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"Straight Up" on The Villages' radio station

Now wait a minute. This is supposed to be radio for the senior citizens living in The Villages in Florida. How can this Paula Abdul song possibly fit? Anne Murray, Barry Manilow and Floyd Cramer are also played.
 
Is this a locally produced station or are they just carrying the satellite feed of "America's Best Music" (ex-"AM Only")?

And time moves on. If you were in your mid-30s when that song was new, you've now reached retirement age.
 
It was #1 in 1988, so it's on the edge. There were several mixes of that song, including one that got airplay on AC stations. But it didn't chart as high on the AC chart.
 
It was #1 in 1988, so it's on the edge. There were several mixes of that song, including one that got airplay on AC stations. But it didn't chart as high on the AC chart.
It is true I didn't actually hear it. I only saw it on a list of last songs played.
 
Is this a locally produced station or are they just carrying the satellite feed of "America's Best Music" (ex-"AM Only")?

And time moves on. If you were in your mid-30s when that song was new, you've now reached retirement age.
So? This is a station that plays Anne Murray and Barry Manilow. Guns 'n Roses was also popular at that same time.

People get older and they want softer music. I'm sure of it.

And yes, this is a radio station for The Villages.

I'm listening to ex-"AM Only" right now and they never get that bad.
 
Isn't that Villages station soft AC/soft oldies? "Straight Up" wasn't part of the soft AC format decades ago, but I have heard it on some of the newer soft AC upstarts such as "The Breeze" stations. Personally, I think "Straight Up" is a bit uptempo for soft AC and I personally loathe that song, but that's why you're hearing it on there. lol
 
Isn't that Villages station soft AC/soft oldies? "Straight Up" wasn't part of the soft AC format decades ago, but I have heard it on some of the newer soft AC upstarts such as "The Breeze" stations. Personally, I think "Straight Up" is a bit uptempo for soft AC and I personally loathe that song, but that's why you're hearing it on there. lol
WEZV played "Straight Up" even before it changed to mainstream AC, but there was no other AC at the time anyway.
 
WEZV played "Straight Up" even before it changed to mainstream AC, but there was no other AC at the time anyway.

No surprise there. Any radio format is going to change and evolve (or "devolve", however you want to look at it) over time. As I was saying on the BIV group not long ago, at some point all of us outgrow various radio formats, which is why I don't even listen to AM/FM radio anymore. No "Straight Up" for me...lol.
 
People get older and they want softer music. I'm sure of it.

I now like some of the softer music I didn't in the '60s and early '70s, but I will go to my grave never having switched the station when "Get Off My Cloud" or "Layla" comes on. I don't think you are typical of most people who listened to current popular music in the '60s, '70s and '80s.
 
I now like some of the softer music I didn't in the '60s and early '70s, but I will go to my grave never having switched the station when "Get Off My Cloud" or "Layla" comes on. I don't think you are typical of most people who listened to current popular music in the '60s, '70s and '80s.
The weird thing is that when I'm in the car and stuck with the oldies station, those songs don't even bother me any more. But when I do listen to a particular type of station, I expect it to be a refuge from the bad stuff. I was really hoping WVLG could be one of my choices and the first song I ever heard on the station was "The Other Woman" by Ray Parker Jr., which seemed totally out of character. Parker has had several easy listening songs on America's Best Music but that's not one of them.
 
The weird thing is that when I'm in the car and stuck with the oldies station, those songs don't even bother me any more. But when I do listen to a particular type of station, I expect it to be a refuge from the bad stuff. I was really hoping WVLG could be one of my choices and the first song I ever heard on the station was "The Other Woman" by Ray Parker Jr., which seemed totally out of character. Parker has had several easy listening songs on America's Best Music but that's not one of them.

"The Other Woman" was a great single! Again, I loved it then and still love it now. I don't think it gets any airplay up this way at all.
 
Apparently things are a lot worse on The Villages' station than I thought.

I was seeing maybe one off the wall song each time I looked at "last songs played" but the last few times there have been several. Two by The Doobie Brothers I never heard of, one by Duran Duran, and "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys.

This time, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police and "Tell It to My Heart" by Taylor Dayne.

I'm starting to doubt the claim that this station is for the retired people that live there.
 
You don't think there are any 65 year okds jamming to Van Halen, especially after Eddie's passing? We aren't all ready for the grave.
 
You don't think there are any 65 year okds jamming to Van Halen, especially after Eddie's passing? We aren't all ready for the grave.
I know of one 60-year-old who still likes Led Zeppelin, but come on.

If there is a radio station targeting The Villages (though that's just what Wikipedia says and maybe no one has updated it), it should play music that says "Get off my lawn."
 
Just a quick observation: my fellow classmates are at or a year or so away from retirement. While it has been a few years since the last reunion, the one song that got the whole crowd going wasn't one from our high school days but rather a tune from AC/DC.

Also, from a parental observation: my Dad liked Beautiful Music and he liked that short 50s/60s folk music era (big fan of the Kingston Trio). He listened to the MOR/Adult Standards stations. He absolutely hated anything top 40 or heavier. It made him nervous, literally. In his 80s, he was listening to a station that played top 40 hits from the 1960s and 1970s. The station didn't play the rock edge like Hendrix and Grand Funk, as examles. He was shocked to learn they were the same songs he hated when I was growing up. That led to a conversation about artists. Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Barry White, etc. One he really enjoyed was Bob Seger.
 
If you're 65 in 2020, you were born in 1955 and probably graduated from high school in 1973, two years AFTER Led Zeppelin IV came out.

And you would have been 33 when "Straight Up" was a hit.
 
The passage of time can change one's perception of things. A song that might have sounded harsh or hard forty years ago might not be perceived as that abrasive now. I'm not saying that "The Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin should ever be played on a Soft AC station, but I do hear a couple of Boston tracks that would have been considered metal back in the '70s played on Soft AC stations. Even "Love Bites" by Def Leppard could easily fit in some 33 years after it's release.
 
The passage of time can change one's perception of things.

The other thing to consider is that today's senior citizens grew up in the era of rock music. The older ones grew up with Elvis or The Beatles. Younger ones grew up with 70s and 80s pop. So its very possible that the younger, more active seniors are looking for a music mix that's a bit more progressive than Johnny Mathis.
 
Nevertheless, this station is all over the road. It should have its license taken away because it's lucky there hasn't been a wreck yet. Actually, there has. Plenty of train wrecks.

"Union of the Snake" Duran Duran
"New Sensation" INXS
"I Heard a Rumour" Bananarama
"Breakfast at Tiffanys" Deep Blue Something

That's all from one "last songs played" list and I didn't even have to scroll down.

The only real hints retired people are listening?

"Cherish" Association
"That's Old Fashioned" Everly Brothers (not familiar with that, but it sounds like it could fit with a true "Get Off My Lawn" format)

There are other songs that would fit an adult standards format, but they could also be on a conservative AC.
 
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