Rock Is Dead (aka farewell WKLS-FM/Atlanta

[JonInMiddleGA]

After some 38 years, the longest running format in Atlanta radio came to an end tonight at 7p.

Project 96-1, the rebranding of 96 Rock that took place 6 years ago, flipped to some sort of CHR tonight as Power 96-1. Which flavor of CHR remains to be seen after they complete a 9600 songs in a row stunt but with Elvis Duran & Ryan Seacrest already announced as the morning/midday air talent, it's expected to be a kind of midline CHR.

This puts Atlanta in the situation of having zero current rock stations at the moment, and none seem all that likely to emerge. (This actually happened once before, when 96 Rock became all classic rock for a few years before the rebranding to Project)

There's a tiny signal still playing Alternative under the 99X branding (at 98.9 FM) and Rock 100.5 is a mediocre signal that's strictly classic rock. Dave FM (the old Z93 for those familiar with Atlanta) is a AAA but it goes sports talk effective October in a move already announced a couple of weeks ago.

The move leaves, as far as I can tell, only Dallas & Boston as Top 10 markets that still have stations playing any new rock (as opposed to neutered lightweight stuff).

For the record, the final song played tonight was Freebird. Even that was a bad choice, when seemingly every Atlanta rocker knows that it should have been Baba O'Reilly which was the song that began the 96 Rock era AND ended the 96 Rock era when the rebranding took place. To my knowledge this was probably the only time Skynyrd ever aired on Project, so they even managed to fuck that up.

[Shepp]

I noticed the change when I was driving home from work tonight. Just what Atlanta needs, another crappy top 40 radio station

[Sun Tzu]

Well, seeing as how there hasn't been a quality rock band since G n' R split, I guess this makes sense.

Not including grunge, of course.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Not including grunge, of course.

Never include grunge in any discussion of rock, it has no place there.

Only now are we starting to see the recovery from those dark days.

[sabotai]

Philadelphia is down to 1 rock station AFAIK, (there is one that's classic rock (102.9)). 93.3 WMMR is the lone rock station. There were 2, but 94.1 WYSP went sports talk a year or two ago. They were also part of the Free FM fad for awhile, and when it was music, they changed formats a lot (was rock, then became sorta-classic rock for awhile)

WMMR has been on the air for 44 years, and they even still have DJs on the air, which is become exceptionally rare it seems.

[DougW]

[RainMaker]

Chicago's in the same boat. We don't even have a modern rock station. Have a good classic rock one, but that's it. It's all top 40 shit now.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sabotai

93.3 WMMR is the lone rock station.

My apologies to Philly. Either I totally overlooked them or else I didn't check deep enough in "recently played" list & only saw a few older titles in a row.
They're playing (albeit with different songs) roughly the same mix that Atlanta had, about 40% currents.

They may actually be the highest rated large market station left rocking in fact. Based on the publicly available 12+ numbers, they're #5. WAAF in Boston is #14, KEGL in Dallas is down around #20.

[Alan T]

Oh man. I listened to 96-rock for years and years.

[sterlingice]

Houston just lost a rock station which became a Christian alternative station. I turned it on one day and was like "well, this sounds like some modern alternative generic stuff but I don't recognize it" and then I started listening to the lyrics and went "ohhh"

SI

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The move leaves, as far as I can tell, only Dallas & Boston as Top 10 markets that still have stations playing any new rock (as opposed to neutered lightweight stuff).

I would say DC101 in Washington, DC still counts. It plays a lot of 90s rock and isn't cutting edge, but I don't think it qualifies as top 40's yet.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

I would say DC101 in Washington, DC still counts. It plays a lot of 90s rock and isn't cutting edge, but I don't think it qualifies as top 40's yet.

They're effectively a harder alternative station. The amount of blur between that and "active rock" varies from quarter to quarter.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

I would say DC101 in Washington, DC still counts. It plays a lot of 90s rock and isn't cutting edge, but I don't think it qualifies as top 40's yet.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

They're effectively a harder alternative station. The amount of blur between that and "active rock" varies from quarter to quarter.

I think the problem is that we're relying on JIMGA's definition of "modern rock". I'm not clear on what that is.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I think the problem is that we're relying on JIMGA's definition of "modern rock". I'm not clear on what that is.

Don't get me wrong, I think DC101 pretty much sucks.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I think the problem is that we're relying on JIMGA's definition of "modern rock". I'm not clear on what that is.

Bzzt. I don't use the phrase modern rock when describing formats. It's most closely aligned with the AAA format and that, frankly, doesn't rock.

The label most frequently used is Active Rock, and the chart pretty well defines it.

There's also the simpler Rock format which, again, you don't have to let me define, you can see for yourself what they're playing.

Here's a quick idea, from the top 10s of each.
Active:Adelita's Way, Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, P.O.D., Offspring, Green Day, Halestorm, Seether, Volbeat, Papa Roach

Rock: Shinedown, Green Day, ZZ Top, Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Aerosmith, Sixx AM, Kiss, Offspring

Alternative: Alex Clare, Fun, Lumineers, Imagine Dragons, Green Day, Killers, Mumford & Sons, Linkin Park, Of Monsters & Men, Group Love

AAA:Mumford & Sons, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Imagine Dragons, Green Day, Fun, Avett Brothers, Wallflowers

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

Don't get me wrong, I think DC101 pretty much sucks.

I loved it during the days of Howard Stern and the Greaseman.

[wade moore]

Wasn't trying to snip at you JIMGA. Just that most of us don't get the line you're drawing here.

I'm not clear on what in your mind qualifies as "any new rock (as opposed to neutered lightweight stuff)."

So Active yes, Rock maybe, alternative no, AAA no? Is that the definition we're going with?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Wasn't trying to snip at you JIMGA. Just that most of us don't get the line you're drawing here. I'm not clear on what in your mind qualifies as "any new rock (as opposed to neutered lightweight stuff).

Sorry if I'm a bit touchy, literally no longer having a station to listen to for anything other than songs 20+ years old has made me a little tense perhaps. And I'm not exaggerating, even the classic rock station at 100.5 (which is being speculated for a flip to classic/current mixed) doesn't have a signal that reaches Athens. And the last rock station in Athens flipped formats several years ago.

So Active yes, Rock maybe, alternative no, AAA no? Is that the definition we're going with?

Active yes, Rock generally a yes (there's simply not very many of them any more & none in the ATL), alternative is a no since, well, it's Alternative (still distinctly its own format) and AAA hells to the no (most closely akin to AC except with male dominated artists instead of female dominated artists).

[Ksyrup]

I don't find this all that sad - it makes perfect sense to me. There's a reason why a classic rock station exists, but not anything for new music. New music is aimed at kids, and kids don't listen to terrestrial radio. Maybe they listen to satellite if their parents happen to have it in the car, but mainly they're able to easily create their own personal radio stations (iPods, Pandora, etc.). The only people still clinging to terrestrial radio are people who still want to hear Boston and Journey songs on the radio like they did in high school.

Now, that leaves some 'tweeners like JIMGA out of the mix - the old guy who listens to current rock - but you can't sustain a station on that audience. This is one of the reasons satellite radio is so attractive, because they are able to maintain many different stations devoted to certain genres/formats and it's not having to trade one off for the other. You have Hair Nation AND the more general 80s on 8; you've got Octane and Lithium for those who want to split grunge/post-grunge hairs. Heck, they even have Classic Rock (late 70s-80s rock) and Classic Rewind (60s-70s rock). Pick and choose.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Living here near the border with Canada I get Canadian Rock stations....Thank God.

[CraigSca]

Canadian rock - so a lot of Bryan Adams and Chilliwack?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't find this all that sad - it makes perfect sense to me. There's a reason why a classic rock station exists, but not anything for new music. New music is aimed at kids, and kids don't listen to terrestrial radio.

False, and research shows that clearly. Time Spent Listening (TSL) is down, but radio is still the #1 source for music amongst all age groups. Even amongst teens radio is still the #1 source of discovering new music, outpacing both YouTube & iTunes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Canadian rock - so a lot of Bryan Adams and Chilliwack?

It's actually pretty surprising. The current trend seems to be a resurgence of an updated stoner rock. Somewhere between active rock & alternative with some AAA influence.

Current Canadian Active Rock Top 10: Green Day, Offspring, Aerosmith, Sheepdogs, Big Wreck, Tragically Hip, ZZ Top, Soundgarden, Billy Talent, and
I Mother Earth.

Top 20 extends the list to include Shinedown, Three Days Grace, Rush, Volbeat, Crue, and Slash along with Matt Mays, Black Keys, Alabama Shakes, and Linkin Park.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Sorry if I'm a bit touchy, literally no longer having a station to listen to for anything other than songs 20+ years old has made me a little tense perhaps. And I'm not exaggerating, even the classic rock station at 100.5 (which is being speculated for a flip to classic/current mixed) doesn't have a signal that reaches Athens. And the last rock station in Athens flipped formats several years ago.



Active yes, Rock generally a yes (there's simply not very many of them any more & none in the ATL), alternative is a no since, well, it's Alternative (still distinctly its own format) and AAA hells to the no (most closely akin to AC except with male dominated artists instead of female dominated artists).

FWIW, the reason I was asking was to try and see if WNOR qualified as a rock station under how you were shaping the discussion.

Glancing at the "top artists" on their website, it seems a bit all over the board. Seems they play a bit of Active, Rock, Alternative, and Classic.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

False, and research shows that clearly. Time Spent Listening (TSL) is down, but radio is still the #1 source for music amongst all age groups. Even amongst teens radio is still the #1 source of discovering new music, outpacing both YouTube & iTunes.

I just saw an article within the past week that said YouTube was clearly the #1 place kids listen to music. "Finding new music" is fleeting - listening to music is forever.

And plus, we're not talking about music, which includes all pop, we're talking about rock. Rock/hard rock/metal has always survived/thrived even when radio was popular but they wouldn't play it.

[Ksyrup]

Teens Listen to More Music on YouTube Than Anywhere Else | NBC Bay Area

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

FWIW, the reason I was asking was to try and see if WNOR qualified as a rock station under how you were shaping the discussion.

They're a pretty good example of a Rock station I think (by format definitions), their currents are mostly Active but it's mixed with a pretty broad range of oldies/catalog/library material. A station's currents & "adds" helps define their format niche (and which chart they'll be counted on) but the rest of their slots in the ol' music wheel are solidly Rock.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

They're a pretty good example of a Rock station I think (by format definitions), their currents are mostly Active but it's mixed with a pretty broad range of oldies/catalog/library material. A station's currents & "adds" helps define their format niche (and which chart they'll be counted on) but the rest of their slots in the ol' music wheel are solidly Rock.

Gotcha.

I think I was probing because I was thrown off by you making the statement:

The move leaves, as far as I can tell, only Dallas & Boston as Top 10 markets that still have stations playing any new rock (as opposed to neutered lightweight stuff).

Of course, now that I pull it to quote I catch the "Top 10 Markets" that I didn't catch before.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Of course, now that I pull it to quote I catch the "Top 10 Markets" that I didn't catch before.

Yeah, and I've since acknowledged Philly that I totally omitted somehow.

The format is alive & well in a number of markets, just in very few of the largest markets. The so-called flyover states in particular have some very kickass stations right now.

[dfisher]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Philadelphia is down to 1 rock station AFAIK, (there is one that's classic rock (102.9)). 93.3 WMMR is the lone rock station. There were 2, but 94.1 WYSP went sports talk a year or two ago. They were also part of the Free FM fad for awhile, and when it was music, they changed formats a lot (was rock, then became sorta-classic rock for awhile)

WMMR has been on the air for 44 years, and they even still have DJs on the air, which is become exceptionally rare it seems.

104.5 is an awesome newer alternative rock station.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Houston just lost a rock station which became a Christian alternative station. I turned it on one day and was like "well, this sounds like some modern alternative generic stuff but I don't recognize it" and then I started listening to the lyrics and went "ohhh"

SI

I love how the Jesus rock sneaks up on you. I have had similar experiences with a pop station around here. "Hey, I haven't heard this song before" quickly morphs into "I think he just dropped a J bomb".

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Yeah, and I've since acknowledged Philly that I totally omitted somehow.

The format is alive & well in a number of markets, just in very few of the largest markets. The so-called flyover states in particular have some very kickass stations right now.

Gotcha.

I'm really not a "rock" guy anymore, but I still think it's a bit sad that the stations/genre seem to be dying. I get more bent out of shape at talk radio dying (and somewhat coming back via podcasts), but even with the numbers you cited, I think it's still fairly clear that radio as we knew it is not the same and will continue to be less and less influential over time.

I still feel like the people meters did irreparable damage to the radio industry and I wouldn't be surprised if Rock is one of the victims more so than a loss of interest in Rock music.

[Easy Mac]

Greenville has 93.3, which plays mainly 90s to early 00s rock, with some newer
"active rock" thrown into the mix. I can honestly say I haven't listened to it since I was in college a decade ago, but I don't think the playlist has changed in that time.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I still feel like the people meters did irreparable damage to the radio industry and I wouldn't be surprised if Rock is one of the victims more so than a loss of interest in Rock music.

PPM is nuts, but the loss of interest in Atlanta is pretty striking too.

As I said earlier (or was it just elsewhere?), this isn't a bad business move by CC. I'm a balding 45 year old man but I haven't been the least bit out of place at any of the new artist concerts I've been to. And for the most part, I'm seeing concerts -- whether old or new artists -- at venues half full (Maiden/Cooper not withstanding).

Meanwhile, I go to a club to see a new artist lineup (Black Stone Cherry, Pop Evil, Kyng, Lansdowne) and there's maybe 200 people there. Of those, there were about a dozen kids from 12-14, maybe a half dozen 18-24 and the rest were all over 30, probably half over 40. Acts that draw 1,000 people in Knoxville or Chattanooga draw a quarter of that here.

The combination of demographic change & what I usually refer to as "cultural confusion" has pretty much killed Atlanta as far as rock goes. It's not just the PPM, at least not here. My own anecdotal experience matches (at best) what the ratings show and that's with both my age group as well as my son's (where rock fares so poorly that it barely even registers).

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

PPM is nuts, but the loss of interest in Atlanta is pretty striking too.

As I said earlier (or was it just elsewhere?), this isn't a bad business move by CC. I'm a balding 45 year old man but I haven't been the least bit out of place at any of the new artist concerts I've been to. And for the most part, I'm seeing concerts -- whether old or new artists -- at venues half full (Maiden/Cooper not withstanding).

Meanwhile, I go to a club to see a new artist lineup (Black Stone Cherry, Pop Evil, Kyng, Lansdowne) and there's maybe 200 people there. Of those, there were about a dozen kids from 12-14, maybe a half dozen 18-24 and the rest were all over 30, probably half over 40. Acts that draw 1,000 people in Knoxville or Chattanooga draw a quarter of that here.

The combination of demographic change & what I usually refer to as "cultural confusion" has pretty much killed Atlanta as far as rock goes. It's not just the PPM, at least not here. My own anecdotal experience matches (at best) what the ratings show and that's with both my age group as well as my son's (where rock fares so poorly that it barely even registers).

Fair enough, that makes sense. I still hate PPM, but I won't blame it for the death of Rock Radio in Atlanta .

[Apathetic Lurker]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Canadian rock - so a lot of Bryan Adams and Chilliwack?

and Triumph, Rush and Kim Mitchell.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Greenville has 93.3, which plays mainly 90s to early 00s rock, with some newer "active rock" thrown into the mix. I can honestly say I haven't listened to it since I was in college a decade ago, but I don't think the playlist has changed in that time.

Planet? They're an odd little bird. Heavy alternative/grunge era influences in their playlist but then they'll drop Godsmack's cover of Rocky Mountain Way in there. Or the new single from Lit, which hasn't even managed to chart nationally yet (and it doesn't take all that much these days).

They're playing 2-3 currents an hour, based on looking at their music logs from yesterday, which is pretty low for a station calling itself "New Rock". Kind of like what 99X became ("classic alternative") but with active rock instead of alternative providing their currents.

It's exactly the kind of station that pops up in medium/small markets. Don't anyone kid themselves, it's still researched pretty heavily just like the big boys but they tend to be more responsive to their research at the market level than to the national research.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Fair enough, that makes sense. I still hate PPM, but I won't blame it for the death of Rock Radio in Atlanta .

Very fair, IMO.

[cartman]

One of the all-time great rock stations was 98 KZEW in Dallas/Fort Worth. They were one of the first rock stations on FM, and pioneered the idea of letting the DJ play what they wanted, instead of a corporate playlist. They also fostered a close tie with their listener community, by having all sorts of local events and sponsoring concerts.

Eventually they got corporatized and the bean counters tried to fit the square peg into a round hole. A couple of weeks before Christmas in 1989 they abruptly changed to playing Christmas music with no explanation. After New Years they announced they were switching the callsign and playing "Soft, Relaxing Music".

Here's a couple of links to the history, as well as an Internet radio feed from one of the original DJs trying to keep the idea going.

KZEW 98 FM Dallas-Ft Worth The Zoo-Got ZOO?
98kzew.com | The Home of Rock & Roll

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

It's exactly the kind of station that pops up in medium/small markets. Don't anyone kid themselves, it's still researched pretty heavily just like the big boys but they tend to be more responsive to their research at the market level than to the national research.

This has nothing to do with rock stations at all, but made me think about how I'm constantly intrigued by WTYD, a small locally run station here. I know the whole "locally run station" thing is generally just some gimmick advertising, but they seem to be be legit in that they seem to run by the beat of their own drum. I'm sure their ratings aren't stellar, but they seem to be good enough that they have a station that sounds professional and has been up and going for a long time.

I heard once that it is owned by Bruce Horsnby, if true I'm sure that plays a role.

[miked]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

After some 38 years, the longest running format in Atlanta radio came to an end tonight at 7p.

Project 96-1, the rebranding of 96 Rock that took place 6 years ago, flipped to some sort of CHR tonight as Power 96-1. Which flavor of CHR remains to be seen after they complete a 9600 songs in a row stunt but with Elvis Duran & Ryan Seacrest already announced as the morning/midday air talent, it's expected to be a kind of midline CHR.

This puts Atlanta in the situation of having zero current rock stations at the moment, and none seem all that likely to emerge. (This actually happened once before, when 96 Rock became all classic rock for a few years before the rebranding to Project)

There's a tiny signal still playing Alternative under the 99X branding (at 98.9 FM) and Rock 100.5 is a mediocre signal that's strictly classic rock. Dave FM (the old Z93 for those familiar with Atlanta) is a AAA but it goes sports talk effective October in a move already announced a couple of weeks ago.

The move leaves, as far as I can tell, only Dallas & Boston as Top 10 markets that still have stations playing any new rock (as opposed to neutered lightweight stuff).

For the record, the final song played tonight was Freebird. Even that was a bad choice, when seemingly every Atlanta rocker knows that it should have been Baba O'Reilly which was the song that began the 96 Rock era AND ended the 96 Rock era when the rebranding took place. To my knowledge this was probably the only time Skynyrd ever aired on Project, so they even managed to fuck that up.

Blame the station for ditching Jefe and Shafee.

[Ben E Lou]

One of my earlier "geek" memories is sitting on our front porch (it was one of those old-school long ones running across the length of the house,) and stringing up wires to extend my boom box's antennae across the length of the porch to try to pick up 96 Rock "ALL THE WAY FROM ATLANTA!!!"

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

This has nothing to do with rock stations at all, but made me think about how I'm constantly intrigued by WTYD, a small locally run station here. I know the whole "locally run station" thing is generally just some gimmick advertising, but they seem to be be legit in that they seem to run by the beat of their own drum. I'm sure their ratings aren't stellar, but they seem to be good enough that they have a station that sounds professional and has been up and going for a long time. I heard once that it is owned by Bruce Horsnby, if true I'm sure that plays a role.

Looking it up, it's basically a AAA musically with a number of elements of what was called "full-service" which was common in small markets. They try very hard to position themselves narrowly the Tidewater area & therefore do things like W&M sports that wouldn't be typical of a larger market FM music station. They really don't have much choice about that coverage area though, their effective power is just 2.4 Kw, by comparison, Project 96-1 is 99 kw. (And by further comparison, the first FM I worked on in the north GA mountains was 3 kw). The twist to the full-service imaging they try to present is that they're notable for having avoided using local on-air talent for a number of years now. They run it about as lean as possible, just a few sales reps & administrative help basically.

And yes, Bruce Hornsby is listed as a minority owner (12%) as is his wife (7%). Davis Media LLC technically owns the station, which it bought back in 2005 when it was WSRV. The WTYD call letters were 107.9 but were swapped over after the purchase from the previous owner's widow. No less than 18 partners make up that LLC btw, with shares ranging from 1% to 12% (several have 11% but none exceed BH individually).

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Looking it up, it's basically a AAA musically with a number of elements of what was called "full-service" which was common in small markets. They try very hard to position themselves narrowly the Tidewater area & therefore do things like W&M sports that wouldn't be typical of a larger market FM music station. They really don't have much choice about that coverage area though, their effective power is just 2.4 Kw, by comparison, Project 96-1 is 99 kw. (And by further comparison, the first FM I worked on in the north GA mountains was 3 kw). The twist to the full-service imaging they try to present is that they're notable for having avoided using local on-air talent for a number of years now. They run it about as lean as possible, just a few sales reps & administrative help basically.

And yes, Bruce Hornsby is listed as a minority owner (12%) as is his wife (7%). Davis Media LLC technically owns the station, which it bought back in 2005 when it was WSRV. The WTYD call letters were 107.9 but were swapped over after the purchase from the previous owner's widow. No less than 18 partners make up that LLC btw, with shares ranging from 1% to 12% (several have 11% but none exceed BH individually).

Huh - interesting info. So with those %'s, Hornsby probably has some influence.

The AAA thing doesn't surprise me, that fits right in my wheelhouse (what does AAA stand for anyways). The W&M thing doesn't hurt, makes it easy for me to just leave it on that station. It's really how I became aware of the station in the first place. But I feel like it plays a fair amount of stuff (AAA stuff I guess) that I don't hear anywhere else.

And yeah - they definitely play to the local area, which works and makes sense. But they seem to manage to do it without sounding like they're run out of some dude's basement .

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Huh - interesting info. So with those %'s, Hornsby probably has some influence.

The AAA thing doesn't surprise me, that fits right in my wheelhouse (what does AAA stand for anyways). The W&M thing doesn't hurt, makes it easy for me to just leave it on that station. It's really how I became aware of the station in the first place. But I feel like it plays a fair amount of stuff (AAA stuff I guess) that I don't hear anywhere else.

Adult Album Alternative

edit to add: It's kind of the rock/pop version of the Americana format for country.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

One of my earlier "geek" memories is sitting on our front porch (it was one of those old-school long ones running across the length of the house,) and stringing up wires to extend my boom box's antennae across the length of the porch to try to pick up 96 Rock "ALL THE WAY FROM ATLANTA!!!"

96 Rock was iconic back then. Remember the bumper stickers that everyone had to have on there car? And the "cool people" had to turn them upside down?

BTW, you were tuning into 96 Rock on the AM dial. Remember when they broadcasted on both?

[Sun Tzu]

Meh...grunge had its place. Alice in Chains was iconic, and I still listen to them regularly. Grunge also (IMO) helped spawn TOOL, which is far and away the best and closest thing to Rock out there today.

I still have yet to forgive Linkin Park for changing their sound to screamo...bastards.

Anyways, it sounds like for the most part you're upset that nobody is playing rock from 90-present, which isn't uncommon across the US. The SF Bay Area had a great station called KSJO (92.3) that ruled the airwaves for years. They had an hour long 9pm - 10pm block of Metallica every day which they dubbed "Mandatory Metallica." Other bands that would get regular airplay were Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Rage, AiC, TOOL, etc. Great, great station that one day out of nowhere became a latin music station. Now all that's left is 107.7 "The Bone" which is a mix of classic rock (Zep, Floyd) and neo-classic rock (Halen, Gn'R). If you want to listen to anything '00 or newer, you have to find yourself a pop station.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

96 Rock was iconic back then. Remember the bumper stickers that everyone had to have on there car? And the "cool people" had to turn them upside down?

Heh, somewhere there should be a box that still has my 96 Rock tag. No clue where though.

BTW, you were tuning into 96 Rock on the AM dial. Remember when they broadcasted on both?

Double heh. The daytime-only AM was sold in 1988 and became ... religious WNIV.

[GrantDawg]

I was a Dave listener. Now I am a-drift again. I've sort of burned out on sports talk. I've been trying different stations with no luck the last couple of weeks.

[chadritt]

I havent lived in Atlanta for almost a decade, I left the day after the Falcons won in Lambeau, but this still makes me a little sad.