RSS | 
Twitter
| 
Be a fan!
Satellite service may be best option for radio listeners
The all-Elvis, all-Springsteen stations have limited interest, as you might expect, and when the curiosity factor dissipated, I quickly moved on to more adventurous stations such as "The Blend" (a mix of adult-oriented pop and rock) and "The Bridge" (an eclectic mix of mostly folk music well-characterized by the man they use to promote it - Gordon Lightfoot).
Still, it wasn't long before I settled in on the more traditional '60s on 6, '70s on 7, etc., as well as the current music station, Hits 1. Gimmicks immediately pull you in - countdowns of "this week in 19--," original MTV video jocks hosting '80s on 8, legendary DJs such as Cousin Brucie on '60s on 6, and artists as varied and distant as B.J. Thomas and Bruno Mars guest-helming their own shows. The playlists are deeper than most Pittsburgh stations, and the DJs not only identify songs, but also offer up trivia about artists and music in general.
Especially intriguing was Hits 1, which reminds one how great Top 40 was in its heyday. Hits 1 mixes the best of current pop, rock, rap, R&B and country so that Blake Shelton, Wiz Khalifa, Adele, Foster the People, Hot Chelle Rae,The Band Perry and Katy Perry could all be heard in the same hour, a grouping you'd never hear in Pittsburgh. It also jumps on songs weeks before they pop up on local or even national charts. Quirky selections such as "Barbra Streisand" (a dance instrumental save for the words "Barbra Streisand") came and went in a couple weeks, as did many other tunes - just as they did back in the day, when disc jockeys truly let listeners decide the hits and misses.
Rate This Story:
1 the lowest - 5 the highest
Current rating:
By the end of the month, compact discs were winning out over Sirius-XM - even if I was mixing those CD tracks somewhat differently.
Has classic rock peaked in Pittsburgh?
Across the country, absolutely. In Western Pennsylvania, not so much. Then again, the latest Arbitron radio ratings seem to be reflecting the new U.S. Census statistics that show the region becoming slightly younger.
For the first time in years, a contemporary hits station, WKST (Kiss-FM) is No. 1. More correctly, it tied with the iconic WDVE, a notable achievement by any radio standard. Explanations for this shocker vary, but none gives much credit to the census report. Rather, critics point out that relic-rock WDVE now has competition from both WRRK (which was No. 3) and WWSW, the oldies station that recently has rebooted itself as "WDVE light" without ever saying so.
On the flip side, WKST is benefiting from having virtually no competition, especially since the demise of WAMO. It's also riding the national rejuvenation of Top 40 radio because of red-hot artists Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Pittsburgh's own Wiz Khalifa. Let's just say Khalifa's release of "Black and Yellow" during the Steelers' Super Bowl run helped WKST every bit as much as Khalifa.
But could the KST reign be short?
The new WAMO-FM, WPYT (100.1 FM) just joined the fray, and is taking no prisoners. It delivers hip-hop and R&B not quite as boldly as the old WAMO, but these are different, poppier times. Still, it's making no bones about its target - its current catchphrase - "Kiss sucks."
All that jazz ... gone
If you're jazz fan, you've no doubt already heard that WDUQ-FM is dumping its jazz programming July 1 for a mix of local and national news and a bit of National Public Radio as well. Oh, there's a six-hour jazz block to be offered on Saturday evenings, and, if you're willing to buy an HD radio, jazz will be made available there as well.
Obviously, that's not satisfying jazz fans. And it shouldn't. But commercial radio has been, and always will be driven by the number of listeners it attracts (hence all the classic rock stations).
Which means satellite radio may be your best option. Cousin Brucie and all.
Terry Hazlett covers radio and television for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at snowballrizzo@observer-reporter.com
- Keep it civil and stay on topic.
- No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks.
- Comments that harass others or joke about tragedies will be deleted.
- Keep it brief and turn off all caps.
- No URLs.
