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New Alternative Radio Station?

joeDowntown

By joeDowntown
in Grand Rapids Coffee House

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grrwymg Hamlet

grrwymg

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I described this station to my wife as GRD's playlist from 95-98. Lots of goodies in there that bring back some fond memories of HS and College.

I've found myself listening to this station on the drive home vs. GRD. I too haven't really gotten into much of the new music lately. Less commercials and less talk is nice, too. Don't get me wrong, I flip back to GRD in the mornings for Free Beer & Hotwings; they crack me up.

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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Yeah, the playlist is better than GRD, however, they need to add some new music (and not Nickelback). We always joke that you aren't truly an Alternative station if you don't play Radiohead... and not just Creep from the early 90's. I hope they mix it up a little more. They play some good stuff, but then some of it is too much of a re-tread of the nineties.

If you guys need new music choices to get you out of your 90's rut, let me know. ;)

Joe

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MuskeMI Whistle-Stop

MuskeMI

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The few times I've flipped to it, it's been exactly like GRD. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc. Would it kill GR to have an actual rock station? KLQ is half current half 80s, GRD is 25% current, 75% 90s. And all of the current stuff on both stations sucks.

BTW the new 96.1 (and probably the old one as well) is owned by Clear Channel and the playlist is set up by "EOB" from WSNX (remember Sunny FM and JoJo in the mornings, lol).

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amylynne Whistle-Stop

amylynne

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I would probably rather listen to one of the npr stations or wyce at work, but unfortunately my little clock radio on my desk doesn't pick up most of those stations. I'm not sure if it's the radio or the building. So, it comes down to who has a strong signal and commercial has that down.

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Thrillhouse Whistle-Stop

Thrillhouse

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I rarely ever listen to the radio since we now live in an I-Pod world and that forces you to be a music snob. However, I still listen to the radio at times to hear some new stuff that I might want to purchase.

In regards to commercial radio vs non-commercial, it's still on the dial. It's still a matter of opinion or choice. We need a broader range of "terrestrial" stations here in Grand Rapids on the FM side of things. We lack a major Latino oriented FM station and a smooth jazz station for starters. More choices would be nice instead of a bunch of stations representing a handful of genres.

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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Agreed. The more I listen to it, the more I realize it sucks.

I talked to someone "in the know" and they said 96.1 FM is a "flanker" station, which means they set it up for no other reason than to pull down another station's Arbitron ratings down (WGRD). This then makes their main station appear higher in the ratings (different genre, doesn't matter). I guess Clear Channel is notorious for having flanker stations.

Those evil corporations are pretty smart fellas!

Joe

There is no 'alternative' in the clear channel universe...
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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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The problem with stations like WYCE is that I find them *TOO* ecclectic. I like what I like (which, IMHO is pretty good stuff). So a station like WYCE may be dead on with one or two songs, but then terribly off. This is good for a certain type of listener, but I don't like mixing my genre's (unless I am in the mood for something totally different). NPR is on 90% of the time when my iPod isn't connected, but I occasionally like to see what music is on the airwaves. Plus, Free Beer and Hot Wings crack me up.

Joe

Are you people kidding? If it's a commercial station, it's NOT alternative.

Put your dial on 88.1 WYCE and leave it there, dolts!

[here's where we need an emoticon of one yellowhead repeatedly slapping another yellowhead.]

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Thrillhouse Whistle-Stop

Thrillhouse

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Agreed. The more I listen to it, the more I realize it sucks.

I talked to someone "in the know" and they said 96.1 FM is a "flanker" station, which means they set it up for no other reason than to pull down another station's Arbitron ratings down (WGRD). This then makes their main station appear higher in the ratings (different genre, doesn't matter). I guess Clear Channel is notorious for having flanker stations.

Those evil corporations are pretty smart fellas!

Joe

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fotoman311 Burg

fotoman311

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I have to admit that YCE is pretty sweet. The first time I listened to it, all I caught was Celtic music and some world beat stuff that didn't quite make me a believer. Then, one night, the DJ played some Martin Sexton, Rosie Thomas, String Cheese, old Neil Young, and even some Umphreys. I've been a fan ever since. The difficulty is finding the times with the DJ's who play music that I'm into. Granted, I've learned about some new stuff that I would have never heard before, but something is comforting about hearing songs that you know. Does anybody have any recommendations for times when certain DJ's are on who play good folk/indie music?

On another note, everybody who listens to streaming music (or have thought about it), check out www.pandora.com. Their Music Genome Project is awesome. Type in any song or artist, and you'll get a "station" that plays similar music non-stop. It's a great way to find some new artists that you would otherwise never be aware of.

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mejane Whistle-Stop

mejane

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When I applied for my current job, I noticed immediately that the store radio was tuned in to WYCE as their default radio station and I knew that THIS was a place I could feel comfortable working at - (along with really great co-workers.) When I have to listen to any station owned by Citadel or ClearChannel, I want to stuff cotton in my ears. The morning shows annoy the hell out of me - it's basically the same jokes, gags, schtick, over and over again.

The commercial stations playlists are geared to those who are in and out of the car - a very vocal group who make those phone calls to the radio station complaining if they don't hear their favorite pop song in that 5 - 20 minute drive time, which is why they have such a short rotation list. (according to a local music station manager at a popular number on the dial.) For commercial stations, it's all about Arbitron ratings, listener demographics, and revenue from advertisers.

The appeal of 'YCE is being exposed to artists who will never get commercial air time - sometimes it's hit or miss - but that's just part of the experience of listening. Even successful artists who are some of the greatest songwriters of our time will never be heard on commercial radio but they do get airplay on "the greatest little radio station on the planet." For a community radio station run with no federal dollars and with volunteer programmers (in fact, if you want a three hour 'show' you pay for your training) they're darn good. So for me it's WYCE and NPR in nearly equal doses, or something from my own collection.

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starrfish Whistle-Stop

starrfish

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I barely ever listen to "commercial radio" in the car. I can barely stand the music they play and the commercials make me want to puke. :sick: So in the car, it's my disc changer or NPR (104.1, Michigan Radio out of Ann Arbor - GRDad, I laughed out loud when I read "Christian station?"). Tonight driving home though, I thought I'd check out the new 96.1 and they were playing Counting Crows. Wow! They're so "alternative"! I won't have to check that station out ever again!

During the day at work I'm tuned into slacker.com. Those of you who are into pandora should check it out. I started out with Pandora and over time I've migrated over to slacker. Good new music on their alternative stations - stuff like Ryan Adams, Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Feist, VHS or Beta...and on and on!

*fish

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oakesLife Whistle-Stop

oakesLife

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I would probably rather listen to one of the npr stations or wyce at work, but unfortunately my little clock radio on my desk doesn't pick up most of those stations. I'm not sure if it's the radio or the building. So, it comes down to who has a strong signal and commercial has that down.
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