The Hotel California - You Know What They Say...

[hm insulators]

As I often say, the way to avoid repetition is become adventurous and try different formats. I promise you that you won't hear Hotel California on KIIS. Flipping channels among similar stations is like going to similar fast food drive-ins complaining that they all serve hamburgers. Reach out of your comfort zone if you truly want variety.

I rarely listen to the radio at home and even more seldom on the internet, but in the car, yes, and I've got a variety of music stations programmed (I live in Phoenix now, but I'm originally from Los Angeles): Album rock KDKB, classic rock KSLX, oldies KOOL, (when they're not doing talk shows about restaurants or "natural" health products) KAZG-1440 and KKLD out of Prescott; KCDX (when I'm in a part of Phoenix where I can pick it up, generally south of Camelback Road), which is a station that plays a super-wide variety of music (oldies76, ChannelFlipper and SuperRadioFan should try this on your computers; KCDX will play, say Blondie's "Rapture" followed by a Foghat song--not "Slow Ride" or even "Fool For the City" but perhaps their most obscure cut "Chateau LaFitte '59 Boogie"--I know; I once heard that exact segue!), two country stations (KSWG and when I can get it, KRDE), R&B oldies 104.3, and "The Mountain," a sort of "Jack"-type station. Oh, and the station of last resort, KAHM, also out of Prescott and one of the very few "Beautiful" or "Easy Listening" stations left, although a neighbor today was playing local classical outlet KBAQ and I might put that one in as my new "station-of-last-resort-when-all-else-I-can-get-are-commercials-and-'Hotel-California'-again."

For me, it's also the time of day that dictates what kind of music I want to listen to. In the mornings, I'm seldom in the mood for hard rock, so that's when I listen to the country stations or talk radio KTAR. If KSWG or KTAR are doing commercials, I'll do KOOL, KAZG or 104.3. Later in the day and evening, I want my hard rock and metal, so KDKB will be my first choice. (I once even had active-rock KUPD but I got tired of the cookie-monster vocalists and guitar players that wouldn't know a riff if they fell over one, which many newer metal bands unfortunately seem to feature.)

 

[K.M. Richards]

KAZG-1440 and KKLD out of Prescott; KCDX (when I'm in a part of Phoenix where I can pick it up, generally south of Camelback Road), which is a station that plays a super-wide variety of music (oldies76, ChannelFlipper and SuperRadioFan should try this on your computers; KCDX will play, say Blondie's "Rapture" followed by a Foghat song--not "Slow Ride" or even "Fool For the City" but perhaps their most obscure cut "Chateau LaFitte '59 Boogie"--I know; I once heard that exact segue!),

KAZG - 0.3 in 6+, good for fourth from the bottom. (Don't think I want to see their 25-54 numbers if their 6+ is that low.) KKLD and KCDX - no shows (meaning either they don't have enough listeners to show in the ratings or they don't have enough listeners to make it worth buying the ratings).

Sounds perfect for oldies, Flipper and SRF. Stations that don't matter.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

We love stations that don't matter, K.M.
Where can I find your station? On the net I guess. Please provide a link. Much obliged.

 

[oldies76]

Sounds perfect for oldies, Flipper and SRF. Stations that don't matter.

Stations that don't matter to you, yet you are in the industry. Makes perfect sense KM. They may not matter to you, but they certainly matter to the listeners that are ENJOYING them. Small town or small stations in cities trying to please their listeners and survive......give them a break! It's not all about the corporate , big city 8.0 share stations. Maybe to you, but the public could care less, they just want their music.

I get it, Hippie radio, Superhits 106, WLNG, the stations listed above and the hundreds that still play oldies and classic hits that are lower rated small town stations, don't matter. Understood.

 

[oldies76]

We love stations that don't matter, K.M.
Where can I find your station? On the net I guess. Please provide a link. Much obliged.

There is an 80's link, probably plays "Don't Stop Believin'" 5 times a day.

 

[SuperRadioFan]

I just sent you a PM, oldies

 

[oldies76]

I just sent you a PM, oldies

Got it, thanks......replied.

 

[oldies76]

I rarely listen to the radio at home and even more seldom on the internet, but in the car, yes, and I've got a variety of music stations programmed (I live in Phoenix now, but I'm originally from Los Angeles): Album rock KDKB, classic rock KSLX, oldies KOOL, (when they're not doing talk shows about restaurants or "natural" health products) KAZG-1440 and KKLD out of Prescott; KCDX (when I'm in a part of Phoenix where I can pick it up, generally south of Camelback Road), which is a station that plays a super-wide variety of music (oldies76, ChannelFlipper and SuperRadioFan should try this on your computers; KCDX will play, say Blondie's "Rapture" followed by a Foghat song--not "Slow Ride" or even "Fool For the City" but perhaps their most obscure cut "Chateau LaFitte '59 Boogie

All good stations HM and good music too, despite what someone has to say. 1981's "Rapture", one of my favs!!

 

[TheBigA]

All good stations HM and good music too, despite what someone has to say. 1981's "Rapture", one of my favs!!

But once again, if you guys all have your favorite little stations, who obviously program to their narrow audiences, why do any of you care what KRTH does? It's like insisting that McDonalds sell sushi because some little hamburger joint in the neighborhood does. The big guys do what works for them, and the little guys do what works for them. I see it in business all the time. That's what makes the world go round.

 

[davideduardo]

KAZG - 0.3 in 6+, good for fourth from the bottom. (Don't think I want to see their 25-54 numbers if their 6+ is that low.) KKLD and KCDX - no shows (meaning either they don't have enough listeners to show in the ratings or they don't have enough listeners to make it worth buying the ratings).

In 25-54, KKLD and KAZG have a 0.1. That's good for last.

KCDX does not show at all. However, I believe there are some stations that do not encode for a variety of bizarre reasons, so they either have a 0.0 or the don't encode.

What they do show is that those deep or eclectic or very old music blends have little, if any, following. In other words, radio for outliers.

 

[oldies76]

The big guys do what works for them, and the little guys do what works for them. I see it in business all the time. That's what makes the world go round.

I agree. A much better answer than, "Stations that don't matter"

From some little station in the middle of the Mohave to a giant like CBS-FM, they all do their best.

 

[K.M. Richards]

We love stations that don't matter, K.M.

That's been made abundantly clear to me.

Where can I find your station? On the net I guess. Please provide a link. Much obliged.

There is a link at my website to the live stream of the station I consult which airs my format.

 

[K.M. Richards]

There is an 80's link, probably plays "Don't Stop Believin'" 5 times a day.

Actually, if you must know, that song is not in the library and no song plays more often than twice a day, excluding the overnight period when we shuffle to avoid same-hour repetition.

 

[Unregistered]

So much black and white thinking here.

Somewhere between a 200 song playlist and airings of Dominique is compelling radio with variety and appeal. What the industry people don't get is how burned out the average listener gets on "favorite songs."

I feel the basic problem is this: Heavy repetition works if you are KISS-FM or AMP because all your songs are new, and in 6 months, they'll be replaced. It's no wonder even today kids love those stations and are just as devoted to them as 50 year olds might have been to KHJ or KMET. They are delighted to hear the same Katy Perry or One Direction song every hour.

But the KLOS/Sound/KRTH stations cannot follow that model. They have no new songs to play! If you try to play only the songs that "test" really high, you are, almost literally, listening to Hotel California forever. So while you can't play a bunch of what they used to call stiffs, a good programmer (and Kaye was one) will punch up the playlist with enough surprises to keep the listener returning. The current KRTH approach is to play Spin Me Right Round and Livin' on a Prayer all day long, which is interesting at first, but in two years?.....

A side note would be KRTH abandoning the "family listening" brand they had for so long. They really were the only station the "whole family could agree upon," and one was safe listening to them without hearing songs that feel awkward with kids around. No more. Heard "Wild Thing" by Ton Loc today. Not the Troggs. Ton Loc.

Wild Thing. Followed by the old KHJ-sounding jingle. And then Baby Love by the Supremes.