Tucson Weekly: Soundbites (November 26

Sound Bites RADIO WAVES: You have probably heard by now that The Hog 104.1-FM has changed formats, trading annoying morning banter and tired classic rock for something akin to preprogrammed easy-listening "alternative." This change may at first seem radical, and although the station has altered format and content, the basic ideology is the same: corporate's best guess at the musical sensibilities of its target audience, which would seem to be Boomers with Generation X rising; a presumed demographic that wants to feel "in touch" yet unthreatened by anything new.
In the time that I was listening, there seemed to be a great deal of overlap, at least on the softer end of the alt.rock spectrum, between the programming at KFMA and The Point (the station's new moniker). A sign of the end days? Maybe, but hey, "It's the Point. Get It?" The general fare consists of all the usual suspects: Cranberries, Sara McLaughlin, popular U2 and R.E.M., the Thompson Twins, that inescapable Smashmouth song (a screaming candidate for a Muzak version, if you ask me) and several minutes of dead air--which may have been a nod in the direction of Radio Limbo, but was more likely a computer glitch.
Does this mean that the days are fast approaching when we have to listen to an "oldies" station to hear "Stairway to Heaven"? Probably not. But we're witnessing a shift from classic rock to country and contemporary adult alternative (or whatever it is they're calling it).
It seems The Point's powers-that-be took the alternative concept of KFMA, noting the success of Spider Rhodes' "Eat your '80s" and the popularity of retro-themed dance nights around town, and decided to gear the station buckshot-method along those lines, with a "less talk more rock" hook. The Point is without a doubt marketing itself in opposition to KFMA, even if the programming is less pointedly so. I spoke to Suzie Dunn, the woman behind the curtain over at KFMA, about the potential impact of The Point on KFMA.
Dunn says presence of The Point on the dial will not change KFMA's playlist or its overall mission:
"Everyone is competition, be it classic rock, country, classical, whatever. But I never react. My mission is to make KFMA the best station we can," says Dunn. "We are the little station that could."
"Sometimes it seems like what we're here to do is break new music, that way others can come along and pilfer it, so they don't have to take a chance on it. The Point is just another station doing that. It's been happening since we've been on the air. They're just another station that's going to let me find 'em and play 'em, and then they take 'em. It's safe, boring, and has no personality. Besides, people know where they first hear these bands."
Is the mimicry a form of flattery? According to Dunn, not really--it's just kind of lazy. But more to The Point, Dunn comments on the way in which the new station is attempting to net listeners from the KFMA audience pool with its anti-talk, anti-nose ring, anti-NIN hooks.
"I find it very disturbing when any station starts out on the air being negative." The Point's spots--many of which sound pretty damned similar to some other smelly, puking advertising--do make some surprisingly insulting assumptions about potential listeners.
Alienation as a tactic? We're Gen Xers, right? We can relate to alienation, but that doesn't mean we like to be deliberately alienated any more than the next generation.
The programmers over at The Point see it a bit differently. They believe the non-tattooed, non-pierced middle-class, albeit vaguely Gen-X, contemporary-adult-alternative-audience is ripe for exploitation. According to The Point's Steve Wexler, this demographic presents a "wholly new market"--the initial inspiration for the new format.
"There's a wide field of competition in this town in the classic rock markets, and alternative programming seems to be the wave of the future on a national level," Wexler says. He also says plans eventually call for dropping the slick, pre-programmed spots in favor of live deejays, with a goal of developing local talent. The focus will, however, will remain "less talk." Which I suppose means they're not looking for "personalities."
Not surprisingly, Wexler couches The Point and other stations like it not so much as serving the newest dish of meat-and-potatoes radio as specially importing some new, exotic fare that's hip and in-demand in avant culture. Kind of like how coffee and bagels were first mass-marketed.
It's just another way in which prefab, strip-mall marketing is attempting to cater to our every presupposed impulse. And it's all about money, anyway. Remove the almighty dollar from the equation and see what happens. Radio Limbo, 103.3-FM, that's what happens.
When they aren't being "nasty" or "monkeying" around calling god-knows-who, the deejays at Radio Limbo stock their shows with the best, most convoluted variety of music to be found in Tucson. The station has a wider periphery due to some recent upgrades and new, extended hours of operation: 6 p.m. until midnight on weekdays, noon until 2 a.m. on weekends. That means even more opportunities to tune in, and find out what's really up.
I'm sure all of the Radio Limbo listeners out there are well aware of the Big Event in Phoenix--several of the deejays have been downright pushy with their enthusiasm, and justifiably so: Stereolab is playing at Gibson's at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 28, with openers the High Llamas. The avant-garde mothers of pop invention just released their sixth album, Dots and Loops, and are currently touring the U.S. in support. Tickets are only $10. Call (620) 967-1234 for more information.
LAST NOTES: Say good-bye to live Sunday shows at Club Congress. The Club has decided to juggle their scheduling, so the final hoe-down on November 30 will be a big bash featuring The Studdrifters, Al Perry and the Cattle, and opening act Cloven Hoof. Cover is $3 at the door, 311 E. Congress St. Call 622-8848 for more information.
It was a crowded house for Modest Mouse, and the same folks who brought you that show are sponsoring another fabulous event at the Theater Congress, 125 E. Congress St.: Washington, D.C.'s Dismemberment Plan appears with locals Beyond 7 and Wise Folk Malcontent at 8:30 p.m. Monday, December 1. Cover is $5 at the door. Call 327-8138 for more information.
Goldfinger and the Aquabats show may have canceled, but ska will not be denied. Buck-O-Nine is appearing with Warsaw at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 2, at The Cage, 5851 E. Speedway. Tickets for this all-ages show are $8, available in advance from the nightclub. Call 885-3030 for more information.

--Lisa Weeks

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