Guess the format

Here are two stations within 200 miles of each other. Both are owned by Clear Channel. One reports as active rock and one reports as alternative/modern rock. Guess which is which

Station 1 most played songs

1. I Want You To -- Weezer
2. Again -- Flyleaf
3. Uprising -- Muse
4. 1901 -- Phoenix
5. Savior -- Rise Against
6. Letter from A Thief -- Chevelle
7. KIngs and Queens -- 20 Seconds from Mars
8. Between the Lines -- Stone Termple Pilots
9. Lay Me Down -- Dirty Heads & Rome
10. Mountain Man -- Crash Kings

Station 2 Most Played Songs

1. Snuff -- Slipknot
2. Jars -- Chevelle
3. Again -- Flyleaf
4. Savior -- Rise Against
5. The Good Life -- 3 Days Grace
6. Walk Away -- 5 Finger Death Punch
7. Monster -- Skillet
8. I Will Not Bow -- Breaking Benjamin
9. Odd One -- Sick Puppies
10. Invincible -- Adelita's Way

If you guessed that no. 1 was the active rock station and no. 2 was the alternative station, go to the head of the class. No. 1 is WTFX the Fox out of Louisville, KY.
The second is WXEG out of Dayton OH, an alleged alternative station.

I visit Louisville a lot because my sister and mom are living across the river. The Fox is a fairly good modern rock station, even if it doesn't want to call itself that, and I do have it in my presents whenever I visit Louisville (the first choice is WFPK, of course) OTOH when I'm in Dayton, I put in a CD.

Wanted to review Boise's Virus....

But I got nothing. Got bored of listening to it. The main differnce between it and KQXR is that the Seether/Godsmack/Mudvanye is broken up by the occasional Silversun Pickups or Kings of Leon song. So I guess that's the review. Hope it succeeds and I hope it gets better.

The Spy FM -- Ferris O'Brien Resumes His Grand Experiment

Just as I was getting ready to buy into alternative rock radio as a dying format -- someone comes along to remind me what got me excited about the genre in the first place.

Five years ago Ferris O'Brien was the morning DJ on Oklahoma City's alternative station The Spy FM when Citadel decided to change it to a Spanish format. The station continued to struggle for ratings and then something happened that almost never happens, but I hope we'll see more of now that the big radio chains are having troubles. O'Brien bought his old station from Citadel.

Now it's back. The format is "deep alternative" -- meaning that during a typical hour you not only hear Muse, but the Buzzcocks, X, Pulp,and Adam and the Ants, along with obscure college rock type acts like Ghostland Observatory, The Cribs, Ladykillers, Big Pink and Okerville River, and of course, this being an Oklahoma City station, the Flaming Lips.

The only annoyance -- common to a start up -- is no DJs. So unless you are listening to their webstream on your compute -- you won't have any idea of what songs they're playing. Small price to pay for the most awesome station in years.

Can an alternative station succeed by avoiding repetition and concentrating on quality music? The usual pattern is 2-3 years of glory, followed by compromise that sometimes suceeds commerically (see CFNY, KROQ)and sometimes leads to the stations demise. The exceptions are where independent owners are committed to playing good music and not concerned about being the no. 1 station in the market, as long as they keep a loyal and enthusiastic audience. Give it a listen.

A Short Respite -- KEGE of Pocatello, Idaho

Wow. Just to remind you of what a real alternative station sounds like, here is a sample of what Pocatello Idaho's KEGE was playing last week

I've Got Friends -- Manchester Orchestra
LES Artistes -- Santogold
Bittersweet Symphony -- The Verve
Thnks fr the Mmrs -- Fall Out Boy
Semi Charmed Life -- Third Eye Blind
One Day -- Matishyahu
Wannabe in LA -- Eagles of Death Metal
Panic Switch -- Silversun Pickups
Miss Murder -- AFI
Glow -- Alien Ant Farm
The Underdog -- Spoon
Zero -- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pale Bride -- The Von Bondis
Adam's Song -- Blink 182.

I feel a little better now. Not a bad little station

KPNT -- not quite everything alternative

If your idea of alternative is heavy doses of Puddle of Mudd, Shinedown, Three Days Grace and Hollywood Undead with an occasional Kings of Leon thrown in, then KPNT is the station for you.

Here is a typical hour:

Aenima -- Tool
Woman -- Wolfmother
Downfall -- Trust Company
Polyamorous -- Breaking Benjamin
Dirt Room -- Blue October
In the End -- Linkin Park
The Night -- Disturbed
Wrong Way -- Sublime
I Don't Care -- Apocalyptica
Big Empty -- Stone Temple Pilots
Feel Good Inc. -- Gorillaz

Alarming statistics -- Female solo artists played in 24 hour period -- 0
Bands with female members played within 24 hour period -- 5
1) Smashing Pumpkins
2) Hole
3) Silversun Pickups
4) Airborne Toxic Event
5) Garbage

WMMM -- Closer to Lame

I really don't mind the softer AAA stations. When I'm in the mood to chill, the best of them evoke a sense of place like no other format. WDST epitomises Woodstock, KGSR is Austin personified and you can practically smell the sea breeze when you listen to WMVY out of Nantucket,

You would think that a station out of Madison Wisconsin would have a hip edge to it. You would be wrong

Kodachrome -- Paul Simon
Love Song -- The Cure
Love Sneaking Up On You -- Bonnie Raitt
In the Mood -- Robert Plant
When I Dream of Michelangelo -- Counting Crows
Come Together -- The Beatles
Snow (Hey Oh) -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Good Thing -- The BoDeans
Closer to Love -- Matt Kearney
Angel of Harlem -- U2
Lullaby -- Shawn Mullins

This hour of programming evokes a nervous Program Director, desperately trying not to offend a focus group of 30 something housewives. These songs could be put on a playlist of any adult contemporary station without anyone batting an eyelash. (And all but one or two of them already have been)

WMMM is an Entercom station and this seems to be a pattern with this chain's AAA stations -- they go soft and safe.

WRXP -- Not great yet

WRXP of New York City bills itself as the "New York Rock Expericne" On paper it's a great idea -- combine great classic rcok tracks, classic new wave and current alternative rock with knowlegable radio personalities. How can you hate a station that has a daily feature called the "Punk trunk"? Or a station that reports as AAA but plays the Silversun Pickups and Iggy Pop?

Why then is this station not in my top 10 favorite stations?

Here's a sample hour:

Come Out and Play -- Offspring
True Faith -- New Order
use Somebody -- Kings of Leon
Welcome to the Jungle -- Guns n Roses
One Love/People Get Ready -- Bob Marley & the Wailers
Where the Streets Have No Name -- U2
You Never Know -- Wilco
Everlong -- The Foo Fighters
Peace Frog/Blue Sunday -- The Doors
Stay Positive -- The Hold Steady
Smells Like Teen Spirit -- Nirvana
On the Turning Away -- Pink Floyd

1) When you have a very eclectic playlist and format, you need to be careful about sequence and transitions, otherwise you have a random sounding "Ipod on shuffle" effect and some jarring musical contrasts,

2) Friends don't let friends play post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd.

3) Has anyone else noticed that the new Wilco single sorta stinks? Ok that was a bit off topic, but still...

In short this is a station I love to have on, but when I have it on, I always have my finger ready to push the other preset buttons.

Now this is more like it.

Since last fall, Vancouver, BC finally got its own commercial AAA station. I didn't realize how awesome it was until I finally gave it a listen:

Boulevard of Broken Dreams -- Green Day
Robots -- Dave Mangan
Civil Twilight -- the Weakerthans
Funny the Way It Is -- Dave Matthews Band
When the Sun Goes Down -- Arctic Monkeys
The Lonely End of the Rink -- Tragically Hip
Say It Ain't So -- Weezer
1985 -- Golden Dogs
Scar Tissue -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Don't Talk Down -- The Stills
Satellite Scar -- Modest Mouse
Cigarette -- Jeremy Eller
Beat on the Brat -- The Ramones
Hard Sun -- Eddie Vedder

The Arctic Monkeys, Weezer, Modest Mouse and the Ramones in one hour and no Norah Jones or Jason Mraz? Now that's my kind of AAA station. This set sounded even better than it looks on paper. Bonus: I heard them play Bruce Cockburn, which is a rarity these days. Does anyone know how it's doing in the ratings?

The thoroughly average alternative station

If I was asked to give an example of a generic alternative station, KITS in San Francisco would fill the bill nicely. Here's a sample hour:

Mr. Brightside -- The Killers
Lightning Crashes -- Live
Sex on Fire -- Kings of Leon
Drive -- Incubus
Otherside -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Hey You -- 311
Paralyzer -- Finger Eleven
About A Girl -- Nirvana
Personal Jesus -- Depeche Mode
Kids -- MGMT
In hte End -- Linkin Park
Viva La Vida -- Coldplay
Beverly Hills -- Weezer
Santeria -- Sublime
Grapevine Fires -- Death Cab For Cutie

Don't get me wrong. This station would definitely be on my presets if I lived in hte area, but everything on that list has been played to death, It's a shame that one of the stations that used to be one of the leaders is now a follower, playing what KROQ was playing last month and the greatest hits of alternative rock. A real mayonaise on white bread sandwich. No specialty programs to spice it up. I will say however, that KITS is not going to be mistaken for an active rock station. It has a distinct if not distinctive programming personality. I just wish the station had a little more personality.

WYMS -- Breaking out of the White Ghetto

One problem I've always had with alternative rock radio, AAA and rock radio in general is the general lack of racial diversity, Aimed at an all white audience, using nearly all white artists. Yet magazines like Spin, websites like Trouser Press and Pitchfork, there's no shortage of coverage of alternative hip=hop acts or black rock bands that seldom if ever gets airplay even on the most highly regarded stations. Radio Milwaukee is one exception. Here's a sample hour:

99.9 F. Degrees -- Suzanne Vega
Love Is A Murder -- The Constellations feat. Cee Low
Hold My Life -- The Replacements
Ms. Jackson -- Outkast
Summertime Thing -- Chuck Prophet
1901 -- Phoenix
Butterflies -- Rakeem De Vaughn
Up All Night -- French Horn Rebellion
Why Can't We Be Friends -- War
The Rake's Song -- The Decembrists
Digging In the Dirt -- Peter Gabriel
Right as Rain -- Adele
God Part 2 -- U2

The Best Radio Station I Can't Listen To

Where do you think you'll be most likely to find a local fairly cool radio station? Did I hear someone say college town? Good guess, but a wrong one. You go to an area where there's a lot of ski lifts and you're almost certain to be in luck. For example, southern Vermont's got WEQX, Vail's got KYSL, the Catskills have WDST. Probably the best of the bunch is an upstart in Bend, Oregon, of all places KRXF

The only problem, and from my perch on the end of the Great Lakes is a big one, there's no webstream! This is a taste of what I'm missing, one typical hour's worth:

Looking For A Kiss -- New York Dolls
I Walk the Line -- Johnny Cash
Steady As She Goes -- The Raconteurs
No Sleep Till Brooklyn -- The Beastie Boys
Hit -- The Sugarcubes
Bittersweet Symphony -- The Verve
Another Generation -- Fishbone
Jigsaw Falling Into Place -- Radiohead
Renegades of Funk -- Rage Against the Machine
Party Down -- Reel Big Fish
So Much to Say -- Dave Matthews Band
Long Road to Ruin -- Foo Fighters
The New Pollution -- Beck
I Turn My Camera On -- Spoon
Prophet -- Sublime

Only downside -- the program director seems to have a fondness for Black Sabbath/Ozzie Osborne. But how can you stay mad at a station that has John Coltrane in its list of artists?

Can KTNI survive?

Another of my favorite streaming stations, KTNI, or Indie 101.5 seems to be on life support right now. According to Wikipedia, its owner just emerged from bankruptcy. In the Winter Arbitrons, the station only beat out a Spanish language Christian Station and a Spanish Adult station. To make matters worse,its competitor KTNI "Channel 93.3" is almost certainly the Best Clear Channel station in the Modern Rock format. They do seem to break a lot of local artists and their website has a few touches that depart from the CC cookiecutter approach. If I lived there and it was the only alternative station in town, I'd probably listen.

Bit It's not. Indie 101.5 has all the qualities of a great alternative staion, except a good signal and strong ownership. Its program director John "Whip" Wilbur is certainly dedicated to putting out the best radio station her can.

Here's a side by side comparison, taking 10 songs playing at a random hour

Indie 101.5

Operation Spirit -- Live
TV Party -- Black Flag
Punk Rocker -- Teddy Bears feat. Iggy Pop
DLZ -- TV on the Radio
Lucretia, My Reflection -- Sisters of Mercy
I Like You So Much Better When I'm Naked -- Ida Maria
Missed the Boat -- Modest Mouse
A Choppy Yet Sincere... -- Riverboat Gamblers
Cut Your Hair -- Pavemnent
Electric Feel -- MGMT

Channel 93.3

Hammerhead -- The Offsping
Girlfriends -- Single File
Interstate Love Song -- Stone Temple Pilots
The Dirt Whisperer -- Rise Against
Clocks -- Coldplay
Otherside -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Don't Stop -- Innerpartysystem
Drive -- Incubus
Crushcrushcrush -- Paramore
Far Benind --Candlebox

The absolute clincher on their website -- Indie 101.5 Presents -- Sonic Youth. KTNI -- accept no substitutes.

Battle for Columbus -- Can CD101 Defeat Clear Channel Again?

Let me come right out and say it -- WWCD is one of my 5 favorite radio stations in the nation, and a major reason I enjoy visiting my in-laws. i was therefore alarmed when I checked out the Arbitron winter ratings at Radio and Records.com and find it trailing its Clear Channel competitor. CD 101, as the station is branded, has already fought off a challenge from Clear Channel in the 90's. The ownership is in it for the long haul.

Let us make a side by side comparison from a random picking of 10 songs from each station at the same time.

Station A:
Alex Chilton --The Replacements
White Winter Hymnal -- Fleet Foxes
Daylight -- Matt & Kim
A Dustland Fairytale -- The Killers
Nothing to Worry About -- Peter, Bjorn & John
Float On -- Modest Mouse
So Far So Good -- Karate Coyote
No You Girls -- Franz Ferdinand
The Distance -- Cake
My Last Mistake -- Dan Auerbach

Station B:
Creep-Stone Temple Pilots
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked -- Cage the Elephant
Let It Die -- Foo Fighters
Down -- 311
I've Got Friends -- Manchester Orchestra
I Wish You Were Here -- Incubus
Give It Away -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Lifeline -- Papa Roach
Outshined -- Soundgarden
Last One to Die -- Rancid

Station A is CD101. Station B is WRXS Radio 106.7. The second sample is fairly good by Clear Channel standards, and mostly listenable, but it reeks of generic. It could be a sample of any modern rock station in the country.

As for the sample of CD101, well all they had to do is play the Replacments and they convinced me. So if you're in the Columbus area support this unique station and find a way to finagle yourself an Arbitron diary. If you aren't, then check out their webstream.