Spent some time with Jack

[johndavis]

Since Jack-FM comes up on this board quite a bit, I spent some time listening to WCBS on my last trip there.

Observations:

-- You could run the music imaging promos on KHPT right now and not have to change a thing other than the call letters. Every hook in every promo is on the Point: Blondie/One Way Or Another, Bad Company/Feel Like Makin Love, Alanis Morissette/You Oughta Know.

-- The core of the station is 80's rock, with the occasional 70's tune like Boz Skaggs "Lido Shuffle", 80's pop like Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", and 90's alternative like Nirvana's "Come As You Are."

-- There were no real "forgotten" hits played during my listening. Every song was a huge killer hit.

-- There really weren't too many trainwrecks. This Jack sounded like KHPT with a few extra 90's songs. After awhile, I kept expecting to hear Point liners. The only time they stepped out of the 80's rock box was to play the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive". It didn't have the variety that I heard in Dallas.

-- Contrary to popular belief, the station wasn't automated. I heard a bunch of board op errors early in the morning. <P ID="signature">______________
...co-moderator of the Satellite Radio, Phoenix, and San Diego boards...</P>

 

[CW]

> Since Jack-FM comes up on this board quite a bit, I spent
> some time listening to WCBS on my last trip there.

Listen to the original Jack...
www.jackfm.com

Live on the web.....MUCH better than WCBS' version

 

[slaterradio]

> > Since Jack-FM comes up on this board quite a bit, I spent
> > some time listening to WCBS on my last trip there.
>
> Listen to the original Jack...
> www.jackfm.com
>
> Live on the web.....MUCH better than WCBS' version
>

The Dallas version is hit or miss, but when it hits, it's a great station to listen to.

Typical set can go like this
Pat Benetar "Shadows of the Night"
Paul Simon "You Can Call Me Al"
Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Marvin Gaye "Let's Get it On"
Avril Lavigne "My Happy Ending"
Del Amitri "Roll To Me"
Tommy Tutone "Jenny..."
AC/DC "Thunderstruck"
Jeff Healey Band "Angel Eyes"
Stevie Winwood "Valerie"
When In Rome "The Promise"
Joe Jackson "Breaking us in Two"
Boomtown Rats "I Don't Like Mondays"
Pink Floyd "Run Like Hell"
UB40 "The Way You Do The Things You Do"
Janet Jackson "Escapade"
Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian"
U2 "Angel of Harlem"
Outkast "Hey Ya!"
Bryan Adams "Straight From The Heart"
David Lee Roth "Just a Gigilo..."
Missing Persons "Destination Unknown"
Bellamy Brothers "Let Your Love Flow"
David Bowie "Fame"
Ryan Cabrera "On the way Down"
Guns N' Roses "Paradise City"
Clash "London Calling"
Wild Cherry "Play That Funky Music"
Foreigner "Long, Long Way From Home"
Los Lonely Boys "Heaven"
Breaking Benjamin "So Cold"
Fixx "Saved By Zero"
INXS "Devil Inside"
Green Day "Holiday"
Walter Egan "Magnet and Steele"
Melissa Ethridge "I'm The Only One"

--a lot of emphasis on the 80's, but several modern rock and pop song thrown in with the occassional R&B, even hip-hop track thrown in--all to create the illusion of a trainwreck playlist.
And in some spots, this really is a trainwreck playlist. Maybe that's why I like it.
Bummer bands in the above playlist? Sure, but overall I'm not complaining.

 

[johndavis]

> Live on the web.....MUCH better than WCBS' version
>
I expected better out of WCBS.<P ID="signature">______________
...co-moderator of the Satellite Radio, Phoenix, and San Diego boards...</P>

 

[dr_doom]

>
> Yeah, but did you hear the SAME Bad Company and B.T.O. song EVERY day from 9 to 5? That's where I think The Point is very vulnerable. A well programed JACK will not spend too much time in any one era without mixing up the flow. An occasional Nirvana or Bee Gees or Marvin Gaye would provide that unexpected "oh wow" to Point listeners. That NEVER HAPPENS on The Point now, which is why that station is still "vulnerable" to a real "JACK" turning on in Houston. Can anyone say 92.1?
That frequency will never make it with Regional Mexican. Just my opinion...

 

[JBhouston71]

> > Since Jack-FM comes up on this board quite a bit, I spent
> > some time listening to WCBS on my last trip there.
>
> Listen to the original Jack...
> www.jackfm.com
>
> Live on the web.....MUCH better than WCBS' version
>


Is that the one in Vancouver? I really like that one. They seem to have live DJs on there too, which is different from many of the Jack clones in the US.

I also enjoy BOB-FM out of Austin. It seems to be even more of a "train wreck" than JACK in Dallas. It also skews a little more toward Oldies (maybe since it flipped from an oldies station). Jack Dallas is listenable online, but have you all noticed that it is a different broadcast online than it is on air? The playlist sequences do not match up, from what I have seen and heard online (you can click on a link to see what was played

I agree that the Point shares a lot of the music that JACK plays. I think if they would just add in a few more 90s songs and completely dump any reference of "80s" from their logo, they might be able to pull up in the ratings. I don't know...that's just my opinion. I think people are just tired of the whole "going back to the 80s!" thing. It's like the Bowling for Soup song "1985"..."Her two kids, in high school, they tell her that she's uncool, cause she's still preocccupied...with 1985!"

There is discussion on the "Variety Hits" radioinfo board about Jack...They mention that none of the markets with an "80s" station share a Jack station (such as Houston, Vegas, and Birmingham).

John

 

[snoman]

Re: Oh Canada! and Jack...

>
>

Not to jump off topic, Does Canada still have the law to where you have to play so many Canadian Artists in an hour? Just curious. I'm sure if that is still the law, it makes it easier if the format is "Jack". <P ID="signature">______________
KVIL Highland Park
KVIL-FM Highland Park/Dallas-Fort Worth
Thanks for the memories Ron Chapman!</P>

 

[ListenUp]

> > > Since Jack-FM comes up on this board quite a bit, I
> spent
> > > some time listening to WCBS on my last trip there.
> >
> > Listen to the original Jack...
> > www.jackfm.com
> >
> > Live on the web.....MUCH better than WCBS' version
> >
>
>
> Is that the one in Vancouver? I really like that one. They
> seem to have live DJs on there too, which is different from
> many of the Jack clones in the US.
>
> I also enjoy BOB-FM out of Austin. It seems to be even more
> of a "train wreck" than JACK in Dallas. It also skews a
> little more toward Oldies (maybe since it flipped from an
> oldies station). Jack Dallas is listenable online, but have
> you all noticed that it is a different broadcast online than
> it is on air? The playlist sequences do not match up, from
> what I have seen and heard online (you can click on a link
> to see what was played
>
> I agree that the Point shares a lot of the music that JACK
> plays. I think if they would just add in a few more 90s
> songs and completely dump any reference of "80s" from their
> logo, they might be able to pull up in the ratings. I don't
> know...that's just my opinion. I think people are just
> tired of the whole "going back to the 80s!" thing. It's
> like the Bowling for Soup song "1985"..."Her two kids, in
> high school, they tell her that she's uncool, cause she's
> still preocccupied...with 1985!"
>
> There is discussion on the "Variety Hits" radioinfo board
> about Jack...They mention that none of the markets with an
> "80s" station share a Jack station (such as Houston, Vegas,
> and Birmingham).
>
> John
>

I listened to Bob-FM out of Austin last weekend and I thought it was pretty good. I too heard Marvin Gaye followed by Nirvana. I'm mid 40's and love the variety of hits from the generations of music I have always listened to. Point should go Bob or Jack and just start promoting it. They do have postings for sales jobs at the point. That is sometimes a precursor to a format change. Could be a sign that someone over there reads this board.

 

[johndavis]

Re: Oh Canada! and Jack...

> Not to jump off topic, Does Canada still have the law to
> where you have to play so many Canadian Artists in an hour?
> Just curious. I'm sure if that is still the law, it makes
> it easier if the format is "Jack".

Yes, the CTRC still mandates 35% Canadian programming. FM stations also have the "non-hit" rule (allegedly to help AM stations compete) where a certain percentage of songs must be "non-hit" music. Over the years, the definition of "non-hit" songs has been extended to cover most oldies.

CanCon is CanCon, but I think part of the reason this format came into being up north is to have an easier time complying with the non-hit rule - it gives you cover to go from a current to something recorded 30 years ago.


[a funny CanCon story: In order to qualify as Canadian content, a song must meet 2 out of the following four criteria: Music (performed by Canadians), Artist (performed by Canadians), Publishing (music written by Canadians), and Lyrics (lyrics written by Canadians). MAPL for short.

Along comes Bryan Adams with "Everything I Do I Do it For You". Huge craptastic ballad, it dominates the airwaves for months, but it doesn't qualify as CanCon because the music and lyrics were written by an Englishman, and recorded in New York by American musicians. Bryan got 1 out of 4 on the MAPL leaf.

The CRTC later ruled that the song was Canadian so it got credit.]
<P ID="signature">______________
...co-moderator of the Satellite Radio, Phoenix, and San Diego boards...</P>

 

[johndavis]

> >
> > Yeah, but did you hear the SAME Bad Company and B.T.O.
> song EVERY day from 9 to 5?

We'll see. I heard many of the same songs over a 3 day period.

It was like an iPod on shuffle that was only half full.

I think part of the problem is that many of the 'oh wow' records that other Jack stations are playing were on CBS-FM at the end, so they won't touch them now. Which means you've got a really good chance of hearing Joan Jett and the Beastie Boys every time you turn them on.

I was underwhelmed by Jack FM. <P ID="signature">______________
...co-moderator of the Satellite Radio, Phoenix, and San Diego boards...</P>