Welcome back, 99x! The first song....

[RoddyFreeman]

My bad, Floyd, you are correct.

I think you were right the first time. Yes, 99.7 HD2 is the signal that 97.9 is duplicating, but so many more people can receive 97.9 than 99.7 HD2, that 97.9 has to be considered the primary signal. If it weren't, they wouldn't be saying 99X at 97.9. They would be saying just 99X.

 

[AbsurdHero]

I just heard them play "Hate My Life" by Theory of a Deadman.

What is the point of a station calling itself Alternative if the playlist is functionally identical to an Active Rock station, with a few regular rotation songs shared with Triple-A?

99X is far from alone in this - the Alternative chart is littered with songs that should not be there. Metallica, Blue October, Shinedown, Apocalyptica, Seether... Hell, even Nickelback is hanging in there at number 35.

 

[RTibbs]

I just heard them play "Hate My Life" by Theory of a Deadman.

What is the point of a station calling itself Alternative if the playlist is functionally identical to an Active Rock station, with a few regular rotation songs shared with Triple-A?

99X is far from alone in this - the Alternative chart is littered with songs that should not be there. Metallica, Blue October, Shinedown, Apocalyptica, Seether... Hell, even Nickelback is hanging in there at number 35.

Define Alternative???

 

[Richard Kimball]

There's a backwoods baseball adage about success: "hit 'em where they ain't." That pretty much explains the success of "alternative"... back in the day when there was a plethora of great music that mainstream stations wouldn't touch because most music programmers had devolved into their usual myopia about what their audience wanted to hear. But as the years passed, alternative blended... much the way hip-hop has to a certain extent. So I'm not sure the term "alternative" has any real substantive meaning anymore... like "liberal" and "conservative".

For me, 99X is little more than more recent nostalgia... or, as I pointed out in the other thread, Dave with testicles. Real alternative in 2009 is about discovery... and there are hardly any radio stations brave enough to engage in that.

 

[AbsurdHero]

Define Alternative???

It has definitely lost its meaning. To me, bands like The Bravery, Modest Mouse, MGMT, Interpol, Silversun Pickups, Peter Bjorn & John, Manchester Orchestra, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs belong on that station, while the aforementioned Active Rock acts do not. It took losing 99X in the first place to make me realize how watered down the format has become over the years.

Richard Kimball is right, but it would be nice to reclaim the meaning of the term.

 

[blackcurtain]

Define Alternative???

It has definitely lost its meaning. To me, bands like The Bravery, Modest Mouse, MGMT, Interpol, Silversun Pickups, Peter Bjorn & John, Manchester Orchestra, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs belong on that station, while the aforementioned Active Rock acts do not. It took losing 99X in the first place to make me realize how watered down the format has become over the years.

Richard Kimball is right, but it would be nice to reclaim the meaning of the term.

Kimball and AbsurdHero are dead on. In my opinion, any "alt" station that ignores hip-hop is dead in the water. And I don't mean Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill. Look at any decent music festival - Coachella, Bonnarroo (sp?), Lollapalooza - or look at the iPod of any person 18-34 and you'd be hard pressed not to find Kanye, Lil Wayne, Outkast, etc. If in addition to 90s alt gold, you'd spike in some Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy or Pharcyde - you would blow people's minds.

99X at 97.9 sounds borderline active rock to me.

 

[WBIMDJ]

I just heard them play "Hate My Life" by Theory of a Deadman.

What is the point of a station calling itself Alternative if the playlist is functionally identical to an Active Rock station, with a few regular rotation songs shared with Triple-A?

99X is far from alone in this - the Alternative chart is littered with songs that should not be there. Metallica, Blue October, Shinedown, Apocalyptica, Seether... Hell, even Nickelback is hanging in there at number 35.

This has been a topic I have been debating for quite a while on the Alternative/Alternative Classics board here on radio-info. You're more then welcome to come over there and partake. I feel the same way. Those bands DO NOT belong on the Modern Rock chart if there is already a Mainstream/Active Rock chart.

 

[WBIMDJ]

Define Alternative???

It has definitely lost its meaning. To me, bands like The Bravery, Modest Mouse, MGMT, Interpol, Silversun Pickups, Peter Bjorn & John, Manchester Orchestra, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs belong on that station, while the aforementioned Active Rock acts do not. It took losing 99X in the first place to make me realize how watered down the format has become over the years.

Richard Kimball is right, but it would be nice to reclaim the meaning of the term.

You're definitely right, those bands you listed are what I would call "alternative" but of course the term itself has been through the grinder for the past 15-20 years or so. I would invite you to stream the station I've been listening to for years, 101.7 WFNX, here in Boston. (http://www.wfnx.com) The bands you mentioned all get daily airplay...as I type this they are playing the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs single. You will also hear older stuff like The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order, older NIN, etc. That wouldn't probably see the light of day on all these other so called other "alternative" stations. And most importantly, you won't EVER hear Linkin Park, Nickelback, Seether, or any of those other bands either!

 

[RoddyFreeman]

With the potential ratings and billings from the translator, I don't see where Cumulus would be taking that much risk if they played the non-corporate-type stuff being mentioned. I would bet the ratings would be virtually the same as whatever they'll get with what they're playing.

 

[WBIMDJ]

Here's a 2 hour sample playlist from FNX tonite, to prove an example of what 99x could be playing:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero 22.04.2009 7:59pm

Coldplay - Viva La Vida 22.04.2009 8:07pm

MGMT - Electric Feel 22.04.2009 8:11pm

The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge 22.04.2009 8:14pm

White Lies - To Lose My Life 22.04.2009 8:25pm

Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks 22.04.2009 8:31pm

Nirvana - All Apologies 22.04.2009 8:35pm

Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch 22.04.2009 8:39pm

Foo Fighters - Times Like These 22.04.2009 8:43pm

Tegan And Sara - Walking With A Ghost 22.04.2009 8:47pm

Beck - Devils Haircut 22.04.2009 8:52pm

Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked 22.04.2009 9:01pm

Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody 22.04.2009 9:04pm

Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls 22.04.2009 9:08pm

311 - Hey You 22.04.2009 9:11pm

Depeche Mode - Wrong 22.04.2009 9:15pm

Smashing Pumpkins - Zero 22.04.2009 9:30pm

U2 - Magnificent 22.04.2009 9:32pm

Sublime - Wrong Way 22.04.2009 9:37pm

James - Laid 22.04.2009 9:43pm

Wild Light - California On My Mind 22.04.2009 9:45pm

 

[Richard Kimball]

The first time you heard "Young Folks"... was it on the radio or tv? How about MGMT's "Kids"... radio or a friend linked you to the video? Therein lies the problem with trying to define "alternative" in 2009. One might ask "alternative to what?" and come up with a better answer. Stop splitting hairs over which stupid stale chart a song belongs on. For me, a song is "alternative" only until someone else starts playing it.

 

[RTibbs]

Should I publish 99x's playlist on the Boston Board tell them this is what WFNX should be playing.

Why would 99x want to copy a format that in the Boston Fall book had a 0.6 rating?

 

[Richard Kimball]

Truth is: nobody at Cumulus has the guts to do real alternative. It would require a renegade programmer with a keen musical awareness and a willingness to take a chance on too many untested tunes. Anyone with that talent more than likely was laid off months ago. The vultures who have purchased control of the radio industry don't comprehend innovation; they fear it or, at best, just don't trust it. Putting turds in pretty packages to sell, that's what they do. So the new 99X is just a slicked up oldies station with a new spring outfit.

 

[WBIMDJ]

Should I publish 99x's playlist on the Boston Board tell them this is what WFNX should be playing.

Why would 99x want to copy a format that in the Boston Fall book had a 0.6 rating?

Because most people like to hear Souljah Boy and Lady GaGaGag me stuff 1000 times a day? FNX never has, never will, get good ratings (in it's 25+ years), nor has it ever been about them. The point is 99x won't be about the ratings this time around too, so why play the crappy norm?

 

[RTibbs]

Should I publish 99x's playlist on the Boston Board tell them this is what WFNX should be playing.

Why would 99x want to copy a format that in the Boston Fall book had a 0.6 rating?

Because most people like to hear Souljah Boy and Lady GaGaGag me stuff 1000 times a day? FNX never has, never will, get good ratings (in it's 25+ years), nor has it ever been about them. The point is 99x won't be about the ratings this time around too, so why play the crappy norm?

Has anyone see the memo Cumulus published that they were putting 99x on a translator they traded for and was not interested at all in the ratings? Based on what I am seeing on the board here the signal's coverage area makes it apparent they are going for a piece of the ratings pie. Between Rock 100.5 and 99x they are gunning for Dave who is like a staggered fighter in the 11th round and has yet to take a round on the scorecard.

Also can someone refresh my memory on the last time 99x played Soulah Boy or Lady Gaga. I have listened a lot since last week and have not heard either of these artists or even a similar artist. I guess us dumb folk in Georgia don't know anthing about anything. I am glad the out of market people post here to help us understand what this market wants and needs.

 

[AbsurdHero]

The first time you heard "Young Folks"... was it on the radio or tv? How about MGMT's "Kids"... radio or a friend linked you to the video? Therein lies the problem with trying to define "alternative" in 2009. One might ask "alternative to what?" and come up with a better answer. Stop splitting hairs over which stupid stale chart a song belongs on. For me, a song is "alternative" only until someone else starts playing it.

Radio stations, actually. I first heard "Young Folks" on WRAS. I first heard "Kids" on WBER. Neither of those are commercial stations, obviously, but I think commercial stations reporting as Alternative could stand to live up to the moniker a little more. The no-longer-terrestrial Indie 103.1 and underperforming WFNX may not be stellar examples, but it can be done, as WEQX in Albany, NY proves.

Basically, the charts are important to me because this is the format I grew up on. Before I listened to Alternative radio stations in the 1990s, I thought there just wasn't any music out there for me. Now I see that format being cannibalized by Active Rock while simultaneously killing itself with a dependence on gold that ensures a growing disconnect between the stations and their target audience.

This is why we turn to our iPods, Pandora and satellite radio. Listening to most Alternative stations is like watching a close family member fight a losing battle with drug addiction. If they sober up again, we'l spend time with them, but until then it's just too depressing.

I want to see the format thrive again. There are many great bands out there that could revive it if given wide enough airplay. Otherwise we can expect to see the ratings continue to decline across the board until Alternative finally disappears entirely.

 

[AbsurdHero]

Should I publish 99x's playlist on the Boston Board tell them this is what WFNX should be playing.

Why would 99x want to copy a format that in the Boston Fall book had a 0.6 rating?

Because most people like to hear Souljah Boy and Lady GaGaGag me stuff 1000 times a day? FNX never has, never will, get good ratings (in it's 25+ years), nor has it ever been about them. The point is 99x won't be about the ratings this time around too, so why play the crappy norm?

Has anyone see the memo Cumulus published that they were putting 99x on a translator they traded for and was not interested at all in the ratings? Based on what I am seeing on the board here the signal's coverage area makes it apparent they are going for a piece of the ratings pie. Between Rock 100.5 and 99x they are gunning for Dave who is like a staggered fighter in the 11th round and has yet to take a round on the scorecard.

Also can someone refresh my memory on the last time 99x played Soulah Boy or Lady Gaga. I have listened a lot since last week and have not heard either of these artists or even a similar artist. I guess us dumb folk in Georgia don't know anthing about anything. I am glad the out of market people post here to help us understand what this market wants and needs.

I'm pretty sure WBIMDJ was answering your question about why WFNX has crappy ratings, not making any kind of statement about 99X's playlist.

Cumulus obviously does care about ratings. I just think their efforts with 99X would be better invested providing music for an underserved market, instead of creating a mishmash of the Dave and Project playlists to try to snag their listeners. Similarly, they should have probably left Rock 100.5 where it was, serving the hair band crowd. The Atlanta market has over 4 million people. There's room for variety.

 

[Richard Kimball]

It's always the college stations that take the musical risks. Don't expect Cumulus or Clear Channel or Citadel (notice that the word crap also begins with the letter C) to ever do the same. AH, it's apparent your listening habits are more intense and sophisticated than the average hero, but your example kind of supports my point about discovery. These days the vast majority of commercial stations are loathe to be the FIRST to try anything.