Bringing In The New Year with Classic Rock

26° - overcast at 9:45pm

Classic Rock Radio brings in 2008.

Countdowns appear to be the main event; but there's some other great features around the dial too.

In progress: CFMI/Vancouver kicked off a 500-song countdown on Boxing Day (that's the day after Christmas for us here in the States) and it runs through New Years Day.

KZOK/Seattle began a Top 1000-song countdown on Christmas Day - concluding on New Years Day.

In Scranton - WEZX/Scranton is in the midst of their Top 1007 countdown.

WAXQ/New York is replaying its Top 1043 songs of all-time (it did this over Thanksgiving) starting New Years Eve at 1pm.

Tucson's KLPX is spending the last day of the year counting down the Top 25 Classic Rock Albums Of All Time" as voted by listeners.

WAOR/South Bend is soliciting listener votes on their three favorite classic rock songs for a Top 30 Countdown on New Year's Eve. Voting by text message.

Check out WAOR's execution of the voting process here.

In Kansas City, KCFX is doing their top 1001 classic rock countdown. KZEP/San Antonio is all party songs starting at 8pm New Year's Eve.

WZLX/Boston does it live - live performances of classic rock favs by request starting at noon New Year's Eve. WTKW/Syracuse is bringing in the New Year with an A to Z marathon.

WABX/Evansville doing all requests ("happy YOU year") from Workforce members now through New Year's Day.

PD John Hager and WGRF/Buffalo celebrating the last day of the year 6am to 9pm by playing "the last cuts from Classic Rock's greatest albums".

Starting at 9pm its a commercial-free request fest with live reports from Buffalo's (and 97 Rock's) 20th Annual Ball Drop. Just like Times Square - but in Buffalo.

And on the first day of 2008 - John keeps the theme going with "by playing the first cuts from Classic Rock's greatest albums". All-Request starting at Midnight.

WKLH/Milwaukee is giving the airstaff New Year's Day off with a schedule full of syndicated specials - many of them encore presentations from the past year. See the lineup here.

Wednesday Blogs & Beyond

80° - sunny at 9:40am Left: webcam shot of light tower on Lake Michigan at Muskegon this morning. current image

Good Morning.

From my blogosphere:

Defining Classic Rock. Edison Media Research's Tom Webster: "What is it? So, here is my question--and I'd love the rock programmers reading this to chime in with comments--what defines "classic?" Popularity? Importance?"

Read and comment here.

A "40-something" cab driver talking radio: "The eye wants the new, but the ear wants the familiar." Mark Ramsey goes for a cab ride here.

Your station website. Some thoughts and resources from Jacobs Media's Tim Davis here.

Added: Lee Arnold with a post about CBGB owner Hilly Kristal - who passed away yesterday. Read here. CBGB - and the music that came out of it in the mid 70s - stirs thoughts of a great era in my head.

Beyond the blogs:

Ted Nugent on Bill O'Reilly tonight on Fox News Channel (8pm ET). Nothing new here. I'm a bit ho-hum on Ted's shtick. Wears thin fast.

Springsteen Tour. Kicks off in Hartford October 2nd. See the dates here.

Another hot promotional opportunity for classic rock this fall.

More Labor Day Weekend: WDRV/Chicago is repeating their "Live Drive Weekend" - live tracks all weekend long.

KZEP/San Antonio kicks off "Zeptember" (celebrating the station's namesake) this weekend starting with a Led Zep A to Z. Here.

Less personality: Overnights go jockless in Chicago - on two stations owned by Emmis. Read Robert Feder here. Sorry to hear this; there's always been something very cool & intimate with a live voice talking to the third shifters, insomniacs and freaks of the night.