I was listening to Oldies 103.3 this afternoon and I must say I really enjoy their mix of oldies and classic hits. One can't help but wonder though, What is the difference between Oldies 103.3 and 105.7 WROR. Both stations use a very similar if not identical moniker "Greatest Hits Of The 60s and 70s. What sets these two radio stations apart aside from the jocks? surely not the slogan is it the music? just a sidenote where does WZLX differ from Oldies 103.3 and 105.7? Sure WZLX plays harder classic rock such as Kiss and Ozzy not heard on ROR or ODS but ZLX does play older artists like The Beatles, CCR and The Eagles all three bands on all three stations. Who out there in Beantown can break this down?
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WODS vs WROR
- Thread starter TheJermster
- Start date
WODS and WZLX are CBS owned stations, and although there may be some crossover songs you can bet they are catering to two different groups and making sure they don't raid each others P1 to much. You don't hear the disco/dance music from the late 70's on ZLX, but it gets heavy airplay on WODS. I tend to be more of a ZLX person, because I am from the group that was on the air playing the Pretenders, Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, The Fools, Talking Heads, etc, while the other group was playing disco crap and doing their best t kill rock & roll.
As I get older, I am finding an appreciation for some of the dance stuff I didn't have in my 20's, especially the drummers.
WROR is Greater Media's entry in the race. They didn't have enough signals to do an "oldies" and a "classic Hits" so they mixed them together, and it is usually good for 11th or 12th place in the book, except in AM drive where for some reason I have never figured out, those no talent bums manage to break the top 5 on a regular basis.
As I get older, I am finding an appreciation for some of the dance stuff I didn't have in my 20's, especially the drummers.
WROR is Greater Media's entry in the race. They didn't have enough signals to do an "oldies" and a "classic Hits" so they mixed them together, and it is usually good for 11th or 12th place in the book, except in AM drive where for some reason I have never figured out, those no talent bums manage to break the top 5 on a regular basis.
B
Boston_Bill
Guest
For the most part I like WROR better but Paul Perry continues to get on my nerves. I want to hear music not dozens of callers and stupid contests and endless promos for Lauen & Wally. Karen Blake on WODS isnt much better. I wish I could pick up an XM signal where I work or I would just listen to that. But I do think there is a difference between WODS and WROR as far as music goes.
I notice Oldies 103.3 plays more Motown and more Disco, especially on Barry Scott show on Sunday nights. He plays a WIDE Variety that you can't hear (anywhere) else in Boston. I also notice when I listen on a walkmal (I have a few walkmans, all new) and I can not get Oldies 103.3 in Roxbury, Dorchester, Southend, Comm Ave, Downtown.
WROR plays some Motown, some Soft and Hard Classics. I like both. Both is ok
WROR plays some Motown, some Soft and Hard Classics. I like both. Both is ok
N
NSPUNX
Guest
My dad listens to Lauren and Wally and if I am in the car with him I have to endure it. It makes my stomach queexy and my skin crawl! Has anyone ever heard this garbage? They have a character named "Gay Vernon" and they do this horrible bit called "Men From Maine" I don't know maybe I am just not in the right demo to find this funny? Does anyone find this entertaining, maybe I am just missing something? (I do not mean this as sarcasm it's a real question)
LAUROJRM said:
Barry Scott's program is a specialty show and a great one at that. And, WODS has classic AT40 shows from the 70s late on Saturday nights - which are also very entertaining. The rest of the time, I personally find their playlist to be too tight and far too heavy on the AC-based gold and mellower titles of pop artists (e.g. James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, Elton John, etc.) . Usually playing the WELL-worn stuff too (i.e. Build Me Up Buttercup, I Can't Help Myself, etc.). Precious few rarities ever make the cut and it's no wonder because their playlist must only have 250-300 titles at any one time.
As for Motown and "disco," yes WODS absolutely plays more of both than WROR. Then again, that's not saying much at all because WROR hardly plays any of either genre. One or two an hour and never more. WODS isn't heavy on either genre either; however, compared with other Boston FMs I am sure that their few such titles seem to go a long way.
WODS' sister station in Philadelphia (WOGL) has a Saturday night dance party show featuring a local personality (Bob Pantano) which features soul, R&B, disco and even some upbeat 'straight' oldies. Great, great show and it would be a really good idea for WODS' programmers to check out a few airchecks and consider doing something similar. I know that they once did this (with Barry Scott, IIRC) and it's worth a revisit. Great lead-in to the classic AT40 shows too.
The mix played on WOGL's show is mind-blowing: in addition to standards like The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Chic, Donna Summer and The Supremes, you also hear artists like The Intruders and Brenda Holloway. It's a refreshing change from their usually tight playlist.
B
bostonradiovet
Guest
"My dad listens to Lauren and Wally and if I am in the car with him I have to endure it. It makes my stomach queexy and my skin crawl! Has anyone ever heard this garbage? They have a character named "Gay Vernon" and they do this horrible bit called "Men From Maine" I don't know maybe I am just not in the right demo to find this funny? Does anyone find this entertaining, maybe I am just missing something? (I do not mean this as sarcasm it's a real question)"
You're probably out of their demo...but I wouldn't call their show garbage. I'm not a fan by any means...but they're pros. Anyone who has stayed in this market for as long as they have deserve at least a little respect.
You're probably out of their demo...but I wouldn't call their show garbage. I'm not a fan by any means...but they're pros. Anyone who has stayed in this market for as long as they have deserve at least a little respect.
LAUROJRM said:
Walkman's generally have terrible tuners. They can't reject the intermodulation interference from all the stations on the Pru. 103.3 comes in fine in all those areas on a good quality car or home tuner.
5 signals on the FM
92.9 bills well, they are not going to screw with it too much, they have shown a willingness to ride it out.
96.9 FM talk.... kicking WRKO's arse up and down the dial in most dayparts. not going to play with that cash cow.
Country 102.5... only game in town, unless you can get WOKQ or other distant signal.
106.7 Magic... huge money maker, not going to rock that boat
and the afore mentioned 105.7
Which one of the other 4 stations which are doing well in the $$$ dept to you flip to risk a format change on WROR to oldies, and the flipped station to classic rock to go head to head with WZLX?
Greater Media is one of the strongest radio companies out there right now, everyone else is in deep doggy doo doo, but GM seem to have positioned themselves well here and in other markets to ride out the storm. I don't see them risking proven products at this time to go head to head with CBS in the classic rock/oldies wars
92.9 bills well, they are not going to screw with it too much, they have shown a willingness to ride it out.
96.9 FM talk.... kicking WRKO's arse up and down the dial in most dayparts. not going to play with that cash cow.
Country 102.5... only game in town, unless you can get WOKQ or other distant signal.
106.7 Magic... huge money maker, not going to rock that boat
and the afore mentioned 105.7
Which one of the other 4 stations which are doing well in the $$$ dept to you flip to risk a format change on WROR to oldies, and the flipped station to classic rock to go head to head with WZLX?
Greater Media is one of the strongest radio companies out there right now, everyone else is in deep doggy doo doo, but GM seem to have positioned themselves well here and in other markets to ride out the storm. I don't see them risking proven products at this time to go head to head with CBS in the classic rock/oldies wars
NSPUNX said:
The Gay Vernon character is actually a takeoff (in name only) of the real Gay Vernon who isn't gay (that I know of) but is female and is (and has been for about 20 years) the News Director at Magic 106.7. Gay was Loren and Wally's morning news reader 20 or so years ago when 105.7 was WVBF. Many of L&W's characters (currently voiced by Tom Doyle) have been around for years and years (and years and years...).
The Men from Maine skits are also absurdly popular and there are several Men from Maine CD's that have been published. I bought one a couple of years ago. When the morning show does their occasional live on-location road show, Tom and Wally (who voice Lem and Efus) actually dress in their Maine garb for the occasion.
And, speaking of Loren and Wally oddities, haven't you ever noticed that Wally does the sports reports but Wally really has nothing whatsoever to do with sports?? It's just that he's been reading the morning sports reports for 20 years so that's what he does. ;D
Speaking of WODS... I got to talk to JJ Wright tonight ( I see he posted earlier tonight on another thread) and he said to say HI to everyone on the board, especially BostonBill.
W
wavelength9
Guest
WTKK has been doing well in the ratings but is not by any means a "cash cow." It is a very expensive format to execute and last year it billed just a little more than WBOS.
WBOS is very cheep to run especially now but I don't think you will see them give this format as much time to take off as the did the old AAA format which had a nice loyal demo but could never comand high spot rates.
WROR bills well in the morning but you can buy the rest of the day fairly cheep. Majic is the real cash cow while Country does well but they would like to get better rates in AM drive.
GM's success says a lot about being a well run private company that hasn't spread itself to thin.
Wally Brine doing sports dates back to the 80's when the Celtics were hugh and many FM's had sports anchors. Kiss 108 had Peter Thompson, Garry Fitzpatrick and finally Tom Cuddy. The fact the owner of Kiss played one year in the ABA and loved sports had something to do with this. 103.3 as WHTT and WMRQ had a guy named Paul Gugeinhimer and 94.5 had Steve Houseman. VBF started selling a Celtics report with Bill Fitch and Wally started doing a sports report.
I don't care for Loren and Wally, they remind me of the DJ's on the Simpson's. I swear they use a laugh track. After almost every joke you hear 6 guys laughing their heads off.
WBOS is very cheep to run especially now but I don't think you will see them give this format as much time to take off as the did the old AAA format which had a nice loyal demo but could never comand high spot rates.
WROR bills well in the morning but you can buy the rest of the day fairly cheep. Majic is the real cash cow while Country does well but they would like to get better rates in AM drive.
GM's success says a lot about being a well run private company that hasn't spread itself to thin.
Wally Brine doing sports dates back to the 80's when the Celtics were hugh and many FM's had sports anchors. Kiss 108 had Peter Thompson, Garry Fitzpatrick and finally Tom Cuddy. The fact the owner of Kiss played one year in the ABA and loved sports had something to do with this. 103.3 as WHTT and WMRQ had a guy named Paul Gugeinhimer and 94.5 had Steve Houseman. VBF started selling a Celtics report with Bill Fitch and Wally started doing a sports report.
I don't care for Loren and Wally, they remind me of the DJ's on the Simpson's. I swear they use a laugh track. After almost every joke you hear 6 guys laughing their heads off.
wavelength9 said:
I do remember Coach Bill Fitch calling in on a weekly basis. Wow, that was a long time ago! Over the last couple of years, they've had weekly Curt Schilling reports (1 year), former Sox pitcher Bill Lee the last couple years, and The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan every week.
And, there ARE 6 people laughing their heads off...Loren, Wally, Tom, Sue, Lungboy, and even Hank when he isnt doing news and traffic reports for WKLB and WTKK.
A couple of years ago, I bought the Best of Loren and Wally 25th Anniversary CD. I have a review posted somewhere on Radio-Info. Some great old comedy bits included on that CD, most of them from former comedy sidekick Christian Paul who passed away many years ago. In fact, I believe Tom Doyle was Christian Paul's successor.
WMC2006 said:
Found that review from a lonnnnnnng time ago: http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,20360.0.html
And I'm still wondering who ErieLackawanna is/was in relation to the Loren and Wally show ???
K
keyjock
Guest
I've noticed lately that WODS has been playing some WROR music lately. I heard Born To Run by Springsteen last night while listening to J.J. and Running On Empty from Jackson Brown on Paula Street's time slot. I'm also hearing more and more 80's titles as well.
Also, kudos for J.J. Wright for staying fairly true to the actuall Billboard Top 20 each week. Last week he did 1974, and played Tubular Bells, The Entertainer and The Streak. The week before, the countdown was 1967, and he played Something Stupid from Nancy and Frank Sinatra as well as Close Your Eyes from Peaches and Herb. A few weeks back, he did Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen!
It seems, that since Jay Beau has come on board, the playlist has opened up a bit ... I heard Maneater from Hall and Oates the other day.
Also, kudos for J.J. Wright for staying fairly true to the actuall Billboard Top 20 each week. Last week he did 1974, and played Tubular Bells, The Entertainer and The Streak. The week before, the countdown was 1967, and he played Something Stupid from Nancy and Frank Sinatra as well as Close Your Eyes from Peaches and Herb. A few weeks back, he did Bohemian Rhapsody from Queen!
It seems, that since Jay Beau has come on board, the playlist has opened up a bit ... I heard Maneater from Hall and Oates the other day.
keyjock said:
keyjock -
thanks for the great observations. I'm glad to hear that JJ is (hopefully) having fun, and trying to keep it real, as they say.
when the Oldies format first started, like when WODS launched - an Oldie was considered anything 15 years old (the new oldies format stations featured titles not newer than 15 years old - 55-75 or so). So I am always puzzled as to why the format shot itself in the foot in NOT adding a new year's worth of music with each passing year. It would have given the format a chance to use that 15-year-criteria as a benchmark, and would have cut "classic hits/rock" stations off at the knees, while keeping the original intent and flavor of the format alive (meaning - there would have still been a place for the great sounding 50's stuff with the right flow of year-to-year tunes in a format's clock).
4 & 1/2 minute records for JJ ? he won't have to RUN down the hall from the little disc jockey's room anymore.
Chuck Igo
www.chuckigo.com
(okay - buy my book already, willya? radio guys save the country! well, it is fiction... with a nod to JJ even included in the story - Navy Admiral, no less)
J
jimmyd
Guest
The same suits that said " David Lee Roth would be great in the morning" are trying to program Oldies. Everyone over there is looking over their shoulders waiting for the grim reaper. There is plenty of great Oldies music out there ...Unfortunately it isnt on WODS. Jay Beau should keep his resume updated.It's a crap shoot over there .
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