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Knoxville - A real album rock station?

A

AlbumOldies

I've only lived in Knoxville since 2001, but have not been impressed with the rock stations here at all. Has Knoxville ever had a real album rock station? By that I mean a station that played a lot of album cuts by a lot of artists such as Uriah Heep, Velvet Underground, Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, Traffic, Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, etc. I was fortunate, maybe spoiled, to have grown up in Memphis and had a great 300,000 watt album rock station (WMC FM100) to listen to in the mid 60's and early/mid 70's, and later WZXR FM Rock 103 in the 80's. I have gotten so tired of WIMZ's constant playing of Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Foreigner, etc that I do not bother to listen anymore. Something is wrong with classic rock when you hear "Shooting Star" by Bad Company to the point you are sick of the song. Thankfully we have WQUT 101.5 in Johnson City to rely on - at least they will dig out of the archives something like "A Day In The Life" by the Beatles or "Going Down" by Jeff Beck once in a while. Geez, a young person listening to WIMZ must think there was not much to rock music in the 70's!!

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by AlbumOldies on 02/07/06 10:30 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> I've only lived in Knoxville since 2001, but have not been
> impressed with the rock stations here at all. Has Knoxville
> ever had a real album rock station? By that I mean a
> station that played a lot of album cuts by a lot of artists
> such as Uriah Heep, Velvet Underground, Todd Rundgren, David
> Bowie, Traffic, Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, etc. I was
> fortunate, maybe spoiled, to have grown up in Memphis and
> had a great 300,000 watt album rock station (WMC FM100) to
> listen to in the mid 60's and early/mid 70's, and later WZXR
> FM Rock 103 in the 80's. I have gotten so tired of WIMZ's
> constant playing of Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top,
> Foreigner, etc that I do not bother to listen anymore.
> Something is wrong with classic rock when you hear "Shooting
> Star" by Bad Company to the point you are sick of the song.
> Thankfully we have WQUT 101.5 in Johnson City to rely on -
> at least they will dig out of the archives something like "A
> Day In The Life" by the Beatles or "Going Down" by Jeff Beck
> once in a while. Geez, a young person listening to WIMZ
> must think there was not much to rock music in the 70's!!
>

You're right about WIMZ nowdays. They do play the same stuff over and over and they keep promising more variety - but where is it? Wow, they dig out a couple of Santana songs and throw in House Of The Rising Sun and then they call that variety. But, there was a time give or take 20 years when WIMZ was really an awesome radio station. They started out as album rock and in the early days, it was nothing to hear Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, Crosby Stille & Nash, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Yardbirds, and even Jefferson Airplane all together in one set of music. But like you said, those great historic bands just don't seem to make it to the radio here in Knoxville. It makes me sick to travel, hear other stations, then get back to Knoxville. We also had another decent classic rock station a few years ago. Eagle 100 on WOKI. I've talked alot about this station before because it just amazed me of the quality air personalities and deep variety they played. Mott The Hoople, Humble Pie, The Beatles, all of this was in constant rotation and got plenty of air time. Sadly that station didn't last long though - a couple of years, then they switched to The River. Now as Earl on 98.7, WOKI is again offering up some great variety. The thing that makes me sick is that WIMZ could do so much better. They've been on for 27 years - it looks like they would know what classic rock was by now. But I doubt Knoxville will ever see a really good rock station. We'll have to keep the vinyl and/or cd's spinning if we want true variety in rock music.
 
>
> You're right about WIMZ nowdays. They do play the same
> stuff over and over and they keep promising more variety -
> but where is it?


I thought maybe when WIMZ was doing the A to Z thing before Christmas that this was going to be a Christmas present to the listeners. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case. Even with the A to Z run I noticed some songs missing that would be on standard run of the mill compilation or "best of" CD's available at any CD store. I called WIMZ to thank them when they did A to Z; I also called them back when it was over and told them I was sorry to hear they had reverted to the same old tired playlist, and I removed them from the pushbuttons of both vehicles I drive. Oh well, thank goodness for WQUT and the "Flashback" program on Sunday nights. At least we can get a few hours a week of real classic rock there.
 
> >
> > You're right about WIMZ nowdays. They do play the same
> > stuff over and over and they keep promising more variety -
>
> > but where is it?
>
>
> I thought maybe when WIMZ was doing the A to Z thing before
> Christmas that this was going to be a Christmas present to
> the listeners. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be
> the case. Even with the A to Z run I noticed some songs
> missing that would be on standard run of the mill
> compilation or "best of" CD's available at any CD store. I
> called WIMZ to thank them when they did A to Z; I also
> called them back when it was over and told them I was sorry
> to hear they had reverted to the same old tired playlist,
> and I removed them from the pushbuttons of both vehicles I
> drive. Oh well, thank goodness for WQUT and the "Flashback"
> program on Sunday nights. At least we can get a few hours a
> week of real classic rock there.
>
Just my two cents... WIMZ has had cranial-rectitus for a while now.
Problem is, when there is no competition, they'll continue to put
out stale radio. I grew up in the Tri-Cities and had a stint on
'QUT during it's CHR days and current format. 'QUT has what we call
in the industry a library. WIMZ CLAIMS to have one but as we have
all heard, it is very limited. If the PD for 'IMZ was to broaden
their horizons they would do well to take a nod from 'QUT. I don't
always agree with what they put out, but at least it's diverse.
I'm done with my rant, time for tummy yum-yums called meds.
The Spindoctor
 
> Just my two cents... WIMZ has had cranial-rectitus for a
> while now.
> Problem is, when there is no competition, they'll continue
> to put
> out stale radio. I grew up in the Tri-Cities and had a
> stint on
> 'QUT during it's CHR days and current format. 'QUT has what
> we call
> in the industry a library. WIMZ CLAIMS to have one but as
> we have
> all heard, it is very limited. If the PD for 'IMZ was to
> broaden
> their horizons they would do well to take a nod from 'QUT.
> I don't
> always agree with what they put out, but at least it's
> diverse.
> I'm done with my rant, time for tummy yum-yums called meds.
> The Spindoctor
>
You should heard WQUT back during the seventies up until about 1982. They were playing artists that no one else in the area were playing as well as cuts by artists that most other AOR stations weren't. You would hear songs by Peter Tosh, The Vapors, Bonnie Raitt and others than no one else in the area were playing. QUT was playing AC/DC as early as 1976. The first Knoxville station I heard AC/DC on was WIMZ after "Highway to Hell" was released. Even in the early days of WIMZ (Rock 104), they were pretty tame compared to WQUT.
 
> after "Highway to Hell" was released. Even in the early days
> of WIMZ (Rock 104), they were pretty tame compared to WQUT.
>

Everyone always has these fond memories of WQUT in its Midnight Rambler days. But the fact is, QUT was fifth in a three station market and didn't bill much. It was a toy for the owners until a real company (Bloomington) bought it and made it stale, boring and highly profitable.

WIMZ is a state-of-the-art Jacobs consulted classic rock station, no different than any other market. Your memories of WMC and early WIMZ and the like are from a different day, different world. Deep cuts from a five year old album are a lot different than deep cuts from a thirty year old album, And there is a reason why the Eagle didn't fly.

This is from someone who lived it rather than listened to it.
 
You know, I listened the other day and didn't think WIMZ sounded too bad. The playlist was great, in my opinion. Maybe a little tight, but what I expect from Classic Rock. Sure beats the heck out of the overly-broad playlist of Jack. It's targeted at a specific demographic, and what I heard indicates that it's aimed properly. Just my opinion, though. For what it's worth.



And Spindoctor...how 'bout returning somebody's calls! :)
 
Deep cuts from a five year old album are a
> lot different than deep cuts from a thirty year old album,


Quite true, but these 30 year old albums are still for sale, even at Walmart, where just two weeks ago I saw a Quicksilver Messenger Service CD for sale. I really have not heard much of anything on WIMZ that qualifies as a deep cut, from ANY era. I listen to WIMZ less than an hour a week, and most of this is on a radio I keep in the bathroom that won't pick up much else. With the little time that I listen, I hear constant repetition on WIMZ. I know for certain I have heard "Shooting Star" (Bad Co) three times in the last few weeks - for no more than I listen this is ridiculous. Friends of mine relate the same experiences. Not all markets are this way. Classic rock station WEGR (Rock 103) in Memphis has a much more varied playlist. While home for Christmas I was treated to "Tell Mama" by Savoy Brown on Rock 103. I bet this is not even in WIMZ's library.
 
> Classic rock station WEGR
> (Rock 103) in Memphis has a much more varied playlist.
> While home for Christmas I was treated to "Tell Mama" by
> Savoy Brown on Rock 103. I bet this is not even in WIMZ's
> library.
>

That would explain WEGR's Fall book when they fell almost 3 full points from summer to fall. The went from fifth to 13th in three months.

Some listeners told them they wanted more variety..WEGR responded. And the rest is ratings history.
 
> That would explain WEGR's Fall book when they fell almost 3
> full points from summer to fall. The went from fifth to
> 13th in three months.
>
> Some listeners told them they wanted more variety..WEGR
> responded. And the rest is ratings history.



I think this proves a very good point. Sure, there are lots of things we'd like to hear on the radio, and plenty of deep cuts which could be played. But, the numbers seem to indicate that when we get too broad with playlists, folks tune out. Maybe listeners don't want to hear the same songs every two hours, but they certainly do want a little repetition, rather than four obscure songs an hour which they may or may not remember.

The bottom line is, taking risks with the playlist can lead to a very disappointing book. And once the numbers start falling, it takes a miracle to ever recover. Sometimes the risk of making the playlist deeper simply isn't worth it for programmers.
 
>
> The bottom line is, taking risks with the playlist can lead
> to a very disappointing book. And once the numbers start
> falling, it takes a miracle to ever recover. Sometimes the
> risk of making the playlist deeper simply isn't worth it for
> programmers.


Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm not a program director, or my station would apparently go bust. I'm not saying play "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" or "Salty Dog" type cuts all the time, but there has to be more to classic rock than Bad Company, Foreigner, and Aerosmith. I know, because I was there before this stuff was "classic" <grin>. I'm just saying throw in some Joe Cocker or Badfinger or even early Elton John once in a while. Where's the George Harrison or Yes? Heck, you don't even hear much of the Rolling Stones on the radio here in Knox. I know stations are in the business to make money, and the ratings book = advertising dollars, but it just seems to me classic rock (and oldies station) programmers are just a little too conservative. Something is fueling the growth of Sirius and XM.
 
Something
> is fueling the growth of Sirius and XM.
>

Sirius and XM have several classic rock channels along with 100 more. When you feel like deep cuts or reggae or Motown, there's a channel just for you.

In broadcast there is one Classic Rock station and they can't be all things to all people, so they have to find the lowest common denominator that appeals to as many as possible. Sad but true.

That goes for other formats too. Oldies listeners complain about the depth (with some validity I think). But answer the phones and one guy says you should play the flip side of Woman Woman by Gary Puckett, and the next caller hates Gary Puckett and wants to hear some Sly Stone album cuts which the Gary Puckett guy hates.

It ain't easy programming a radio station, despite how it seems to the amateurs.
 
> > Something
> is fueling the growth of Sirius and XM.
>
Yep....monthly checks from people like you that think that Quicksilver Messenger Service is worth PAYING to listen to.

In broadcast radio, it's called payola....in the XM and Sirius world, they're called subscribers.

Nexst time, instead of complaining, send the WIMZ jock a check for ten bucks. Maybe then you'll hear your deep cut.
 
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