93.5 The Source - Classic Alternative (?)

Not too long ago, one of the radio stations in my area changed its format, as terrestrial radio stations often do. I have no idea if this was in response to dismal market ratings (how do they get those listener inputs, anyway? I get the concept behind a Neilsen set-top box recording what a person watches on TV, but how do you faithfully record a person's radio habits?), or if it was part of an ownership change or some other station format shakeup happening around the same time. All of those things are distinct possibilities.

The radio station itself is now known as 93.5 The Source - CU's Original Classic Alternative. You can see a little of what they used to be just in the URL, btw.

Now, when this switch first happened (or, more correctly, when I first realized it by stumbling through the radio dial), I was flat-out ecstatic! I called my sister, who has always had strong alternative radio programming in her local market, when 93.5 was playing Devo's "Working in a Coalmine," which I can't recall ever getting significant airplay, even back in the day. Sure, when I was growing up, Casey Kasem was countin' 'em down on the Billboard Top 40 every Sunday, and we didn't dare miss that. At the time, I thought we were being radical and subversive by listening to early Police albums up in our stuffy attic during the summer months. I know!

During my formative years of high school and college, I of course went through a Classic Rock phase (doesn't everyone?), followed by the Big Hair Band phase of the late '80s and early '90s (can anyone else top seeing Joan Jett play a free concert in downtown Dayton, OH, plus concerts by Lita Ford, Warrant, Trixter, and Firehouse? Oh, and Spinal Tap, for good measure), followed by Grunge and Alternative in the early- to mid-'90s.

So, the fact that a local radio station is now playing music that I really, really liked from about 15-25 years ago is a huge bonus for me! They reach back to the early '80s Pop, New Wave, Ska, and post-Punk genres, too. Every once in a while, they'll even throw in a song by those three white Jewish kids from Brooklyn, just to cover all bases. So far, no Dead Kennedys, but they do play "Punk Rock Girl" by the Dead Milkmen. All of which is a real treat to find on regular radio. As I told my sister, this is the kind of stuff I put on my iPod! Perhaps the best part was the lack of commercials during the early months after the format switch.

But I did get to thinking: how much that is recorded by bands today should be played by a "Classic Alternative" radio station? I'm specifically thinking of a recent song like "Pork & Beans" by Weezer. Weezer, of course, is grandfathered by the work they did during the early '90s alt music scene. If Social D were to record a new album, I'm sure it would get air time. How about U2? They've been around so long, they often pop up on classic rock stations. New material by Sting? He's in the same boat. Speaking of the Beasties, they're still recording new material... I think. What about Moby? New stuff by Duran Duran? I'm sure there are a million examples that could be thrown out there.

It's an interesting question, and one that's worth further debate. On a related sidebar, I loved the ***John Cusack movie reference alert!*** film "High Fidelity," where they often riffed on top ten lists of music-related things like this. So, this could be a top ten list of artists that deserve to be grandfathered into a Classic Alternative radio playlist. Or the top ten artists that should NOT be grandfathered. Either way works. Thoughts?