Now maybe they always played these songs, however this is the first time that I really noticed though.
A lot of people have a false impression of Magic.
Many think of it as a "Light AC"...like WLTW...or the old WSSH.
Magic was never in this category....but more of a mainstream AC. They seem to play almost anything contemporary that is popular with adults.
Unlike WLTW and the old WSSH and stations that evolved out of the old Beautiful Music formats....Magic has always had a much younger base than most people realize. (They usually surprise people at how well they do 18-34...especially in their evening show)
I assume most guys never listen to Magic...so I think that is why they are surprised when they finally hear certain songs.
Remember,
todays soft rock (Springsteen, Genesis, Pink) is different than
yesterdays soft rock (Neil, Barbara, Kenny)
Not that I remember. I have been more or less tuning into Magic since the 1980's, back when they used the moniker "Continuous Soft Hits" instead. Common songs that they would play were Heart "These Dreams", Simply Red "Holding Back The Years", and of course staples at the time Irene Cara's "Flashdance, What A Feeling", etc.
In 1989 they repositioned themselves as Continuous Soft Rock instead and artists such as Bonnie Rait were added, all the while still being pretty soft.
Then about at at turn of the millennium is when I first noticed songs that did not quite fit the "Continuous Soft Rock" image. This evolution into what they are has been quite slow, however during the past 2 years in particular there has been a dramatic change in their programming being much more Mainstream than they have been before.
Does anyone else want to chime in on this? That is what I remember anyway.