Greg Wood: The State of Rock: WFIV
I hardly ever listen to the radio in my car.
There’s no real reason to. I have hundreds of CDs and, even though only two of the speakers in my 1995 Ford Escort actually function, I constantly switch out CDs instead of listening to the radio.
But not long ago my friend Lisa had the radio playing at her house one day, and much to my surprise, I actually heard an astonishing mix of music on 105.3.
It only took about four songs for me to realize the station plays songs with the same feel. It seemed like a mix CD that acted as the perfect soundtrack for just hanging out on a Saturday afternoon. Somehow, 105.3 made a lineup of Fleetwood Mac, Sublime, the Shins, and Sheryl Crow sound amazing.
The station, which is privately owned, is run from far out west in Farragut. It’s only been around for a year or two, having formally been an ‘80s station. The station owners, however, realized that with an ‘80s station, you’ve backed yourself into a corner. There won’t be anything new you can play, and much like classic rock stations, you have to rely on the same small rotation of songs over and over again with no potential for anything new.
Also, when it came time for the station to change over, they simply repeated the creepy music from old Clint Eastwood movies for five straight days with a sound clip of someone saying that something new was coming from the west. Something this bizarre undoubtedly gets attention, especially in a more traditional city like Knoxville.
With the privately owned station (the owner literally lives down the street) there is more freedom for song selection. “Have you ever heard the Ramones on the radio in Knoxville?” Todd rhetorically asks, implying their station plays the ‘70s punk band. “That’s something that we’re proud of.”
The station is formatted as a “Triple A” station, standing for “adult album alternative-“ a blanket term for a number of sub-genres. With this format, it’s not uncommon to hear Pink Floyd and Radiohead in the same hour— perfect parallels from two generations.
And whereas the song selection is so unique it’s actually worth leaving your CDs at home when you drive somewhere, or permenately leaving your clock radio tuned to 105.3, the station adds a unique touch with its DJs. Todd says he wants the station to be more like ‘70s radio, when DJs actually knew something about the music they were playing and would talk about it on the air.
The fact that the station is run by a number of “music geeks,” according to Todd, certainly helps. The staff clearly cares about what they’re doing, or else a such a great final product could never result.
“I love to throw curveballs,” Todd says regarding obscure music selections. For example, he played a rendition of “Working on a Coal Mine” done by ‘80s punk-pop band Devo recently, which he says got an immediate reaction from listeners calling in or emailing. “There are days when you feel like you are a party DJ,” he says.
And this is the biggest reason to listen. Given the thought that goes into the timing and order of the songs, there are no real abrasive changes and it all provides a distinct mood. Therefore, even when bands come on that I don’t care for, in context they can sound amazing.
I wouldn’t ever choose to listen to U2 or Sheryl Crow, but when I hear them on 105.3 it makes perfect sense and I don’t feel the need to change the station.