KRock If it's still on or for RXP

[XCountry285]

If KRock doesn't go Amped Radio/for RXP:
Ideas to make your station better:
Go Alternative Rock/Modern Rock!!!!!!!
Get a better morning show!
for example do a local or a syndicated morning show.
Look at good alternative rock station's for advice for example:
WRRV-FM Middletown-Hudson Valley,NY
WCYY-FM Portland, ME
Have a playlist of artists such as this:
30 Seconds To Mars
311
Angels & Airwaves
Academy Is
AFI
All American Rejects *Older Stuff
Apocolyptica
Avenged Sevenfold
Alanis Morisette *Older Stuff
Alter Bridge
Blink 182
Blue October
Beastie Boys
Breaking Benjamin
Bush
Beck
Creed
Carolina Liar
Crossfade
Coheed And Cambria
Coldplay
Cute Is What We Aim For
Daughtry
The Darkness
Death Cab For Cutie
Default
Disturbed
Dashboard Confessional
Dave Matthews Band
Evanscence
Everclear
Eve 6
Foo Fighters
Fuel
Fatboy Slim
Finger Eleven
Fall Out Boy
The Fray
Flyleaf
Fratellis
Fiction Plane
Franz Ferdinand
Foxboro Hot Tubs
Green Day
Goo Goo Dolls
Gorillaz
Gin Blossoms
Gym Class Heroes
Hoobastank
Hinder
HIM
Incubus
Jack Johnson
Jet
Jimmy Eat World
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
Kid Rock
Lifehouse
Lost Prophets
Lit
Linkin Park
Metallica
Matchbox 20
My Chemical Romance
Modest Mouse
Muse
Marcy's Playground
Motion City Soundtrack
Nickelback
No Doubt *Older Stuff
Nirvana
New Found Glory
Nine Inch Nails
One Republic
Oasis
OAR
Offspring
OK Go
Paramore
Panic! At The Disco
Plain White T's
Papa Roach
POD
Pearl Jam
Puddle Of Mud
Queens Of The Stone Age
Radiohead
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Rise Against
REM
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sublime
Snow Patrol
Stone Sour
Staind
Stone Temple Pilots
Soundgarden
Secondhand Serenade
Sum 41
Switchfoot
System Of A Down
Sugarcult
Saving Abel
Three Days Grace
Theory Of A Deadman
Tool
Third Eye Blind
Trapt
U2
Vampire Weekend
Velvet Revolver
Weezer
White Stripes
Yellowcard

 

[buffalotom]

Why did you have to put 30 Seconds to Mars on the top of that list? And Angels And Airwaves? They stunk so bad, Blink 182 had to get back together. I swear to God, I know music and I never heard of Academy Is.

Here's the problem with your list. Get rid of the fringe and play nothing but hit records. Heavy on the Nickelback, Shinedown and 3 Doors Down. All the top ten records of the 90's alternative heyday - all the grunge and everything in between Cake to Soul Asylum. Healthy dose of Metallica and radio friendly metal from Pantera, Slayer (maybe) and such. Throw in some select WTF! songs from the Alternative core - Replacements, Pixies, Clash and now you're cooking.

NOTHING CRUSTY. NOTHING TO HIP. NOTHING HYPED FOR NO REASON... So no Spoon, no Ting Tings, no Matt and Kim, No Albert Hammond Jr. solo burps.

Model a morning show after Preston and Steve at WMMR. Positive up beat. Not the O&A EVERYTHING SUCKS vibe.

Get 3 solid MUSIC minded jocks and give them a little freedom - Depeche Mode in town, let your afternoon jock pick a few tracks to 'just throw on.' Mick Jones' B-day, let your night guy play a Big Audio Dynamite track. Little flavor. And for F's sake get a midday lunch hour that isn't Retro, Two For or any other hacky radio gimmick.

And finally a PD that can MAKE a hit! Not sit back and wait for Apple to put it in an ipod commercial, or til it's video gets 200,000 plays on youtube. A person with golden ears and balls.

I almost just deleted this entire post, cause it's basically a pipe dream. But I'll post it anyway, because I really came here to mention that I saw a COMMERCIAL for WRXP on Letterman. It was Pinfield talking about their U2 day on Tuesday. I thought to myself, 'what an incredible waste of money."

 

[lalumia]

ugh! (urgh?)
your list did not include The New York Dolls, The MC5, Iggy & The Stooges,Wayne County or Cherry Vaniilla....so fuggedabouit...

 

[mjb1124]

I'll pass on the above suggestions. The last thing I want is another station slamming Creed, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, and their ilk. And really, "nothing but hit records" is what K-Rock is doing now, and it's not working so well for them. I'd also much rather have a live and local morning show, and personally I like what Matt Pinfield brings to the table.

Really, if RXP would just get rid of AC/DC, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Bad Company, Boston, Guns N' Roses, and other such acts, they'd be fine by me. Maybe some of the softer singer/songwriter-type stuff could go too. They do have a great library of alternative rock - they just need to trim the music that turns off that audience.

 

[DToTheJ]

And for F's sake get a midday lunch hour that isn't Retro, Two For or any other hacky radio gimmick.

The concept of a "lunch hour" is a hacky radio gimmick in and of itself.

I bet Pulse 87 even does a "power lunch" every day...

 

[TonySantiago]

I bet Pulse 87 even does a "power lunch" every day...

Well now that you mention it, there is the "Nooner at Noon" with DJ Serg mixing.... Just saying

 

[ericdxx]

My prediction is that if KRock stays on and Opie & Anthony leaves the station will drop below 1.0 in the ratings. It will be a dead station.

The best thing they could do is to put someone in the afternoon drive who the O&A fans will tune in for. Based on the theory that the majority of the 1.5 ratings come from O&A.

Chris Booker in the afternoon is just a stillborn concept.

 

[p_herring]

Why did you have to put 30 Seconds to Mars on the top of that list? And Angels And Airwaves? They stunk so bad, Blink 182 had to get back together. I swear to God, I know music and I never heard of Academy Is.

Here's the problem with your list. Get rid of the fringe and play nothing but hit records. Heavy on the Nickelback, Shinedown and 3 Doors Down. All the top ten records of the 90's alternative heyday - all the grunge and everything in between Cake to Soul Asylum. Healthy dose of Metallica and radio friendly metal from Pantera, Slayer (maybe) and such. Throw in some select WTF! songs from the Alternative core - Replacements, Pixies, Clash and now you're cooking.

NOTHING CRUSTY. NOTHING TO HIP. NOTHING HYPED FOR NO REASON... So no Spoon, no Ting Tings, no Matt and Kim, No Albert Hammond Jr. solo burps.

Model a morning show after Preston and Steve at WMMR. Positive up beat. Not the O&A EVERYTHING SUCKS vibe.

Get 3 solid MUSIC minded jocks and give them a little freedom - Depeche Mode in town, let your afternoon jock pick a few tracks to 'just throw on.' Mick Jones' B-day, let your night guy play a Big Audio Dynamite track. Little flavor. And for F's sake get a midday lunch hour that isn't Retro, Two For or any other hacky radio gimmick.

And finally a PD that can MAKE a hit! Not sit back and wait for Apple to put it in an ipod commercial, or til it's video gets 200,000 plays on youtube. A person with golden ears and balls.

I almost just deleted this entire post, cause it's basically a pipe dream. But I'll post it anyway, because I really came here to mention that I saw a COMMERCIAL for WRXP on Letterman. It was Pinfield talking about their U2 day on Tuesday. I thought to myself, 'what an incredible waste of money."

This idea sounds almost as dreadful as what's currently running. Heavy on Nickelback, Shinedown and 3 Doors Down? Basically you're "genius" idea is suggesting they go Active Rock which is what most of us have been saying for almost 2 years.

Also, if you haven't at least of heard of many of bands on that above list, you clearly don't "know" music at all.

 

[DToTheJ]

My prediction is that if KRock stays on and Opie & Anthony leaves the station will drop below 1.0 in the ratings. It will be a dead station.

As opposed to them not being a dead station right now?

Even with O&A were in their glory days on WNEW, outside of core demos, the station's overall numbers were nothing to jump for joy about.

 

[buffalotom]

You fools! Try and look at the big picture. Let's all get hung up on the Nickelback remark!

Lalumia - is a total and complete retard stuck in a past that was never as big as he thought it was. DUDE It's OVER!!!

MJB1124 - Hit records WORK... watch how well the Creed and Nickelback tours do this summer. Chad K writes a freaking hook! I'm not a fan but people LOVE them. And stop using the word 'ilk,' guys that say synergy and paradigm use the word ilk. And maybe you haven't tuned into K-Rock lately cause Molly Hatchet and crusty classic rock aren't really hit records. You obviously like Pinfield and the history of Alt Rock which is cool, (Dude and that's my thing, I could listen to Pinfield talk about the Wonderstuff and love it.) but that ain't going to work as a commercial station.

Dtothe J - I agree, but there's gotta be a fresh way to present a midday show.

EricDXX - Probably right, but they need to do a four show or move it along. I want girls in barrels, I want stalker Patty, Lesbian couch. But when you talk like that you sound like Lalumia - living in the past.

P-herring - I named a lot more than just Nickelback and Shinedown, they're just a base. And just cause I never heard of Academy Is only means I'm not a guyliner wearing Emo crybaby! I just went to their myspace, I HAVE heard of them. I must have been blocking. Oh and great English BTW "if you haven't at least of heard of many of bands on that above list, you clearly don't "know" music at all." You sure like the word OF.

Truth of the matter is you need a strong PD. NO? Strong jocks that can entertain and inform. NO? A format for people who love music and for people who are casual fans. Example... The Creed fans will be willing to sit through the new Depeche Mode single to get to what they like and vice versa. Not to broad, but not too tight either.

BUT MY POINT WAS... Did anybody see Pinfield's commercial for the WRXP U2 Day on Letterman last night?

 

[SoulCrusher]

Nickelback are pretty much done on Alternative radio. These stations in the South that are actually Active Rock but call themselves "Alternative" (thank them for getting that awful Shinedown song to #1 on the charts) are the only ones that play Nickelback and bands of their ilk anyway. Have you noticed that their recent songs aren't doing so hot on the Modern Rock charts? What do you make of that?

I'll admit that I just don't get Nickelback, because not only are they a band that writes the same song over and over again, but they are the epitome of cheesy modern corporate rock, and the lyrical content of their songs is at third-grade level. I mean, don't tell me the lyrics to "Gotta Be Somebody" aren't every bit as corny as something Bryan Adams would write, and "Something In Your Mouth" is something you would expect to come from a teenage boy and not a 35 y/o adult male (who actually looks much older than that, for the record).

But even despite my prejudice against them, they just don't work on Alternative radio in the northeast ... show me an Alternative that plays them, and I'll show you one that probably isn't playing Airborne Toxic Event, MGMT, Franz Ferdinand, etc. I can think of at least two examples where Nickelback received negative feedback and the stations wound up dropping them completely from the rotation.

Besides, can't you hear Nickelback on pretty much every other station ... Top 40, Soft Rock, "Greatest Mix" stations, Mainstream Rock, and even Country? It will be no loss to not have them on an Active/Alternative station, believe me.

Right now, K-Rock is just a predictable, tired arena rock mess and WRXP is an unappealing kitchen sink that tries to appeal to everyone but ultimately will play something that at least one segment of the audience will find offensive. K-Rock should give heavier Active Rock a try (read: not shying away from Slipknot, Mudvayne, Korn, System Of A Down, Static-X, Nonpoint, etc.), and RXP should go 100% alternative rock. There are already at least two stations that play plenty of Boston and Led Zeppelin, and countless others that play Elton John and Sheryl Crow. To leave them behind and take an FNX-type approach to modern rock would have to be an improvement over what they have now. Let Matt Pinfield program the station and watch the ratings double at the very least.

 

[p_herring]

You fools! Try and look at the big picture. Let's all get hung up on the Nickelback remark!

Lalumia - is a total and complete retard stuck in a past that was never as big as he thought it was. DUDE It's OVER!!!

MJB1124 - Hit records WORK... watch how well the Creed and Nickelback tours do this summer. Chad K writes a freaking hook! I'm not a fan but people LOVE them. And stop using the word 'ilk,' guys that say synergy and paradigm use the word ilk. And maybe you haven't tuned into K-Rock lately cause Molly Hatchet and crusty classic rock aren't really hit records. You obviously like Pinfield and the history of Alt Rock which is cool, (Dude and that's my thing, I could listen to Pinfield talk about the Wonderstuff and love it.) but that ain't going to work as a commercial station.

Dtothe J - I agree, but there's gotta be a fresh way to present a midday show.

EricDXX - Probably right, but they need to do a four show or move it along. I want girls in barrels, I want stalker Patty, Lesbian couch. But when you talk like that you sound like Lalumia - living in the past.

P-herring - I named a lot more than just Nickelback and Shinedown, they're just a base. And just cause I never heard of Academy Is only means I'm not a guyliner wearing Emo crybaby! I just went to their myspace, I HAVE heard of them. I must have been blocking. Oh and great English BTW "if you haven't at least of heard of many of bands on that above list, you clearly don't "know" music at all." You sure like the word OF.

Truth of the matter is you need a strong PD. NO? Strong jocks that can entertain and inform. NO? A format for people who love music and for people who are casual fans. Example... The Creed fans will be willing to sit through the new Depeche Mode single to get to what they like and vice versa. Not to broad, but not too tight either.

BUT MY POINT WAS... Did anybody see Pinfield's commercial for the WRXP U2 Day on Letterman last night?

Not quite sure what was wrong with my English but I'll believe you (never was that great at grammar). However, your idea is still nothing special. Having a station rely only on "hits" fails on the basic premise that it gets boring real fast, real old. Wanna know why? By playing nothing but "hits" you can't establish any new hits, meaning, the playlist gets stale. Also your idea of throwing in random 80's college rock staples like the Replacements into the 3 Doors Down/Nickelback/Shinedown butt-rock party also won't work. No one who likes the Replacements will want to suffer through Saving Abel or Shinedown's "Second Chance" to hear them. On the flipside, people who like the sure-thing ****-rock (and there is an audience out there for that, and that's fine) don't want their processed guitars interrupted by "that wierd 80's rock I haven't heard of".

The ONLY solution that will potentially work is for K-Rock to go Active Rock (haven't we been beating this drum for at least 2 years?) They play at least 25 currents, concentrate on hard rock (yes that includes Seether, Shinedown, etc.) and throw in a few harder-edged classic rock numbers here and there (Black Sabbath, Zeppelin, etc.) Look at WCCC in Hartford or WAAF in Worcester. The audience that enjoys the likes of Shinedown haven't totally abandoned FM radio (yet).

As for RXP, they are the most frustrating of them all because they have so much potential but then they blow out by playing cornball rock such as Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams (seriously? do any Death Cab fans ever want to hear Rod Stewart?) If they aligned themselves like an FNX they wouldn't get great ratings but, at this point, why not give it a go when there is nothing to lose?

 

[Zeb Norris]

take an FNX-type approach to modern rock would have to be an improvement over what they have now. Let Matt Pinfield program the station and watch the ratings double at the very least.

While WFNX is a very well respected station, they are not a ratings force, and therefore not a template for anyone else. At present WRXP has a 1.1 12 plus (in ppm), while WFNX has a .6 (with diaries). If the LA PPM experience for "Indie" is an indicator, WFNX could be even more ratings challenged with PPM.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of WFNX... but if improved ratings is what is under discussion, well...

 

[p_herring]

take an FNX-type approach to modern rock would have to be an improvement over what they have now. Let Matt Pinfield program the station and watch the ratings double at the very least.

While WFNX is a very well respected station, they are not a ratings force, and therefore not a template for anyone else. At present WXP has a 1.1 12 plus (in ppm), while WFNX has a .6 (with diaries). If the LA PPM experience is an indicator, WFNX could be even more ratings challenged with PPM.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of WFNX... but if improved ratings is what is under discussion, wel...

I agree, but, at this point, what would the harm be in at least trying before their format flips?

 

[buffalotom]

Really Herring? Really?

Having a station rely only on "hits" fails on the basic premise that it gets boring real fast, real old. Wanna know why? By playing nothing but "hits" you can't establish any new hits, meaning, the playlist gets stale.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

MAYBE THAT'S WHY IN MY FIRST POST I WROTE THIS.... And finally a PD that can MAKE a hit! Not sit back and wait for Apple to put it in an ipod commercial, or til it's video gets 200,000 plays on youtube. A person with golden ears and balls.

And now I'm backing out of this debate. Because it's moot. I'm not saying my idea is special. I was just tossing off an idea. But it's better than hearing the Doors into the Killers on K-Rock. And the five trainwrecks an hour on WRXP.

Replacements rule!!!!

 

[Brooklyndon]

My prediction is that if KRock stays on and Opie & Anthony leaves the station will drop below 1.0 in the ratings. It will be a dead station.

The best thing they could do is to put someone in the afternoon drive who the O&A fans will tune in for. Based on the theory that the majority of the 1.5 ratings come from O&A.

Chris Booker in the afternoon is just a stillborn concept.

The Notrious NIK used to put on a pretty provacative afternoon show way back about 10 years ago in Boston, beat O&A in the ratings too. I'm sure "advice from the 'hood" and "bi-day" are as relevant now as they were back then, though I don't know how well strokus interuptus would fair.

 

[p_herring]

Really Herring? Really?

Having a station rely only on "hits" fails on the basic premise that it gets boring real fast, real old. Wanna know why? By playing nothing but "hits" you can't establish any new hits, meaning, the playlist gets stale.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

MAYBE THAT'S WHY IN MY FIRST POST I WROTE THIS.... And finally a PD that can MAKE a hit! Not sit back and wait for Apple to put it in an ipod commercial, or til it's video gets 200,000 plays on youtube. A person with golden ears and balls.

And now I'm backing out of this debate. Because it's moot. I'm not saying my idea is special. I was just tossing off an idea. But it's better than hearing the Doors into the Killers on K-Rock. And the five trainwrecks an hour on WRXP.

Replacements rule!!!!

PD's don't establish hits anymore, it's NEVER happening again. Rock fans that left aren't coming back. It'd be better to satisfy your remaining audience rather than assuming they have an IQ or 40 and only want to hear dinosaur rock mixed with Shinedown and Seether.

 

[SoulCrusher]

take an FNX-type approach to modern rock would have to be an improvement over what they have now. Let Matt Pinfield program the station and watch the ratings double at the very least.

While WFNX is a very well respected station, they are not a ratings force, and therefore not a template for anyone else. At present WRXP has a 1.1 12 plus (in ppm), while WFNX has a .6 (with diaries). If the LA PPM experience for "Indie" is an indicator, WFNX could be even more ratings challenged with PPM.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of WFNX... but if improved ratings is what is under discussion, well...

You may be right about FNX and their less than stellar ratings, but I think an Alternative station in that spirit could do better in NYC. In Boston, the competition is much more intense ... you've got WBCN, which is a more streamlined take on the Alternative format, WAAF, which is an Active Rocker that has a pretty balanced mix of old and new, and then there's at least one or two classic rock stations as well.

Los Angeles is another market where there's a lot of competition for rock audiences, with a few stations focusing on newer rock acts. While it was very disappointing to see Indie 103.1 go, at least there are a few somewhat acceptable substitutes for it in the market.

NYC has three rock stations, but all of them lean very heavily toward rock of the '70s and '80s. Q 104.3 and K-Rock have become nearly identical lately. K-Rock is for all intents and purposes another classic rock station, with maybe about 10 newer songs to set them apart from Q. And RXP plays some good alternative selections, but that's only if you're willing to sit through a heavy dose of mellow singer/songwriters and cheesy arena rock. We had a couple of brief periods where K-Rock went straight-up Alternative, but they were short lived as the PDs decided to throw AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ozzy, etc. into the mix. Heck, even Z-100 turned into an Alternative-leaning CHR for a brief period, but that too didn't last long.

I think that a modern rock station that stays with the roots of the format and doesn't play Nickelback, Shinedown, Hinder, Saving Abel, etc. should be attempted. I don't see what's stopping companies from giving this a shot. Yes, I know that NYC is a city where people gravitate toward rhythmic music, but that doesn't mean that we need a bunch of rock stations playing the exact same thing. Give people a choice and carve out a niche for yourself, and you can pull respectable ratings. This is Market #1, after all. We've attempted a "chill music" station, an "all things rock" station, and for a while in the mid '90s Q was actually a heavy rock format. The commercial viability of the Alternative format may not quite be what it once was, but that doesn't explain why it hasn't been given a fair shot in NYC. K-Rock and RXP are both in the ratings cellar and have been for some time - they need to consider retooling their programming.

 

[Zeb Norris]

take an FNX-type approach to modern rock would have to be an improvement over what they have now. Let Matt Pinfield program the station and watch the ratings double at the very least.

While WFNX is a very well respected station, they are not a ratings force, and therefore not a template for anyone else. At present WRXP has a 1.1 12 plus (in ppm), while WFNX has a .6 (with diaries). If the LA PPM experience for "Indie" is an indicator, WFNX could be even more ratings challenged with PPM.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of WFNX... but if improved ratings is what is under discussion, well...

You may be right about FNX and their less than stellar ratings, but I think an Alternative station in that spirit could do better in NYC. In Boston, the competition is much more intense ... you've got WBCN, which is a more streamlined take on the Alternative format, WAAF, which is an Active Rocker that has a pretty balanced mix of old and new, and then there's at least one or two classic rock stations as well.

Los Angeles is another market where there's a lot of competition for rock audiences, with a few stations focusing on newer rock acts. While it was very disappointing to see Indie 103.1 go, at least there are a few somewhat acceptable substitutes for it in the market.

NYC has three rock stations, but all of them lean very heavily toward rock of the '70s and '80s. Q 104.3 and K-Rock have become nearly identical lately. K-Rock is for all intents and purposes another classic rock station, with maybe about 10 newer songs to set them apart from Q. And RXP plays some good alternative selections, but that's only if you're willing to sit through a heavy dose of mellow singer/songwriters and cheesy arena rock. We had a couple of brief periods where K-Rock went straight-up Alternative, but they were short lived as the PDs decided to throw AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ozzy, etc. into the mix. Heck, even Z-100 turned into an Alternative-leaning CHR for a brief period, but that too didn't last long.

I think that a modern rock station that stays with the roots of the format and doesn't play Nickelback, Shinedown, Hinder, Saving Abel, etc. should be attempted. I don't see what's stopping companies from giving this a shot. Yes, I know that NYC is a city where people gravitate toward rhythmic music, but that doesn't mean that we need a bunch of rock stations playing the exact same thing. Give people a choice and carve out a niche for yourself, and you can pull respectable ratings. This is Market #1, after all. We've attempted a "chill music" station, an "all things rock" station, and for a while in the mid '90s Q was actually a heavy rock format. The commercial viability of the Alternative format may not quite be what it once was, but that doesn't explain why it hasn't been given a fair shot in NYC. K-Rock and RXP are both in the ratings cellar and have been for some time - they need to consider retooling their programming.

Your points about the competetive landscape are correct and thought provoking... but if Alternative is underserved in NYC, why would you avoid the crossover "mainstream alternative" acts? Just for coolness points?

 

[p_herring]

take an FNX-type approach to modern rock would have to be an improvement over what they have now. Let Matt Pinfield program the station and watch the ratings double at the very least.

While WFNX is a very well respected station, they are not a ratings force, and therefore not a template for anyone else. At present WRXP has a 1.1 12 plus (in ppm), while WFNX has a .6 (with diaries). If the LA PPM experience for "Indie" is an indicator, WFNX could be even more ratings challenged with PPM.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of WFNX... but if improved ratings is what is under discussion, well...

You may be right about FNX and their less than stellar ratings, but I think an Alternative station in that spirit could do better in NYC. In Boston, the competition is much more intense ... you've got WBCN, which is a more streamlined take on the Alternative format, WAAF, which is an Active Rocker that has a pretty balanced mix of old and new, and then there's at least one or two classic rock stations as well.

Los Angeles is another market where there's a lot of competition for rock audiences, with a few stations focusing on newer rock acts. While it was very disappointing to see Indie 103.1 go, at least there are a few somewhat acceptable substitutes for it in the market.

NYC has three rock stations, but all of them lean very heavily toward rock of the '70s and '80s. Q 104.3 and K-Rock have become nearly identical lately. K-Rock is for all intents and purposes another classic rock station, with maybe about 10 newer songs to set them apart from Q. And RXP plays some good alternative selections, but that's only if you're willing to sit through a heavy dose of mellow singer/songwriters and cheesy arena rock. We had a couple of brief periods where K-Rock went straight-up Alternative, but they were short lived as the PDs decided to throw AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ozzy, etc. into the mix. Heck, even Z-100 turned into an Alternative-leaning CHR for a brief period, but that too didn't last long.

I think that a modern rock station that stays with the roots of the format and doesn't play Nickelback, Shinedown, Hinder, Saving Abel, etc. should be attempted. I don't see what's stopping companies from giving this a shot. Yes, I know that NYC is a city where people gravitate toward rhythmic music, but that doesn't mean that we need a bunch of rock stations playing the exact same thing. Give people a choice and carve out a niche for yourself, and you can pull respectable ratings. This is Market #1, after all. We've attempted a "chill music" station, an "all things rock" station, and for a while in the mid '90s Q was actually a heavy rock format. The commercial viability of the Alternative format may not quite be what it once was, but that doesn't explain why it hasn't been given a fair shot in NYC. K-Rock and RXP are both in the ratings cellar and have been for some time - they need to consider retooling their programming.

Your points about the competetive landscape are correct and thought provoking... but if Alternative is underserved in NYC, why would you avoid the crossover "mainstream alternative" acts? Just for coolness points?

You can still throw in the popular cross-over acts (Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, The Killers, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, etc.) but still focus on playing the slightly left-of-center bands (Franz Ferdinand, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, etc.) rather than beating us to death with the post-grunge sludge (Shinedown, Buckcherry, etc.)