Phoenix has had a dance music station broadcasting over the desert air for the last six years, one of the few American radio outlets that provided Taylor Dayne with a slightly fatter royalty check each quarter. In news that was surely a real bummer to the glowstick crowd around these parts, Energy dimmed on Halloween, and Monday brought The Beat, which has a playlist devoted to classic hip-hop. Although I’m not giving up my satellite radio subscription quite yet, it was pretty great to hear these three tracks played consecutively yesterday:
Das EFX, “They Want EFX”:
Outkast, “Rosa Parks”:
EPMD, “Crossover”:
… and a few songs later, Father M.C., with “I’ll Do 4 U”, a track that somewhat mysteriously is a big hit on one station in Tyler, Texas, and nowhere else. (Aside from my heart.)
While some message-board cranks aren’t thrilled with the change, it feels like every other commercially viable radio format– from “Jammin’ Oldies” to those phony “we play what we want” stations–has playlists that have been crushed into a soulless cube of banality. Keep playing Another Bad Creation on a semi regular basis, Phoenix’s The Beat, and catching up on my local commercials just might be worth it.
92.7 The Beat [homepage]
Are you talking about KNRG? Crap…
I would kill for a station like this.
I felt lucky last Saturday morning when WKYS in DC played SWV, Luniz, and Black Sheep in a mix. To have a whole station of it would make me ecstatic.
It would at least get the “Enta Da Stage” Black Moon CD that has been in my car CD player on and off for the whole year.
@joshuaryan: What I mean is “It would at least get me to stop playing the “Enta Da Stage” Black Moon CD that has been in my car CD player on and off for the whole year”
Sorry. Anytime i get to talk about the Boot Camp Clik, I get a little overwhelmed.
@Barry White Stripes, Office LW: Sorry to be the one to break it to you, pal.
I think I listen more to the old school hip-hop channels on satellite more than anything else. I’ve heard of some broadcasters using HD Radio subchannels for this format, but not many FM broadcasts. Sure hope they can make a go of it.
Is this station owned by Clear Channel? Because I really, REALLY hope this isn’t a bad sign for WKTU…
A couple of years ago LA had a radio station that started out playing songs like this, with a healthy amount of the LA Dream Team sprinkled in for extra flavor. However, eventually they went to a more “modern” hip-hop playlist, and thus moved off my radio dial. Too bad, because I really like it when the “Dream Team is in the house…”
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