I looked at WCCC's playlist the other day and thought, "Man, I wish we had a station like that here in New Jersey". This is a station that's not afraid to embrace the edgier rock acts of the past 20 years. There's very little overlap between what they play and what you'll find on your token classic rock station. The format actually works, but so few seem willing to give it a try.
The CBS model has failed, repeatedly. A few years ago, they returned K-Rock in NYC to the 92.3 frequency, recasting it as a station that shared about 80-90% of its playlist with classic rocker WAXQ and played about roughly 10 newer songs, always the safest options available (i.e. the single from AC/DC's latest album). This most recent incarnation lasted less than 2 years, with CBS opting to give the market another Top 40 station over attempting a different take on rock. They're handling WYSP in Philly the same way, gradually dropping any modern or edgier rock over time and becoming "The Rock You Grew Up With", a classic rock station that leans slightly younger than competitor WMGK (they play more '80s and grunge-era titles). This timid, tried-and-true approach is not paying off, as the station is in the cellar and plenty of rumors persist about possible format changes (the latest being a possible move of the AM sports station WIP to FM). It also bears mentioning that neither NYC nor Philly had a station that really focused on newer rock ... you've got WRFF in Philly (an Adult Rock Hits station that calls itself Alternative and plays slightly more newer titles than K-Rock did) and WRXP in NYC with a kitchen-sink approach to rock that doesn't work for most rock fans.
Proving that "chicken rock" is not just limited to CBS, it seems as if the rock format of choice in the NYC, NJ and Philly areas would be AOR - every Greater Media rock station falls into this category: WMMR in Philly, WDHA in Morristown (NJ), and WRAT in Belmar (NJ). All of these stations go really heavy on classic rock: Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Black Crowes, Tom Petty, even Billy Squier and Bon Jovi! When it comes to newer rock acts, they all gravitate toward Nickelback, Hinder, 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, Shinedown, Theory Of A Deadman, Saving Abel, etc. - all of whom honestly sound the same to me. And they all have always shied away from Korn, Deftones, System Of A Down, Static-X, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Nonpoint, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, giving little to no rotation to all of them, and butchering songs from some of these artists when they do play them (WRAT playing weak sauce Korn remixes and completely removing the bridge from Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness"). Sadly, where these stations are received, they are often the only one that plays any rock music from the last 15-20 years at all ... this definitely applies in Monmouth/Ocean NJ, where we lost the only Alternative station to an awful Top 40 format and classic rock formats abound.
In all of the markets that I mentioned previously, the only commercial FM that I can tolerate is WRXP. While they can be frustrating at times with predictable classic rock and jarring shifts among the titles they play (it's quite common to hear Elton John into New Order, for instance), they have a much deeper playlist than any of the other rock stations and they play a lot of acts that don't receive airtime anywhere else (not much edgier rock, but they are playing acts like Wilco, Phoenix, Sonic Youth, The Dead Weather, Company Of Thieves, Bell X1, etc.).
It's unfortunate that, instead of moving beyond the safe time-tested hits, everyone is either repeating the same pattern ad nauseum (Greater Media) or scrapping rock completely (CBS). What course of action do rock fans have? The only thing that I can propose is sending feedback to these companies or directly to the stations and make suggestions. Perhaps it will make an impact if another people respond, but the odds are against us. The only music radio that I can even tolerate around here is left of the dial, but most of what we get out here is either NPR or Christian Radio. One wonders if other areas can have Active and Alternative Rock stations that thrive, why can't we?
