WRXP is frustrating. I was listening late last night, and while they played some really excellent songs (i.e. Cake's "Frank Sinatra"), they also played predictable, tired tracks by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Boston.
I understand what RXP is trying to do, but there are two problems with the format: First, it's too eclectic for its own good. As I've said before, if you like Arcade Fire, you'll be happy to hear it but then you will get frustrated 10 minutes later when they play Nickelback. Second, despite the fact that RXP has the broadest playlist of any commercial NYC FM, there is still too much overlap between it and other stations. The '70s and '80s arena rock can also be heard constantly on K-Rock and Q 104.3, and the "Mom-approved Rock" like Nickelback, Daughtry and 3 Doors Down can be heard on any AC variant (take your pick).
The best approach would be for RXP to go in a real Alternative direction, similar to Indie and FNX - a good mix of classic and modern without all the post-grunge hacks. They can even achieve some success with the current format if they play far fewer songs that can be heard everywhere else.
I'm still trying to get my head around how you sell such a diverse format to advertisers. Pretty much every hip-hop station I know has a very limited focus - you seldom ever hear anything from the '90s, and forget about any '80s tracks. But RXP takes almost everything that can be remotely classified as rock and brings it all together - AAA, Singer/Songwriter, Arena Rock, Alternative, etc. It's hard to imagine people listening for more than a few minutes at a time, but given the horrendous competition in the market for rock, perhaps some listeners are willing to keep the station on.
