Regarding the "back in the day" when Q102 was alleged to be "great" (I'm not mocking you, BTW; just quoting you): Was this when they were in direct competition with another station (Eagle 106, for example)? Because during the many years when they were unchallenged, my personal opinion (which of course will differ from that of others) was that they sounded complacent and bland.
I'm not a big fan of Beasley but I am glad Q102 finally got some competition because I expected it to make Clear Channel get on the ball and improve Q102. What I never expected was that Q102 would wobble about as they have since that janitor cracked the mic on something called "Wild 96.5." As such, I also never expected Beasley to make such quick work of Clear Channel's cookie-cutter CHR baby. They made it look easy!
For the record: I enjoy Q102's airstaff much more than the annoying people Wired has on the air. I like Q102's music a bit more than that of Wired because I happen to like the variety of a Mainstream CHR more than that of a station which relies heavily on a particular type of music (in Wired's case, Urban hits). I think songs "sound" better on Wired than they do on Q102...though I'm not sure whether it's the processing or simply the fact that Q102's music is played annoyingly faster than the artists and producers intended.
All that having been said, Q102--even with the better airstaff--kinda sounds to me like they're always on the defensive; trying to play catch-up. That they're still pitching up the music and shrinking their playlist to nearly "Hot Hits" proportions makes me wonder whether they are ready to throw in the towel!
You know what I'd like to see happen? I'd like Clear Channel Philadelphia to give up on the youngsters. Flip WISX to something more adult (Country?) and turn Q102 into a hybrid Rhythmic AC/Hot AC. Without worrying about protecting a CHR, they could concentrate on the 25-54 females and make their entire cluster a lot more listenable!
Just my two cents! ;D
