The Atlanta radio market has a new station. “The River” is a Classic (Rock) Hits station, it used to be something else and changed format this month.
It’s an online streamable station from their site as well as a local Atlanta station. The signal comes from Gaineville, which is North of the city, thus it covers a broad Northern portion of the outlying areas, which we are part of. Most Atlanta stations are muck fuzz in our house, using an interior powered Terk antenna even. 97.1 comes in nicely.
In the vehicle, flipping around stations when DH *lets* me listen to music I have a few that I change back and forth looking for something decent, if I’m not listening to something from my CD collection. I like 80’s stuff mostly as well as Classic Rock (60’s and 70’s and some people include the 80’s in this category, but I don’t since I like genres of absolute rock, hair bands metal, and any of this category are 80’s if they were in the 80’s and I consider them 80’s … since that was the decade of my teen years. It’s sort of easier to blur the lines in 60’s and 70’s music, the 80’s, in my estimation, produce firming of the division lines in genres, and I just don’t like to include POP things from the 80’s into “Classic” anything. 🙂 )
Anyhow in this area where we are there are two “Classic Rock” stations. I only found them ever because DH had them on the van’s stereo presets for SPORTS use. Both stations air a different sport for broadcast and so they don’t play music all the time. So I found them because of DH sports freak … and have enjoyed them lately when music is played, but found that neither filled the bill for me (their music content, that is).
97.1 has been advertising on TV and that’s how I found them. I tuned in one day in the van and it was better. I will admit that I am not 100% thrilled with everything they play, but that’s ok. I mean, in some ways I feel like I’m back in my earlier days, there are all the great songs and songs you know 99% of or all of them, some are too soft or more pop or just not liked for whatever reason, but many things that both those other stations didn’t ever play are played on 97.1, but there are some things from 96rock that 97.1 isn’t playing … but davefm has nothing on 97.1, nothing at all. Both davefm and 96rock yapp too much, and the other station I listen to some is 99x and they don’t have classic rock, more what I used to call “alternative” it’s pretty much 90’s and current stuff of what is Pop but more so on the punk, grunge side but it’s what’s out there now without being grotesque entirely. I don’t like much of it, but some of it. So the thing with them is, they yapp too much too.
This is all primarily notable compared to 97.1 The River. The station’s promo beginning is that they are going to play 10,000 songs with no commercials. They’ll add commercial in sometime then, but not heavily. They’ll add DJ’s eventually too. Right now it’s just a song, then a “this is 97 … ID filler” then a song, then that ID filler, then a song … on and on.
Yes, you hear repeats if you listen long enough. I don’t mind. I just hope to hear more from the 70’s and late 60’s which I recall from my young days. I’ve heard some, looking for more.
This is stuff that I don’t have CD’s or LP’s for. I’m recording songs on my computer, from off the air, my stereo is hooked up to my sound card. This will enable me to get a fun mix to burn to CD’s and compile my bigger interests onto index cards and add their originals to my collection eventually.
This is memory triggering wonderment.
Life in the 70’s wasn’t all pretty for me, but I can recall how I liked this or that, or know my sisters had that record, yeah, I remember that and … I’m hearing more gems from this station then I’ve heard anywhere for years.
Case in point, not a “favorite song” but I like it. Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chaplin is on, and I haven’t heard this song for years, but I grew up aware of it. A quick Google search puts this on the 1974 charts. I was 8 that year, with three older sisters. 🙂
There’s classics from the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, and a thousand others. ELO, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Boston, Styx and a thousand more. Like Peter The Who, Frampton, Supertramp, Santana. More. I can’t list more. I’d be here all afternoon going on and on.