The ever-evolving KMCQ

[WDAE-FM101]

I also recall Billy Jean being played (and some other mid-80' songs) - those were part of Ted Alexander's 10,000 oldies show during last weekend (Saturday 6-9 p.m.) 

[toonces2u]

I also recall Billy Jean being played (and some other mid-80' songs) - those were part of Ted Alexander's 10,000 oldies show during last weekend (Saturday 6-9 p.m.) 

Yeah, Ted seems to be adding more and more 80s records. When he played Laura Brannigan's How Am I Supposed To Live Without You it was too much for me. I don't tune in to his show as much anymore. With so many great records of the 60s and 70s that don't get much airplay anymore, why on earth would you play an 80s P-O-S like that? I wish KMCQ would tell him to stick to the 60s and 70s for his shows. I think 104.5 is the only station he does that show for anyway.

[Janet W]

Glad to hear they played "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."  I actually emailed them that song for the 5pm drive time request portion. I probably missed the day they played it, if that is when they played it.

[notalent]

For KMCQ to have made an "impact" in the market some other station would have had to have reacted by adjusting their format somehow... This has not happened, KJR FM is still playing the same songs. 

KMCQ might have made an impact on some listeners, but not the market, and not any other stations in the market. 

KMCQ is still nothing more than a lightly managed iPod with no intention of commercial success at this time. 

if you really want to hear oldies done right check out the new KISN stream out of PDX...

www.goodguyradio.com

I would rather see oldies fans get excited over someone who is actually making a serious effort at the format.  Which KMCQ is not.

[Mookie]

I also recall Billy Jean being played (and some other mid-80' songs) - those were part of Ted Alexander's 10,000 oldies show during last weekend (Saturday 6-9 p.m.) 

Yeah, Ted seems to be adding more and more 80s records. When he played Laura Brannigan's How Am I Supposed To Live Without You it was too much for me. I don't tune in to his show as much anymore. With so many great records of the 60s and 70s that don't get much airplay anymore, why on earth would you play an 80s P-O-S like that? I wish KMCQ would tell him to stick to the 60s and 70s for his shows. I think 104.5 is the only station he does that show for anyway.

Well that particular song is from 1983 so it's nearly 30 years old thus classifying "oldies" at least in my view.

KMCQ play probably 10 80s songs per week. Is it really that big a deal? I'd rather just enjoy it for as long as it's around.

I notice that late Saturday nights towards midnight they play complete CDs. Steely Dan and Van Morrison have been featured and it's like a marathon of their songs.

[Radio Coug]

I really appreciate the multitude of comments many of these KMCQ threads create.  Pro and con comments are great to hear and regardless if our station is "making an impact on the (radio) market" or not...who cares, really.  What's most important, KMCQ is obviously making an impact on the listeners and the increasing number of advertisers who continue to utilize the station. kevin.murphy@4-cmg.com

[notalent]

"regardless if our station is "making an impact on the (radio) market" or not...who cares, really"

Which is exactly my point, they are not out to succeed commercially at KMCQ, or make any sort of impact in the market.

They are just out to keep it on the air until someone comes up with 25 million dollars.

If you happen to like it that's cool, but don't delude yourselves into thinking this is some sort of serious broadcasting endeavor. 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

Let me apologize to WDAE FM-102 for claiming that KMCQ played “Bad” by Michael Jackson. My mistake.  I also want to thank those who corrected me on the MJ song that actually did play. It was indeed “Beat It” that KMCQ played in PM Drive on Friday. We all know the metrics for “Beat It” and if you’re going to play any hits from the 80s “Beat It” would be a logical choice. From the tenor of her response I can't help but wonder if she is the music director.

If I were the PD or MD of KMCQ and someone accused me of playing “Bad” I would vehemently deny it, too!!

The extent of this thread proves the interest there is in this station, and I hope she would explain her philosophies.  Showcasing people like The Wailers, The Ventures, The Kingsmen, and others is great, but this area is full of transplants so to many the songs are unfamiliar. I suspect that she is younger than most of her listeners.  One indication is that in the eyes of young musicologists Meatloaf was a demigod and he had great success in the 1990s. To us in the demographic he was an artist whose album Bat Out of Hell was good, but he only had one real hit in the 70s, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” (summer 1978).

The whole purpose of my original post was that in opening up the 80s I think KMCQ comes perilously close to losing its uniqueness and risks blowing off its core audience, that to date has shown great loyalty. Even my uncle in his 70s has an iPod and a smartphone. Moreover, Sirius/XM is not prohibitively expensive. They do have somewhere to go. They will accept commercials but they won’t accept poor music selections.

It is true that they are waiting for that $25 million angel to come along, but I think they are beginning to get serious about at least covering the overhead.

Proceed cautiously madam programmer and tell your salespeople to get out and sell the audience you already have.

[toonces2u]

[/quote]

Well that particular song is from 1983 so it's nearly 30 years old thus classifying "oldies" at least in my view.

KMCQ play probably 10 80s songs per week. Is it really that big a deal? I'd rather just enjoy it for as long as it's around.

I notice that late Saturday nights towards midnight they play complete CDs. Steely Dan and Van Morrison have been featured and it's like a marathon of their songs.
[/quote]

I don't dispute that songs from the 80s and even the 90s are now oldies. My preference is for a station to play nothing newer than 1979. We have stations in Seattle playing those 80s records including the crappy KJR FM. Why does KMCQ need to play them too? If given a choice between hearing Laura Brannigan singing a sappy Michael Bolton song or hearing Thunderclap Newman's Something In The Air, there is no contest. Right now, with the station playing so many records, I can tolerate the occasional slip into the 80s, though I wish they wouldn't. I dread the day that the station sells and the format changes, or even worse, the day they hire a chowder head consultant and adjust their oldies play list based on idiotic focus group data.  The station should be applauded for achieving what they have done on their own. Imagine how much better their ratings might be if they had a decent budget to promote the station. I have a 104.5 placard in the rear window of my car, but that can only do so much.

[WDAE-FM101]

No apologies necessary - just wanted to give KMCQ the feedback from listeners who post on this board - and they are very responsive (she checked the logs etc to see of they did play "Bad."  That's why I suggested that we should use the links on their web page to ask questions and make suggestions.
Thanks much.