At 4pm today, New York City lost a smooth jazz station (sorry Kenny G.) but gained a rock station as CD 101.9 pulled the plug on its dentist-office friendly format that it had been playing for the last 20 years and unveiled WRXP, “The New York Rock Experience.”
Considering that the New York rock experience has, for the last decade or so, consisted of Lenny Kravitz, Foo Fighters, Green Day and Nirvana, we weren’t expecting much. However, the station’s website showed their first hour of music, and for the most part, it’s pretty impressive. For a market that’s been a lot more likely to play Velvet Revolver than the Velvet Underground, it was both risky and exhilarating to have heard Lou Reed’s voice emanating out of the Syn stereo. Then to follow up it up with R.E.M.’s “Supernatural Suerserious,” a song that isn’t even out yet, was a nice one-two combo to start off a new station. Here’s the rest of the first hour, which, with the exception of Nickelback, we’re pretty ok with.
The Velvet Underground – Rock And Roll
R.E.M – Supernatural Suerserious
Elvis Costello – Pump It Up
Tom Petty – Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Blondie – Call Me
The Bravery – Believe
Bruce Springsteen – Blinded By The Light
The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize
U2 – Angel Of Harlem
Nickelback – Rockstar
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Zephyr Song
The Black Crowes – Hard To Handle
The Killers – Somebody Told Me
Yeah but will they play Shat?
So basically it’s like the new “adult alternative” format, just for the new generation of adults. Does that make me an adult? Shit.
So more of the “Ipod” format radio for NY? Yuck.
I feel like Audrey in European Vacation, I miss Jack!
The real test will be the next few weeks if they slowly start to edge the ‘cool’ songs out.
I listened to the station last night and it was a cool mix of rock – dave ma thews into the Beatles into green day. Matt is right though..we’ll see the real station in a few weeks. I’ll miss the smooth jazz but in the end the more rock the better.
The “cool” songs…ahhahahahah…nothing cool about this station.
If they start playing Okkerkil River and Vampire Weekend, then we’ll talk.
Okkervil River and Vampire Weekend are “The Suck”
i’d be interested in hearing overkill river, an indie rock band that covers overkill songs. or metal versions of okkervil river songs.
oh, and by the way, for anyone not in new york, i tuned in today, and the station definitely has ADD. It seems like it played the coolest stuff during its first hour. In the past half hour, we’ve been subjected to the Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks like a Lady) (which might be one of the worst songs ever), and Staind. So they’re different from K-Rock how? Oh yeah, an Emerson Lake and Palmer song and some Neil Young. Come on guys, get it together!