How can an oldies station have "Throwback Thursday"?

[vchimpanzee]

94.9 the Surf in Myrtle Beach is already an oldies station. They call it "classic hits" but the definition of that format is closer to Sunny 103.1 in the same market.

And yet yesterday they had "Throwback Thursday" but I don't know what makes that different from any other day. At home I never go online early enough to find out.

There was a time capsule but I don't know whether that's a Thursday feature. That idea made more sense when all the songs and news stories were from 1974.

 

[boombox4]

Probably trying to appeal to a younger, internet-savvy demographic.

 

[TheBigA]

Do they also do a Two for Tuesday?

 

[kevtronics]

"Throwbacks" are usually a reference to classic R&B / Hip-Hop.

 

[firepoint525]

Almost all stations do/did something like this. An oldies station where I used to work in the early '90s had a "solid gold weekend." Which was counterproductive in my opinion because this was (and still is) a college town, and that "solid gold weekend" was all music from the '50s and early '60s, well before most college students of that generation were born! They eventually changed formats and did away with this ancient programming, but not until shortly after I left that station.

 

[oldies76]

Do they also do a Two for Tuesday?

Why do you care? If they do great, if not great. You tend to shun specialty features on oldies and classic hits stations anyways. As for the casual listener and music fan, awesome!

 

[TheBigA]

Why do you care?

I don't. Just making an observation.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Why do you care? If they do great, if not great. You tend to shun specialty features on oldies and classic hits stations anyways. As for the casual listener and music fan, awesome!

The point here is that a classic hits station already plays throwbacks, so a Throwback Thursday is redundant.

Since nobody explained if there was any difference in the music, the prima facie conclusion is that this is stupid.

 

[oldies76]

The point here is that a classic hits station already plays throwbacks, so a Throwback Thursday is redundant.

Since nobody explained if there was any difference in the music, the prima facie conclusion is that this is stupid.

What's redundant about it? If they choose to provide a feature to their audiences, or simply playing their music in a different order to simulate a throwback, then let them at it. If a station wants to feature a "Super 60's Weekend" or some other feature showing off their already good music, I don't see a problem with it. It's not "stupid", it's creativity. Creativity brings your listeners to another level. For pete's sake, have fun for once.

Stations that sound dull are a turnoff. We have a new station in town, KFEZ 101.3, known as "Gnarly" the best of the 80's. You should check them out. Not dull, not boring, CREATIVE!

 

[DavidEduardo]

Stations that sound dull are a turnoff. We have a new station in town, KFEZ 101.3, known as "Gnarly" the best of the 80's. You should check them out. Not dull, not boring, CREATIVE!

And not going to get much listenership.

 

[DavidEduardo]

What's redundant about it? If they choose to provide a feature to their audiences, or simply playing their music in a different order to simulate a throwback, then let them at it. If a station wants to feature a "Super 60's Weekend" or some other feature showing off their already good music, I don't see a problem with it. It's not "stupid", it's creativity. Creativity brings your listeners to another level. For pete's sake, have fun for once.

At Al's Autos, most of the week we sell used cars, but on Thursdays we sell used vehicles.

It's the same thing, unless the cars they sell have different prices or Thursday is when new inventory comes in. Otherwise, it is tricky, deceitful and just a gimmick.

 

[landtuna]

It's the same thing, unless the cars they sell have different prices or Thursday is when new inventory comes in. Otherwise, it is tricky, deceitful and just a gimmick.

It's what music radio has always been: gimmickie, tricky. Not necessarily deceitful but always with some game, attraction or side hustle to attract listeners. "Be the 33rd caller and win a trip to Sandy Ago!" "Guess the number of beans in the big jar at Honest Al's car lot." "Put KWAP sticker on your bumper and win big!"

My sisters and I used to play those 'games' when we were pre-teens back in the 50's.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It's what music radio has always been: gimmickie, tricky. Not necessarily deceitful but always with some game, attraction or side hustle to attract listeners. "Be the 33rd caller and win a trip to Sandy Ago!" "Guess the number of beans in the big jar at Honest Al's car lot." "Put KWAP sticker on your bumper and win big!"

My sisters and I used to play those 'games' when we were pre-teens back in the 50's.

But the games had winners and were real. They encouraged people to listen more. Just as coupons encourage consumers to buy more.

And when contests were not real, the FCC took extreme action, such as 580 in Tucson and WMJX in Miami. Sorry, no license.

 

[CTListener]

At Al's Autos, most of the week we sell used cars, but on Thursdays we sell used vehicles.

It's the same thing, unless the cars they sell have different prices or Thursday is when new inventory comes in. Otherwise, it is tricky, deceitful and just a gimmick.

In the late '80s to late '90s, when oldies was still a viable format, WDRC-FM Hartford would have "All-American weekends" during which only songs by American artists and groups were played, "Salute to Summer weekends" with heavy doses of surfing/beach songs -- up to a half dozen an hour -- and other themed weekends that either gave increased exposure to some songs regularly played on the station along with some from the overnight or "blue moon" rotation, or that excluded certain regularly played songs entirely because they did not meet the weekend's criteria. There was nothing tricky or deceitful about it, in my opinion. DRC-FM wasn't promising new product -- no oldies station could do that -- and the jocks were telling the listeners exactly what the gimmick weekends were about. Agree?

 

[DavidEduardo]

In the late '80s to late '90s, when oldies was still a viable format, WDRC-FM Hartford would have "All-American weekends" during which only songs by American artists and groups were played, "Salute to Summer weekends" with heavy doses of surfing/beach songs -- up to a half dozen an hour -- and other themed weekends that either gave increased exposure to some songs regularly played on the station along with some from the overnight or "blue moon" rotation, or that excluded certain regularly played songs entirely because they did not meet the weekend's criteria. There was nothing tricky or deceitful about it, in my opinion. DRC-FM wasn't promising new product -- no oldies station could do that -- and the jocks were telling the listeners exactly what the gimmick weekends were about. Agree?

Agree.

I've done or heard great weekends like "Surf Safari Weekend" with Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, etc. British Invasion Weekend, Motown Weekend, and so on. Each had the same playlist, but with the featured artist or sound played four or more times an hour.

And there are artist weekends, like Beatles or Stones or whatever. 3 or 4 songs by the artist... and back in the day, we gave away albums or CDs by the artist each time one played.

And there are the featured year weekends, the A to Z weekends, the one-hit-wonder weekends and more. Summer song weekend on the first weekend of summer. Winter weekend at the start of winter, with songs that mention winter, snow, etc.

Each is explained and often has some kind of give-away associated with it.

Playing the same songs with a different name is not the same thing.

 

[oldies76]

And then there was the Southern California Music traditions, such as the Number Ones of Rock and Roll Weekends on K-Earth 101, where every single #1 song (as charted on local radio station surveys) were played in chronological order from Jan 1955 thru 1979. They even played music into the 80's in the early editions. Now that's the granddaddy of specials.

The Firecracker 300 was another, over the 4th of July weekend.

 

[landtuna]

And then there was the Southern California Music traditions, such as the Number Ones of Rock and Roll Weekends on K-Earth 101, where every single #1 song (as charted on local radio station surveys) were played in chronological order from Jan 1955 thru 1979. They even played music into the 80's in the early editions. Now that's the granddaddy of specials.

The Firecracker 300 was another, over the 4th of July weekend.

I seem to remember both KYA and KEWB have big playlists over Independence weekend. I think I still have a tape made from the 1966 "500" from KEWB.

 

[TheBigA]

I seem to remember both KYA and KEWB have big playlists over Independence weekend.

"Big" would be a relative term. Because most of the time, the playlist at KYA was under 100 songs, according to Tom Donohue. It's why he quit.

 

[CarolinaFM]

The Surf is primarily a beach music station that also plays classic hits. On Thursdays, they play more oldies. Beach music is a regional thing, if you're not in the Carolinas, Virginia, or nearby states, it's easy to see the confusion.

Beach music is not The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean. If you want to understand the format, wikipedia has a page on it.

 

[CTListener]

The Surf is primarily a beach music station that also plays classic hits. On Thursdays, they play more oldies. Beach music is a regional thing, if you're not in the Carolinas, Virginia, or nearby states, it's easy to see the confusion.

Beach music is not The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean. If you want to understand the format, wikipedia has a page on it.

When I wrote "surfing/beach," I wasn't referring to the Carolina music, which I'm familiar with through the SiriusXM pop-up channel of a couple of years back. I was thinking more of songs that weren't about surfing but evoked images of summer days on the beach -- think "Under the Boardwalk" by the Drifters, "Turn-Down Day" by the Cyrkle, "Summer" by War, "Beach Baby" by First Class.