On KY and radio

The late KYYS played Queen. So does its replacement. The queen is dead; long live the same-old.

I'm not here to cheer or grieve the end of KY. I know some of the folks who were made unrestricted free agents on Thursday, and I feel genuinely bad for them. Otherwise, I'm neutral: I don't spend much time with commercial radio.

A lot of the negative comments that have been posted in reaction to KY's demise are a bit over-the-top and personal, as if the DJs broke some public trust. If you're pissed at anyone, make it the people who really decide what gets played on the air (and it isn't the on-air personalities).

Most classic-rock formats never expanded their playlists beyond one era. If Zeppelin was classic rock in 1980, why isn't Nirvana classic rock in 2008?  Or Violent Femmes or the Pixies? Did they ever play the Ramones?

The format also didn't acknowledge that younger bands -- Wolfmother, White Stripes, the Libertines (to pull a few off the top of my head) -- were making music that fit the classic-rock format. Did KY play those bands? I don't know. I assume not, but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure they played the Black Crowes, but why not the Hives or Rancid?

So did the format outlive its purpose? I'm not sure. I don't think the music it played killed KY. Younger kids are catching on to the golden years of rock. I had lunch recently with a guy who has been in the radio business (off-air) for decades. He was telling me his teenage son is getting into the classic rock canon through the video game "Guitar Hero." I've seen the same thing: high school kids singing along to "School's Out" or "Carry On Wayward Son" while their buddy navigated the rhythm guitar progressions on-screen.

This weekend I judged at a debate tournament in Liberty. Between rounds I watched some of the Liberty High boys basketball game. During one time-out, the P.A. played "You Shook Me All Night Long." The student section went nuts.

The best classic rock music isn't outdated; in fact, I think it sounds better than ever. Having listened to so many dull and barely adequate hard-rock bands over the years, I have developed a fresh and deep appreciation for the genius of Led Zeppelin -- the perfect synthesis of violence and precision, beauty and fury. Why would a station ever not play them?

The music wasn't KY's problem, it was the repetition, which is the problem with nearly all commercial radio. My radio buddy tells me most stations have a playlist of about 30 songs, plus or minus 2 or 3. That means they draw from a pool of no more than 30 songs at one time; if they add one, they drop another. Even if they're playing music half the time they're on the air, say 84 hours a week, that's way too much repetition.

But that's how Top 40 hits are made: by coercion. You bombard listeners with a song so much they submit to it. ("Hey there, Delilah!") It's also how listeners are cultivated: You assure them implicitly that every time they tune in they'll hear something familiar. Some people don't like surprise or risk or change. They like habits and routines. They take comfort living in a deep, warm rut.

Even if it excluded music recorded after 1990, KY could have entertained those listeners and cultivated more by expanding and enriching its playlist. If you play the Eagles, why not the Flying Burrito Brothers? If the Stones, why not the New York Dolls or MC5? The Stooges? It's not because the DJs didn't want it; it's the suit-and-tie guys, consultants, etc.

As for the wider question of stations playing "new" bands or independent artists: Radio long ago surrendered the illusion that it breaks or promotes new artist. Songs that get on playlists get there for reasons that have little if anything to do with a DJ's personal tastes. There's a lot of quid-pro-quo behind it (concert promotions, etc) and other "incentives" that small bands and small labels can't offer.

I think commercial country radio is as guilty as any format of playing it safe and ignoring really talented small-label singer/songwriters. But part of the reason they ignore them is their listeners have never been all that interested in bands and artist like Whiskeytown, Neko Case, Steve Earle, Wilco, Lucinda Williams or Mike Ireland & Holler.

The reason to mourn the loss of KY has less to do with its music than with what will replace its format. I've listened to "The Boulevard" a little bit. I've heard some Queen, Zeppelin, Springsteen, Paul Simon, Shawn Colvin ... Sounds like they're going after people 35 and older who own iPods. Whatever.

What we won't hear are people like Max and Tanna and Slacker and whatever live person might be behind the microphone making the station local, talking about the community they serve, about a concert that's on the way (or just came through) or about Sprint Center or the Chiefs or KU/Mizzou or Mayor Funkhouser's prostate.

If you're celebrating KY's disappearance, at least recognize that what has been lost is something more than a playlist you were no longer interested in. Celebrate its death if you want, but at least pause to damn the system that killed it.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[Wadkc]

The last NEW music moment I remember at KY was when we gathered around a CD player and excitedly checked out this "cool" song called "Spoonman" by Soundgarden before it got played on the radio. How long ago was that? There you have it.

Tim, best article ever.

[Curt]

Well said! I suppose because I am pushing 50 now the playlist became very comfortable and enjoyable. I am sure there were hundreds of other tunes, some I knew and many I didn't that could have been included in the playlist that would have been just as enjoyable to listen to. This really is all about the inability to add new listeners. What you said about the kids getting into the classic rock is right on, my 18 year old son told me a while back "Dad, it must have been great growing up to the music you did. Songs had so much meaning back then...." Meaning, we just liked the beat and guitar solos. Maybe 101 can get the flick and expand their playlist or us old farts will be out of out last outlet for classic rock.

[Bruce]

I grew when KY still played new music. That was when new music was something to listen to. I gave up on KY and commercial radion in general when they stopped playing music and started paying the bills. MP3 technology put an end to commercial radio in my world because I'm able to make my own playlists and not listen to endless car dealer ads etc etc etc. To me KY has been gone for years and I mourned it when it died originally.

[A smooth guy]

Relax. In a few weeks, every KY jock that was supposedly "fired" will come back to "The Boulevard."

We've been scammed before, with the 102 to 99.7 switch ten years ago. We're about to be scammed again.

[Eric]

The big problem with "classic" rock stations is they seem to ignore newer work by "classic" rock artists...where are the current works of Springsteen, Petty, or Dylan?...I am in my early thirties, but grew up with an older brother who listened to classic rock when it wasn't really classic yet. I listen to Springsteen or Petty because I like their music...new or old. Just like the record companies, terrestrial radio failed to evolve. People are no longer a slave to a local radio station for their new music. If I want to hear an overplayed Stones or Rush song, I can just load it up on my PC pretty much anytime.

[Wadkc]

A smooth guy,

The switch 10 years ago was not a "scam" and your thought that the Jocks will be on "The Boulevard".... not on your life.

[Angie]

Great piece Tim. The system killed KY, no doubt. Your piece reminded me of a story my mom told me once. She loved Elvis, but everytime she heard "Love Me Tender" she would change the channel or skip it on record. When I asked her why she told me that when it first came out it was played to death. She once counted five times in one hour. She just couldn't stand it anymore. So commerical Top 40 has long been guilty pushing product more than anything.
At least with the classic rock format there was none of that. What I never understood was now that the Pretenders, The Clash, U2, and as you mentioned the Ramones are all old enough to be in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame why weren't they considered classic rock? Teens are into to this stuff too. My Clash CD's have been uploaded to most of my kids friend's ipods.
And as another person mentioned, how about new music by older artists? Bet most people never heard Joe Strummer and the Mescalero's last album. Plant and Page have done some interesting stuff together that never got airplay either.
We have those interesting little people called 'consultants' to blame. Somehow every area of media and the arts is flooded with these people who have a piece a paper from some university that says they have the magic ability to determine just what the public wants and how they would like it served.
Country radio probably will not play Ryan Bingham either.
Back to community and college radio - at least I'm bound to hear something interesting.

[Nivek9]

I was a huge fan of KY back in the day. I agree that it got stagnant with repetition. In its passing I want to recall one of the last real moments of originality I remember in the music they played. Just before going to 99.7 they seemed to be undergoing a renaissance of sorts. I heard not only the Bottle Rockets one evening but also Lyle Lovett. It is possible to marry commercial radio with a love of the music it's supposed to represent. Try 107.1 KGSR in Austin. They've done it. For some reason it just can't be done in the KC market. Whatever happened to the Planet. That station seemed to have a great mix and a larger playlist than one usually hears. Is it too much competition? It seems hard to believe but that may be it. A station may only succeed in today's market if they find a niche to stick to. All I know for sure is I will always fondly remember being a member of Max Floyd's Rock and Roll Army and proudly displaying my KY-102 bumper sticker on my Gremlin. But that was long ago and far away. Now it's public and community radio and MP3's. Commercial radio seems to be increasingly directed at the uber-consumer- Walmart-shoppers in the majority and pretty much devoid of original thought when it comes to playlists. I'll miss it but that's the way TV and movies are going too. What's the first thing you hear about a new movie? How much money it made. Does that make you want to go see it? If you answered yes, don't complain about the death of KY. It's partially your fault. But I'm not complaining. I hadn't listened to KY in years and won't miss it at all. All I miss is decent commercial radio. But I can get around that too.

[Brad Delp's Ghost]

Your average American will hum along with the jingle from a cat food commercial then change the station when something unfamiliar or at all challenging comes on the radio.

BTW, Angie, posting on a music blog bragging about how you've illegally given an artist's music out to "all your kid's friends" is terribly bad form. Are you teaching them to steal cars and groceries too?

[Bill]

A common theme here is that no one was listening. At 17th in the market place that shows clearly no one was listening. Most of the time when a station goes down no one knows about it until they start running commercials on TV for the new station. KY was legendary in KC. That is the only reason people care now.
It sucks that people lost their jobs. In radio you are very lucky to work in the same place for 2 years let along 30+ in the case for Max. It is the end of an era.
I remember when I was in high school, late 80's early 90's, the Subway I worked in had KY on the radio. It made those slow sunday afternoons much better. I am sure many people whom live or have lived in KC have fond memories of KY.
I checked out the new station yesterday. Didn't seem to be much of a change. I actually thought that they might be stunting until they can introduce a real format. From what I can tell this won't last long. It seems to be a step above easy listening and two steps below classic rock.
Oh, I don't listen to classic rock. It's not my cup of tea.

[Angie]

Brad,

No I'm not. But have you tried to find a copy of "Sandinista" lately?That aside, the kids are doing exactly what we did only with different formats. Instead of cassettes it's MP3s. Check out some of the tunes and if you like it you end up buying the catalog. If you can find it at all in the case of some older artists.

[Tim Finn]

... and allowing someone to upload into an mp3 player recorded music that has been paid for isn't accessory to theft. Tossing it into a file-sharing site so 1M people have access to it is.

[Nivek9]

Not to be advertising or anything, but Angie's question is easily answered: It took me less than 30 seconds to find a copy of Sandinista! It's easy and more music is easily found for purchase online now than was ever available in your favorite brick-and-mortar store.

It's just too easy to share it. Making a cassette for a friend years ago required listening to it as you recorded it. Very time consuming. I can copy an entire collection to and iPod or other platform in a matter of minutes these days. Why do you think EMI is cutting 3000 jobs? Not enough people are buying records anymore. It's a shame more commercial radio stations aren't playing a wider variety of music. Perhaps people would buy more new music if they were actually exposed to it that way instead of being handed it to them by their friends on easily copyable mp3s. Go see musicians play live and buy their CDs directly from them is what I recommend.

[Tim Finn]

Nivek, you've launched another entirely new conversation.
Part of the reason people aren't buying albums because labels and bands aren't releasing albums worth the $18.99 sticker price. Labels arenb't cultivating bands like the Clash anymore. Sure, Sandinista! is a bargain at almost any price, butthese days that's where labels are making the biggest bang for the buck: on re-releases and bonus editions of old albums. Kids are buying songs, not albums, because so many bands aren't releasing worthwhile full-length albums. And Radiohead proved you can give it away and sell it, too, if it's good enough.

[sleepy]

I do not mourn the loss of KY. I do feel bad for anyone losing their job but I quit listening many years ago basically because of the DJ's. Their banal chatter between songs was simply too anoying to take any longer. At that time I switched to only listening to NPR, Chiefs and Royals on the radio - and I am not going to pay for radio. The 11K-plus songs on my ipod give me plenty of choices.

The downside of that, of course, is that its much more difficult to hear new music - not that there was any playing on KY. So, I resort to trolling around boards like this and the Pop Off board on stltoday.com, shared cd's with and from friends, myspace, iTunes samples, etc.

[Nivek9]

Tim, Agreed. Most albums by newer artists tend to be weak as a whole with the exception of the song or two that got you to buy it to begin with. But that has always been the case to a certain extent. I've been disappointed many times by something I thought would be great. They can't all be Fillmore East or Something/Anything. Part of it is that it's easier to get just the song instead of the entire album these days. I completely support buying a single tune from iTunes or wherever if that's what you want, as long as you buy it. But there are still artists putting out albums that deserve to be heard as a whole like Radiohead, The Decemberists, Nico Case, etc.. It's still all about personal taste though. Pop music is always better one tune at a time it seems.

Back to KY - I remember a time when they used to do the HomeGrown series. I had a friend whose band, Prisoner, made it to the finals. They didn't get the big prize and ultimately broke up. 96.5 The Buzz is doing a local music show now so I guess it isn't totally hopeless for commercial radio in KC.

All I ask is that if you find something you really like and want to have in your collection, whether hard copy or digital, buy it. Artists that deserve to be paid for their work should be paid. They aren't all rich just because they get a record deal. Record companies are worried about their own bottom line, not the artists in most cases. That's why Radiohead did what they did.

[Mike A]

A truly great article, Tim. It comes down to the fact that most of the people who used to listen to KY stopped when it became stale and boring. When I was a youngster I remember listening to Dick and Jay in the mornings and they played the current hits. The problem is they are still playing those same songs! I loved "More than a Feeling" when it came out but now I cant change the station fast enough! The song didn't change but I grew tired of it. Thank God for satellite radio. I never listen to local radio anymore. On the subject of that horrible crap on the so called "country" stations in town-there are people who actually like that stuff! Real country is on "Outlaw Country" on Sirius.
R.I.P. KY- I will remember the good old days.

[Mike A]

A truly great article, Tim. It comes down to the fact that most of the people who used to listen to KY stopped when it became stale and boring. When I was a youngster I remember listening to Dick and Jay in the mornings and they played the current hits. The problem is they are still playing those same songs! I loved "More than a Feeling" when it came out but now I cant change the station fast enough! The song didn't change but I grew tired of it. Thank God for satellite radio. I never listen to local radio anymore. On the subject of that horrible crap on the so called "country" stations in town-there are people who actually like that stuff! Real country is on "Outlaw Country" on Sirius.
R.I.P. KY- I will remember the good old days.

[Musical Justice]

Hmmm... Radiohead, The Decemberists, Neko Case, The Clash, Ramones, Whiskeytown, Wilco, Lucinda, NY Dolls, Iggy & The Stooges, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Nirvana, Violent Femmes, Pixies, Steve Earle, The Libertines, Wolfmother, The Hives, Rancid, the White Strips and new stuff from Springsteen, Petty & Dylan...

Interesting that pretty much everyone of the bands you guys have used as examples of the bands radio should be playing, well, they can all be heard on the best radio station in KC. The only catch is that it's on the internet @ www.musicaljustice.com. You can also find me on iTunes Radio under "Alternative". Sorry about the shameless plug, but it seemed kinda relevant here.

At this point, it's only a matter of time before you're going to be able to listen to internet radio in the car and then you can stick a fork in local radio. There will be some that survive like Austin's KGSR & Seattle's KEXP, but unique quality programming will win out over me-too stations and there will be no boundaries to keep you from finding the best.

In case anyone's interested, here are the last 10 artists played on Musical Justice: Just Jack, The Sleepy Jackson, Radiohead, Arab Strap, Maximo Park, David Gray, Sons & Daughters, Spoon, Lucinda and Iron & Wine...

[Vandelay]

I once liked KY, then I grew up.

KY was never really a "classic rock" station, it was an oldies station. They played some great bands, but they played an equal amount of pure crap -- Styx, Journey, Loverboy, Molly Hatchet, Jefferson Starship, etc. Their definition of "classic rock" was ultra-conservative, immature and sad. Just like most of their listeners.

[Nivek9]

If you're headed down the road and can't get Musical Justice tuned in you can always try 90.1 The Bridge out of Warrensburg. NPR that plays decent music. They have that playlist problem too but they are the only station in town that you can hear both old (Jimmie Spheeris, etc) and new (Sea Wolf, etc.) music.

Radio isn't dead. It's just catering to what people seem to like. No accounting for taste I suppose. Like Webb Wilder says "Real music is out there and real people are makin' it...., pick up on it".

[Tim Finn]

"The Bridge" just put out its new "Live" compilation: Alexi Murdoch, Carbon Leaf, Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles, John Butler Trio, hte Nightwatchman, Imogen Heap, Alejandro and some local artists. Go to www.ktbg.fm

[Eljay]

"Free Bird" and "Stairway to Heaven" are not classics. They are tired, stale, overplayed songs that I got sick of 20 years ago. Bring back The Planet---they had an awesome playlist.

[Eljay]

"Free Bird" and "Stairway to Heaven" are not classics. They are tired, stale, overplayed songs that I got sick of 20 years ago. Bring back The Planet---they had an awesome playlist.

[RaiderHawk]

You will one day acknowledge the sins of your ways, grasshopper.

[Dale]

I am sure glad that the boulevard took the place of KYYS 99.7 KY. Now we have a station that will last a long time....no wait,it's already gone! Too bad so sad..not!
We all loved KY-102 and fought to keep it, but the new owners of 99.7 KY said that marketing research that had been done in KC, which was by the way a big lie,decided its demise. Since now the station has changed it's name yet again, I hope they lose their a**es off on this station. These out of towners from PA. have absolutely no idea what we do or like in a station here in the midwest. Do you think that they even care? No because of the spineless gutless worms that they are! Nuff Said