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Review - WPLM/Easy 99.1

B

BoscoGoldBear

Guest
While not entirely my cup of tea, Easy is a very popular station once you get south of the Mass Pike (moreso than the River - different format). Generally I like what I hear, but Easy is starting to sound a little edgy (i.e. WCOZ hard rock band Journey is on the playlist). I suppose that this is because of demos; however, I was never a big "fish out of water" fan (i.e. arena rock outside of AOR).

Still, thumbs up to Easy - although, in time, they will have to play the edgy stuff that Mix and other stations down the line already play.

Next up - WCRB (new home)
 
Steve N. said:
While not entirely my cup of tea, Easy is a very popular station once you get south of the Mass Pike (moreso than the River - different format). Generally I like what I hear, but Easy is starting to sound a little edgy (i.e. WCOZ hard rock band Journey is on the playlist). I suppose that this is because of demos; however, I was never a big "fish out of water" fan (i.e. arena rock outside of AOR).

Still, thumbs up to Easy - although, in time, they will have to play the edgy stuff that Mix and other stations down the line already play.

Next up - WCRB (new home)
Click to expand...

playing rob thomas and hootie & the blowish is not edgy...
 
Journey isn't THAT hard rock. I mean, they have a lot of softer songs like "Faithfully" and "Open Arms." Any easy listening station can play those. But some of their harder songs like "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" probably wouldn't fit. But I've also heard them play Dire Straits, and I even heard them play the theme from Axel F once. I was quite surprised. I still think Strictly Sinatra and their Sunday evening show should be cancelled if they keep tweaking with their playlist. The main thing I like about Easy 99.1 is that they play a lot of rare songs like from the 80s and 90s that you don't hear much of anymore.
 
radiodouble said:
Steve N. said:
While not entirely my cup of tea, Easy is a very popular station once you get south of the Mass Pike (moreso than the River - different format). Generally I like what I hear, but Easy is starting to sound a little edgy (i.e. WCOZ hard rock band Journey is on the playlist). I suppose that this is because of demos; however, I was never a big "fish out of water" fan (i.e. arena rock outside of AOR).

Still, thumbs up to Easy - although, in time, they will have to play the edgy stuff that Mix and other stations down the line already play.

Next up - WCRB (new home)
Click to expand...

playing rob thomas and hootie & the blowish is not edgy...
Click to expand...

They actually are playing Rob Thomas and Hootie now. They've probably lost a lot of their loyal listeners by going the Magic route, during the day anyway. At night they seem to be softer/older.
 
I Dont like 99.1 format , But thank God 99.1 Didnt sell out, to The Big Radio Owners of America .
 
99.1 has a good mix of soft rock / pop music, a nice complement to Northshore 104.9 - I like both stations because I'm a "pop music" person.
 
Varulven said:
99.1 has a good mix of soft rock / pop music, a nice complement to Northshore 104.9 - I like both stations because I'm a "pop music" person.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I don't get to the S. Shore that much, but when I do I'll tune them in. Must be getting old. :-\

One complaint though...is the transmitter in the air studio or something? Clearly the mic processing is adjusted to try to minimize some noise in the room and makes the jocks voices sound muddy & over-compressed...you can hear it gating out something when they pause for a second or so. Or maybe their engineer is deaf & that's the way the processing is adjusted.
 
Oldbones said:
One complaint though...is the transmitter in the air studio or something? Clearly the mic processing is adjusted to try to minimize some noise in the room and makes the jocks voices sound muddy & over-compressed...you can hear it gating out something when they pause for a second or so. Or maybe their engineer is deaf & that's the way the processing is adjusted.
Click to expand...

It's not in the studio, but it is a couple doors down the hall. I know exactly what you're talking about with that processing though. I wonder if it's a mic processor causing it, or the optimod? It is pretty annoying, to radio geeks like me anyway.
 
I still like Easy 99.1, but not as much as back in '02, '03, '04 and '05.

I listen less frequently now that they are playing a lot more contemporary schlock-pop (Shania Twain, Josh Groban, Uncle Kracker, newer Phil Collins, and other such garbage). Is Sean Casey on this board? Sean, why are you skewing your playlist towards relatively new, throwaway AI-generation formula-pop?

I dunno...but I find it hard to imagine that there's a significant listener base that wants to hear these crappy songs for the 5th time on any given day, rather than some Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Steve Lawrence, and other "nostalgia" artists that the station almost never plays now, yet played frequently a few years ago.

Why did you do this, Sean? Honestly, it makes me sad. You had been able to truthfully market your station as "having a mix of music like no other place on the planet..." Now the nostalgia element has been markedly reduced, save for weekends with Ron Della Chiesa and that show with Dick Robinson.

If I lived closer to the Cape, I would no doubt be listening to 104.7 these days. Please Sean - take my suggestions under advisement. I'm so young that I'm out of your target demo (26 y/o male), but even I do not want to hear the contemporary generi-pop tripe that you've been playing much more of lately.
 
presidents04 said:
I listen less frequently now that they are playing a lot more contemporary schlock-pop (Shania Twain, Josh Groban, Uncle Kracker, newer Phil Collins, and other such garbage). Is Sean Casey on this board? Sean, why are you skewing your playlist towards relatively new, throwaway AI-generation formula-pop?
Click to expand...

Perhaps his advertisers wanted younger customers? As a 26 year-old who enjoys "nostalgia" artists, you're an exception to the usual. The "nostalgia" audience is typically at least three or four decades older than you, which is unfortunately considered beyond the prime marketing demos these days. Like most soft AC's, WPLM is a station that is played in offices as a familiar and relaxing background, etc... not for music afficionados who really want variety... and today most people who aren't in the senior demo want soft contemporary AC for that purpose, not the crooners of their parents generation.

Bob Bittner makes "nostalgia" work on WJIB because he doesn't depend on advertisers and on what age group they believe are their preferred customers. He keeps overhead extremely low, and when he needed money to continue the station and the format, he appealed to his listeners (the majority of whom are seniors) directly for help. It worked.
 
presidents04 said:
I still like Easy 99.1, but not as much as back in '02, '03, '04 and '05.

I listen less frequently now that they are playing a lot more contemporary schlock-pop (Shania Twain, Josh Groban, Uncle Kracker, newer Phil Collins, and other such garbage). Is Sean Casey on this board? Sean, why are you skewing your playlist towards relatively new, throwaway AI-generation formula-pop?

I dunno...but I find it hard to imagine that there's a significant listener base that wants to hear these crappy songs for the 5th time on any given day, rather than some Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Steve Lawrence, and other "nostalgia" artists that the station almost never plays now, yet played frequently a few years ago.

Why did you do this, Sean? Honestly, it makes me sad. You had been able to truthfully market your station as "having a mix of music like no other place on the planet..." Now the nostalgia element has been markedly reduced, save for weekends with Ron Della Chiesa and that show with Dick Robinson.

If I lived closer to the Cape, I would no doubt be listening to 104.7 these days. Please Sean - take my suggestions under advisement. I'm so young that I'm out of your target demo (26 y/o male), but even I do not want to hear the contemporary generi-pop tripe that you've been playing much more of lately.
Click to expand...
I am right with you on this one. I know I should change my monniker to " `PLM Slasher" because I Also feel that this station is just very
underwhelming. I live in Plymouth and at least three different places I have been in to shop, They have changed their background music (one
changed to ocean 104, the other two to WATD.) I asked why at a florist in North Plymouth, and The woman just said that WPLM was just horrible.
Do not bother sending them an E-mail on why the change because they will tell you as they told me that their niche group is women over
30- soccer moms and women at work. Talk about thinking small. It just does not seem right.

If you want to listen to adult radio done right, Listen to KAAM Radio in Dallas on line. www.kaamradio.com
They play music of the past six decades. ( real random radio -- not like this supposive " we play everything" Mike fm.)
 
I too, used to listen to PLM ALOT...when they played Como, Sinatra (during the week) and all the great nostalgia songs you can not get anywhere else on the dial. Now they sound more like Magic. So in my opinion, if they sound close to Magic...I might as well just listen to 106.7 because I get there signal better. Sean...please go back to what you WERE playing. It was great!
 
They USED to be a good station, right after they went from the smooth jazz to a standards format. They were doing something DIFFERENT, and people were taking notice. But then they went and decided to try to take on Magic... Not to mention that they lost the best talent they ever had, Hutch.

They don't seem to get it... ratings have been in the toilet for the past few years. Thanks to Sean Casey.
 
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