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Modern Music on 103.1FM/Austin Now Permanent

I finally tuned in to this station yesterday. Who ever would have thought that the most adventurous-sounding modern rock station in the country would be owned by Clear Channel? IHA is really impressive! A very diverse playlist of newer artists, and the more established artists are represented more by some rather deep tracks. Yesterday I heard "Idioteque" by Radiohead off the Kid A album, ironic in that while Radiohead is one of the biggest names in alt-rock, most stations pretend they stopped making music after "Karma Police". Also heard "There's No Other Way" by Blur, which I hadn't heard in almost 20 years! Granted, this station goes a bit off the rails at times (some of the newer hip-hop sounds a bit too out-of-place here and more suited for CHR, same goes for some of the EDM stuff). Still, I think it's great to hear a station, particularly one from a company not known for innovative radio, to take some chances. Was also surprised to hear actual jocks on the station (they actually sounded like they had a pulse, unlike most of their 'premium choice' voices). They do need better imaging, though, rather than the same two liners played over and over again.

All in all, this sounds like a station programmed for the online generation, one that's actually caught up to listeners' musical tastes, rather than pander to the lowest common denominator. I wish this station nothing but luck. About time a station breathed some new life into the predictable modern rock format, and prove that there's more to it than playing Foo Fighters and Green Day every hour.
 
Agreed with 99% of your post.

(some of the newer hip-hop sounds a bit too out-of-place here and more suited for CHR, same goes for some of the EDM stuff)
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Not at all. This is precisely IMO what makes this station cool. If you go back to any of the groundbreaking alt. stations of the past such as Rev 105, Mars FM, The Spy, etc., none of these stations were limited by genre, only playing white boy rock for instance.

I heard "Idioteque" by Radiohead off the Kid A album, ironic in that while Radiohead is one of the biggest names in alt-rock, most stations pretend they stopped making music after "Karma Police". Also heard "There's No Other Way" by Blur
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This is actually a bit of a disappointment to me; hadn't heard the station in a little while and up until recently they avoided alt. oldies which was a good change of pace. The oldest they'd go were Metric & Deathcab stuff for instance - true gold, not oldies from last century. They were playing a couple of deep tracks by Prince though which was nice.

The range of a supercool alt. station like the aforementioned Rev 105 was way wider than iheartaustin but it's a nice example giving a glimmer of what's possible.

They just did Calvin Harris "Bounce" into Daft Punk "Get Lucky" into Macklemore "Can't Hold Us" into Strokes "12:51." Granted they usually lean heavily on indie music but this short music log is why I deemed the station "modern music" in the OP rather than "modern rock." You're right - this is how the online generation actually listens to music.

there's more to it than playing Foo Fighters and Green Day every hour.
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Amen to that.
 
Having once lived in Minneapolis, I do remember the late, great REV105. And they did have a very diverse playlist. And yes, they also played some hip-hop. But there is a vast difference between Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest and the Fugees in the 90s (which REV played) versus Macklemore, Drake, Frank Ocean, etc. today. Perhaps it's just my opinion or my age, but hip-hop today really isn't very good. It's been reduced to cliches and grunting over terrible beats. Now, there is some hip-hop that could work on an alternative station. Snoop Dogg, the Roots and others are actually pushing boundaries, and have a lot of crossover appeal beyond Top 40 stations. I know that in my town, Milwaukee, where there are three CHR and one urban station pounding the crap out of each other, Macklemore and Kendrick Lamar would sound out of place on the local alternative station, WLUM (which does play some hip-hop).

On a side note, the new Daft Punk track is very, very good, and I'm glad WLUM is all over it.
 
FightingIrish said:
Having once lived in Minneapolis, I do remember the late, great REV105. And they did have a very diverse playlist. And yes, they also played some hip-hop. But there is a vast difference between Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest and the Fugees in the 90s (which REV played) versus Macklemore, Drake, Frank Ocean, etc. today. Perhaps it's just my opinion or my age, but hip-hop today really isn't very good.
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Mainstream hip hop, yes. But there are plenty of great underground hip hop artists that have no exposure whatsoever on commercial radio. Here in Seattle alone, we have Blue Scholars, Gabriel Teodros, and Shabazz Palaces. Even Macklemore had three or four decent albums prior to his recent monster hit that will most likely never see radio airplay.
 
FightingIrish said:
Who ever would have thought that the most adventurous-sounding modern rock station in the country would be owned by Clear Channel?
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Austin already has a "mainstream" Alternative station, though (KROX), so that musical area is already taken - Clear Channel really didn't have a choice (but I'm glad it's out there for people to listen to)

BTW I really don't understand the appeal of playing Macklemore and Daft Punk on Alternative - you've got so many other stations playing that stuff...and honestly, I don't see how Daft Punk is any more "Alternative" than Calvin Harris or Swedish House Mafia
 
atlantaboy said:
and honestly, I don't see how Daft Punk is any more "Alternative" than Calvin Harris or Swedish House Mafia
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I don't really see it either, but a lot of friends of mine who listen to Alternative also love Daft Punk, so perhaps that's why Alt. stations are giving it a chance. Daft Punk is a group that the crowd likes, so it's just a means of diversifying the playlist without alienating too much of it's core.
 
atlantaboy said:
FightingIrish said:
Who ever would have thought that the most adventurous-sounding modern rock station in the country would be owned by Clear Channel?
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Austin already has a "mainstream" Alternative station, though (KROX), so that musical area is already taken - Clear Channel really didn't have a choice (but I'm glad it's out there for people to listen to)

BTW I really don't understand the appeal of playing Macklemore and Daft Punk on Alternative - you've got so many other stations playing that stuff...and honestly, I don't see how Daft Punk is any more "Alternative" than Calvin Harris or Swedish House Mafia
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Daft Punk has a lot of history with the format, and they've been around for many years. Lots of appeal for their listeners. Same with other veteran EDM artists like the Chemical Brothers and Moby.
 
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