Major nerd alert. I will be glued to the radio over the next week and a half, as 100.3 The Sound unveils another A to Z countdown.
You might think, "Who actually listens to the radio anymore, never mind is actually interested in a "countdown?"
Well, you are probably right that most people no longer get excited by radio. And for good reason - most stations have become very conservative, playing only the most "well-tested" songs over and over, until you cannot stand them any longer. That explains why you feel like you've been hearing Brown Eyed Girl and Hotel California nonstop for the last three decades; it's because you have.
Much of this is due to radio being deregulated during the Clinton era, meaning giant corporations can now own multiple stations. In the old days, radio was a local Mom and Pop deal, and few big companies could get involved. That kept things fresh. Now, these big companies are so worried about "increasing shareholder value" that they are afraid to take chances...plus the local flavor is lost with consolidation. For instance, if you listen to JACK FM, K-Earth, The Wave, AMP radio, KROQ, KNX, or KFWB....all of those stations are run by CBS. (Yes, the same CBS that does 60 Minutes.)
But enough on that topic...
"The Sound" promotes itself as the "variety" rock station, as opposed to the long-time rock station in town, KLOS, which amazingly has been playing rock music since 1969. The truth is that, much like KLOS, they don't really mix it up that much.
But, apparently their A to Z is popular. They sent me this email that showed the A to Z is their second most favorite feature.
They certainly try to make it personal, don't they? How did I get on this email list! (Though, to be honest, the Sound is so boring most of the time, I hardly listen, and would not have known about the A to Z without the email.)
Both stations have "A to Z" countdowns. What are they? It's when they start playing a huge list of songs in alphabetical order. In the early days, they would say, "we're playing our whole library," but it was pretty obvious they weren't, so it's no longer promoted as such.
Either way, you usually get a definitive list of the "rock canon," if there is such a thing.
KLOS actually has the best A to Z countdown - it usually takes place over Christmas. (Stations run these things over holidays usually.) Their countdown is about 2500 songs, and spans a wider variety of styles KLOS has played over the years: everything from hair metal to the Beatles.
The Sound's is not as good, though they have made it longer recently, mainly copping from KLOS' list.
What is better about the Sound's countdown is you don't have to suffer through KLOS' annoying promotional IDs - you know, the ones where some guy is screaming the call letters in your ear along with canned explosions and digital sound effects. Who likes these effects anyway?
(Of course, on the Sound, you have to endure this sort of smug, "we are the Sound" promotion voice. Someone needs to start a station that just plays the songs and doesn't try too hard.)
What makes an A to Z interesting? Three things: 1) They play songs you haven't heard in a long time, which in the radio industry is called an "Oh, Wow" song. (No, I'm not kidding.) 2) Trying to guess what the next song will be. 3) Annoying people near you by naming the song faster than others.
A cool thing to do someday would be to try and play EVERY song that has ever been played on rock radio over the years. (Actually, it's been done...more on that tomorrow.)
The A to Z runs 24/7, and it starts at 10am!
