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Why mr. probz waves on ALT 92.3

I think the new alternative programmers realize that rock alone will not work. Too much of the traditional demo that used to be solidly rock (white, male, 20s) is now listening to hip-hop, rap, EDM and other rhythmic genres.

There's also the underemployed-slacker stereotype of the 20-something rock fan that causes prestige advertisers to shun most formats that feature current rock. It's been noted elsewhere that active/modern rock stations tend to attract advertisers such as bail bondsmen and bars. Maybe "diluting" the alternative format with other styles might get the average listener out of mom's basement (in the eyes of Madison Avenue) and into a place where he's seen as a worthwhile consumer.
 
Joylovepulse967 said:
Wow EDM on ALT
Click to expand...

Tastes of EDM have always been in Alternative. Songs like:

Chemical Brothers- Block Rockin' Beats
Chemical Brothers- Let Forever Be
Daft Punk- Get Lucky
Fatboy Slim- Going Out of My Head
Fatboy Slim- The Rockafeller Skank
Fatboy Slim- Praise You
Fatboy Slim- Weapon of Choice
B.T.- Never Gonna Come Back Down
Avicii- Wake Me Up
Avicii- Hey Brother
Crystal Method- Name of the Game
Crystal Method- Born Too Slow
Basement Jaxx- Where's Your Head At

All charted Top 40 at Alternative. And I'm probably forgetting some really obvious ones. While most focus on the "Rock" portion of Alternative, since it does make up the vast majority of the playlists... there are other elements mixed in there.
 
Alt 92.3 also has a new feature called "Ctrl+Alt+Delete", which allows you to text whether you "LIKE" or "DISLIKE" the song currently playing. Supposedly they're monitoring this in "real time", even claiming they'll cut a song off early if it gets enough "dislike" votes. Interesting idea and a great way to give the average listener the impression of having input, though it may very well just be a gimmick with no real impact on the playlist.
 
It's also the same scenario with sister DFW ALT station KVIL 103.7. The station will tend to play Eminem, Avicii, Lorde, Adele, Calvin Harris, The Chainsmokers, Halsey, and Ellie Goulding. We, too, have "Ctrl-ALT-Delete" as well and it shocked me to see bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and several 90s alternative bands get deleted, yet, Top-40/pop crap still get the spins on ALT in Dallas. Sounds more like AMP never left. It got too painful to listen to that I just switch it back to Jack FM or 97.1 The Eagle.
 
I noticed that myself as well. It’s become just a “edger” amp radio. It’s fine tho no tears shed here. I didn’t want them to share a playlist with KEGL anyway and compete with the Eagle. I love the Eagle. I noticed WKQX in Chicago is musically the same as the ALT brandings. Yes, I know it’s a Culumus Station but what ever happened to 2 hours with Matt Pinfield in Chicago was it too edgy? Was it too rock filled and the music hurt the Alternative ears? Active Rock works in big Markets like Dallas and Detroit why can’t New York Rock out or even Chicago?
 
From a listener's perspective, alternative now is much like alternative in the 80s. Many bands that were considered Alternative in the 80s had a greater techno and pop beat to them. They also had the punk bands. So, as others have said here, Alternative isn't necessarily rock. It isn't necessarily pop. It's anything that skews away from what's considered mainstream. Most people today think Alternative and automatically think of 90s Grunge. That was just one sub-genre of Alternative.

As for modern Alternative radio, there's currently two camps. There's FM Alternative, which is very much like what you here on Alt 92.3 and other stations across the country. There's FM Alternative that hasn't evolved into to those stations yet (still heavily influenced by the 90s Grunge era). Then, there's Internet Based Alternative Stations, which mix everything together and play a wider variety of old and new Alternative, as well as true independent Alternative. These are stations like The Independent FM out of Los Angeles, the current online version of Q101 out of Chicago, and Indie 617 (used to be RadioBDC) out of Boston. These online stations play the pop leaning music of today, but go back and go off the beaten path. Q101 not as much as the other two, but it still does a bit.

Basically, FM Alternative is playing what will bring in young listeners. I don't like it as much, and tend to venture away from FM Alternative. My local Alternative station, WBOS - Alt 92.9 out of Boston, is beginning to evolve from 90s Grunge into the modern Alternative. But, I still prefer the wider range of the Internet Stations, more specifically The Independent FM.
 
atthestars said:
Tastes of EDM have always been in Alternative. Songs like:

Chemical Brothers- Block Rockin' Beats
Chemical Brothers- Let Forever Be
Daft Punk- Get Lucky
Fatboy Slim- Going Out of My Head
Fatboy Slim- The Rockafeller Skank
Fatboy Slim- Praise You
Fatboy Slim- Weapon of Choice
B.T.- Never Gonna Come Back Down
Avicii- Wake Me Up
Avicii- Hey Brother
Crystal Method- Name of the Game
Crystal Method- Born Too Slow
Basement Jaxx- Where's Your Head At

All charted Top 40 at Alternative. And I'm probably forgetting some really obvious ones. While most focus on the "Rock" portion of Alternative, since it does make up the vast majority of the playlists... there are other elements mixed in there.
Click to expand...

Basically you just described an average episode of Solid State from around 1998, which was a 2-3 hour show on Saturday nights at 11 on K-ROCK. This is where a lot of this stuff lived before the EDM movement really took off in the late aughts-early 2010s.
 
Least said:
From a listener's perspective, alternative now is much like alternative in the 80s. Many bands that were considered Alternative in the 80s had a greater techno and pop beat to them. They also had the punk bands. So, as others have said here, Alternative isn't necessarily rock. It isn't necessarily pop. It's anything that skews away from what's considered mainstream. Most people today think Alternative and automatically think of 90s Grunge. That was just one sub-genre of Alternative.

As for modern Alternative radio, there's currently two camps. There's FM Alternative, which is very much like what you here on Alt 92.3 and other stations across the country. There's FM Alternative that hasn't evolved into to those stations yet (still heavily influenced by the 90s Grunge era). Then, there's Internet Based Alternative Stations, which mix everything together and play a wider variety of old and new Alternative, as well as true independent Alternative. These are stations like The Independent FM out of Los Angeles, the current online version of Q101 out of Chicago, and Indie 617 (used to be RadioBDC) out of Boston. These online stations play the pop leaning music of today, but go back and go off the beaten path. Q101 not as much as the other two, but it still does a bit.

Basically, FM Alternative is playing what will bring in young listeners. I don't like it as much, and tend to venture away from FM Alternative. My local Alternative station, WBOS - Alt 92.9 out of Boston, is beginning to evolve from 90s Grunge into the modern Alternative. But, I still prefer the wider range of the Internet Stations, more specifically The Independent FM.
Click to expand...

The days of ALT meaning Nirvana, Sublime are pretty much over. Those stations (except in certain markets) never did well. With the introduction of titles like Sophie Tucker, and Portugal the Man, the format has a chance to gain a new fan base. With the increasing popularity of pop and Country, the format had to adapt. A so called modern rocker that I listen to has added older classic rock titles because the new classic hits station (rock leaning) has took the wind out of their sails. I don't think what I call the "grunge flannel" format won't work as a format at this time.
 
Least said:
From a listener's perspective, alternative now is much like alternative in the 80s. Many bands that were considered Alternative in the 80s had a greater techno and pop beat to them. They also had the punk bands. So, as others have said here, Alternative isn't necessarily rock. It isn't necessarily pop. It's anything that skews away from what's considered mainstream. Most people today think Alternative and automatically think of 90s Grunge. That was just one sub-genre of Alternative.

As for modern Alternative radio, there's currently two camps. There's FM Alternative, which is very much like what you here on Alt 92.3 and other stations across the country. There's FM Alternative that hasn't evolved into to those stations yet (still heavily influenced by the 90s Grunge era). Then, there's Internet Based Alternative Stations, which mix everything together and play a wider variety of old and new Alternative, as well as true independent Alternative. These are stations like The Independent FM out of Los Angeles, the current online version of Q101 out of Chicago, and Indie 617 (used to be RadioBDC) out of Boston. These online stations play the pop leaning music of today, but go back and go off the beaten path. Q101 not as much as the other two, but it still does a bit.

Basically, FM Alternative is playing what will bring in young listeners. I don't like it as much, and tend to venture away from FM Alternative. My local Alternative station, WBOS - Alt 92.9 out of Boston, is beginning to evolve from 90s Grunge into the modern Alternative. But, I still prefer the wider range of the Internet Stations, more specifically The Independent FM.
Click to expand...

I find WBOS unlistenable due to all the burned out grunge they cling to. I think NYC's Alt 92.3 and Toronto's Indie 88 are where it's at.
 
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