. We say that Alt-rock was a niche fringe of alternative that has wained. Modern rock is mostly relegated to HD-2, Satellite, and Internet. The stations that play it on analog frequencies incorporate classic rock songs into the playlist. With all of that, to then say the CHR is balanced is a statement that is difficult for me to agree with.

CHR is designed to play what is Top 40. And, Top 40 will include pop/rock songs, but I see that is not even close to where I would call it a blend. It's mostly rhythmic sounding music. I would set the overall default 70/30 (arbitrary number depending on the year) as to the balance of rhythmic to non-rhythmic songs (not necessarily pop/rock) on CHR. When teasing it to strictly pop/rock, I would set that arbitrary number to 80/20 overall, depending on the year. Lately, I would see that as possibly less. Early 2000s with the Blink-182, Barenaked Ladies, and Fall Out Boy influence, I would say that it was possibly greater for that period of time. I still wouldn't say it's balanced.

 

[Retro]

I suppose you forgot about the late 1990s then. that was when virtually every CHR-Mainstream in the USA was all Modern, all the time!

I have considered WXKS-FM a fully balanced CHR since the start of the 2000s.

 

[Retro]

While it is downright hard to pull a playlist of Kiss 108 during that era, I think that this previous post from a long while ago, pretty much sums up my recollection very well:

Post in thread 'Rock Leaning CHR's?' https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/rock-leaning-chrs.498142/post-4394195

 

[Least]

While it is downright hard to pull a playlist of Kiss 108 during that era, I think that this previous post from a long while ago, pretty much sums up my recollection very well:

Post in thread 'Rock Leaning CHR's?' https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/rock-leaning-chrs.498142/post-4394195

Rhythmic doesn't necessary mean urban. DJ Sammy's cover of Boys of Summer was a hit in the early 2000s. That wasn't a song played on Jamin. It was a Rhythmic song. It was based on a percussion based beat. Boy bands (have to laugh as they didn't play instruments) were dance songs. They weren't big on Jamin. So, I think you are thinking of what people classify as "urban" music (Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B). I'm talking about music that is based on Rhythmic beats.

So, if you're specifically saying a blend between music that has a cross over between Kiss and Jamin? Yes there is a blend and balance. But in my definition, is there a balance between music that is beat based (be it crossed over with Jamin or not) and music that isn't? I still say no. CHR is heavily dance music based. Be it Britney Spears or Missy Elliot in the early 2000s, or Katy Perry or Lil Nas X today.

 

[Retro]

Rhythmic doesn't necessary mean urban. DJ Sammy's cover of Boys of Summer was a hit in the early 2000s. That wasn't a song played on Jamin. It was a Rhythmic song. It was based on a percussion based beat. Boy bands (have to laugh as they didn't play instruments) were dance songs. They weren't big on Jamin. So, I think you are thinking of what people classify as "urban" music (Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B). I'm talking about music that is based on Rhythmic beats.

So, if you're specifically saying a blend between music that has a cross over between Kiss and Jamin? Yes there is a blend and balance. But in my definition, is there a balance between music that is beat based (be it crossed over with Jamin or not) and music that isn't? I still say no. CHR is heavily dance music based. Be it Britney Spears or Missy Elliot in the early 2000s, or Katy Perry or Lil Nas X today.

And it very well be these days, and for the past decade or more.

All that I have been trying to say is despites Kiss 108's reputation. From at least during the mid to late 90's, the Modern Pop/Rhythmic ratio shifted on Kiss 108 instead.

Even before that with Sreve Rivers at the helm, the the rhythmic/modern ratio was approximately 60/40 Rhythmic. But once John Ivey took the helm, for the first time in Kiss 108's history, that ratio reversed.