Classic Rock & The River

[b-turner]

If you want radio to cater to the 55 plus demo, your beef is with the advertising agencies that refuse to buy radio for the 55+ demographic. You should be talking to them versus the radio station that is trying to find the dollars to operate. In major markets, any advertising buy that literally amounts to anything is directed by an advertising agency. Yes you can get small mom and pop buys buy typically they are single location, can spend under $300 a month and any station is hard pressed to have enough listeners in their primary trade area to produce adequate results to get them to buy again. Been there and done that and lost money doing so. Radio follows trends to get their listeners and radio follows the dollars to get their revenue.

 

[gregg75]

They've gone too ROCK for me. I liked the old format better.

 

[jabba17]

They've gone too ROCK for me. I liked the old format better.

Since when? They've been classic rock pretty much since their second year.

Or is it the fact that they've been moving the classic rock needle newer?

 

[acheron1982]

Since when? They've been classic rock pretty much since their second year.

Or is it the fact that they've been moving the classic rock needle newer?

I don't think they have moved the needle at all in any direction in the last year at least. They were sneaking in some 90s and now they seem to all but avoided 90s. Mostly 70s and 80s.

 

[secondchoice]

IMHO they have started playing a lot more Hair Bands, Ozzy, AC / DC, and Van Halen and a lot less Southern Rock in the last couple of years. If you do the math a 55 year old. (top end of most money demos) most likely graduated high school after 1983 so any song before a 55 year old’s middle school 1976 or not on MTV could unfamiliar. The hair bands were the rage in the 1980’s. Van Halen’s self-titled album came out 1978, AC / DC ‘s Highway to Hell was released in 1979. Ozzy was kick out Black Sabbath and went solo in 1980. IMHO Southern Rock peaked in the mid 1970’s and with the exception of the “Athens” bands and they never transitioned to MTV very well so I get it. I wonder does 97.1 even test pre 1976 songs? I know they play a few older Stones, Cars, Pink Floyd, Dobbie Brothers, CCR, and Elton John tunes but that’s about it for pre MTV tunes on The River.


Hopefully some of the tunes I like will test well with folks who were in grade school or not even born when I listened to them on AM in my 1963 Chevy. And yes I did drive my “Chevy to the levee” to watch the “submarine races” in the Tennessee River every chance I got.

 

[LegalTender]

I wonder does 97.1 even test pre 1976 songs? I know they play a few older Stones, Cars, Pink Floyd, Dobbie Brothers, CCR, and Elton John tunes but that’s about it for pre MTV tunes on The River.

Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (1973) fired up yesterday.

A lot of targeted listeners into that?

 

[Tibbs4]

Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (1973) fired up yesterday.

A lot of targeted listeners into that?

Actually the answer is yes. Tests well compared to many other similar songs. There are "theories" on that. I have not looked at The River's playlist in a few years. It sounds much like it is much more rock than I remember. So let me get this right, some on here say it's tired and boring and others say it is too hard rock?

 

[jabba17]

Cox has done a good job curating the playlist, using a similar "burn and turn" methodology that they used to use with B98.5 when B played a lot more 80s and 90s hits. That is, they would test a bunch of songs, play the hell out of them, test them again, remove the burnouts and add some new stuff that tested well, rinse and repeat.

The general trends I have seen over the years with them:

1) When they first started in 2006(?), they played a bunch of pop in addition to classic AOR. That has gone by the wayside except for the aforementioned Billy Joel.
2) Their core was originally 60s-80s classic rock, with emphasis on classic artists, and not so much 1980s MTV/hair bands. The 60s stuff was the usual--Beatles, Stones, Doors, Who, and the like.
3) Over time, they have almost completely removed the 60s. The notable exception is Hendrix, with some Stones.
4) Over time, they have been playing more 1980s MTV (A Flock of Seagulls, etc.) and hair bands--especially "oh-wow" stuff like Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot. But always stuff that might have been heard on an AOR station back in the day. Sometimes they push the limit on the soft end like with Toto and Men At Work.
5) They seem to be de-emphasizing the 1970s. Not removing it entirely, but easing up on the 1970s deeper cuts.
6) They keep trying to play more 1990s, and they seem to keep hitting the wall on them. They've never played grunge, but they seem to have difficulty with even more mainstream stuff like Hootie.

I just checked what they've been playing since 4-5 AM today and here's what I see that seems to be outside the 1970s-1980s AOR core (or otherwise of note):

1) "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf (1968) - not what I would expect.
2) "Civil War" by Guns N Roses (1991) - really an 80s leftover by an 80s band
3) "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Rod Stewart (1978) - probably an "oh wow" cut, since Rod Stewart is in their AOR wheelhouse but not this disco hit.
4) "Signs" by Tesla (1990). It's interesting that they played the remake instead of the Five Man Electrical Band version from 1971. 1990 seems to be closer to their core window than 1971.
5) There were a few artists that push the softer/poppier limit of AOR (Joan Jett, John Mellencamp, Fleetwood Mac) but still got played on AOR back in the day.

 

[jabba17]

Here is the aforementioned playlist from this morning:

10:10 am I Love Rock N' Roll Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
10:06 am Black Betty Ram Jam
9:58 am Civil War Guns N' Roses
9:48 am Tequila Sunrise Eagles
9:43 am I Remember You Skid Row
9:40 am Brass In Pocket (I'm Special) Pretenders
9:35 am Over The Hills And Far Away Led Zeppelin
9:32 am Heat Of The Moment Asia
9:22 am Dreams Fleetwood Mac
9:19 am Signs Tesla
9:14 am Frankenstein Edgar Winter Group
9:10 am We Belong Pat Benatar
9:04 am Bohemian Rhapsody Queen
9:00 am Twilight Zone Golden Earring
8:44 am Take It On The Run REO Speedwagon
8:40 am Invisible Touch Genesis
8:35 am Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Rod Stewart
8:31 am Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap AC/DC
8:22 am Runaway Bon Jovi
8:14 am Slow Ride Foghat
8:11 am I Won't Back Down Tom Petty
8:06 am Turn The Page Bob Seger
8:01 am You're All I've Got Tonight Cars
7:50 am Big Time Peter Gabriel
7:46 am Already Gone Eagles
7:43 am Live And Let Die Guns N' Roses
7:39 am Owner Of A Lonely Heart Yes
7:29 am Janie's Got A Gun Aerosmith
7:19 am Gypsy Fleetwood Mac
7:14 am Sister Christian Night Ranger
7:11 am Dust In The Wind Kansas
7:07 am Higher Love Steve Winwood
7:04 am Hit Me With Your Best Shot Pat Benatar
6:49 am Rebel Yell Billy Idol
6:42 am Welcome To The Machine Pink Floyd
6:38 am That's All Genesis
6:33 am Once Bitten, Twice Shy Great White
6:30 am Paranoid Black Sabbath
6:25 am Born In The U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen
5:50 am The Old Man Down The Road John Fogerty
5:45 am The Boys Of Summer Don Henley
5:36 am November Rain Guns N' Roses
5:31 am Bennie And The Jets Elton John
5:28 am 867-5309/Jenny Tommy Tutone
5:17 am Feel Like Makin' Love Bad Company
5:13 am Authority Song John Mellencamp
5:08 am Gold Dust Woman Fleetwood Mac
5:05 am Centerfold J. Geils Band
5:01 am Old Time Rock And Roll Bob Seger
4:49 am Magic Carpet Ride Steppenwolf
4:45 am Twice As Hard Black Crowes
4:41 am Young Lust Pink Floyd
4:37 am Faithfully Journey
4:34 am Instant Karma John Lennon
4:29 am Fire Woman Cult
4:24 am Crazy On You Heart
4:20 am Rock The Casbah Clash
4:17 am Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) Billy Joel
4:13 am I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For U2

 

[trusty]

So let me get this right, some on here say it's tired and boring and others say it is too hard rock?

"Tired and boring" and "too hard rock" are not necessarily opposites. It's creative vs not creative.

Way back when, we had such a wide spectrum of music from which to choose. Now, with everything so narrowed down and fragmented, it's really tough to be creative --- and appreciated.

Creativity doesn't "fit" on the broadcast bands anymore.

 

[TheBigA]

Creativity doesn't "fit" on the broadcast bands anymore.

Depends on what you call "creativity." But if you want less commercial forms of music, you should listen to non-commercial radio.

 

[LegalTender]

Way back when, we had such a wide spectrum of music from which to choose. Now, with everything so narrowed down and fragmented, it's really tough to be creative --- and appreciated.

Creativity doesn't "fit" on the broadcast bands anymore.

In my view, the playlist just posted manifests none of those: "creative," "fragmented" or "narrowed down".

It's plainly incoherent. The classic jams and more laid back music are not curated with any setlist flow. The listener is left wondering if they blacked out for a few minutes.

I get that striking a balance is the goal. But this is not an enjoyable listening experience.

 

[TheBigA]

It's plainly incoherent. The classic jams and more laid back music are not curated with any setlist flow

Not sure what you mean by "setlist flow." You don't want things to get too dull. Too much flow leads to radio as background music.

 

[Mitch Brewer]

I don't know about setlist flow but that bunch of songs together is a disaster. Not something I would spend more than about 10 minutes listening to.