People take their Christmas music very, very seriously. So it's probably no surprise that oldies radio station "K-Earth" (KRTH-FM 101.1) is catching some heat for adding softer, more adult contemporary-sounding Christmas music to its mix.
Reader Scott fills us in:
They've mostly dropped the Elvis, Sinatra, Chipmunks, Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby, and switched to KOST-y stuff like Mannheim Steamroller, Cliff Richard, Air Supply, Kenny Loggins, and the Carpenters. Pretty jarring to hear easy-listening coming out of a Stones or Beatles track!
Word is the PD used to be over at KOST.
For me, Xmas is the only time I listen to KRTH, specifically to hear those great Phil Spector, Elvis, and Beach Boys tunes that nobody else plays, so I'm fairly bummed. I can't stand the cheesey stuff they're playing.
Scott is correct: Former KOST/KBIG program director Jhani Kaye took over K-Earth earlier this year. And I'm sure Kaye opened his KOST playbook in formulating this year's K-Earth Christmas mix. (KOST, after all, shot to the top of the Arbitrons last year after going wall-to-wall Christmas).
But that means both stations' holiday music mix sounds too similar for some listeners' tastes. Fans of the old K-Earth Christmas mix have even launched a blog to keep tabs on which tunes K-Earth is playing -- and to urge listeners to request more of the up-tempo oldies.
Meanwhile, I'm guessing neither K-Earth nor KOST play my favorite holiday track, the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York."
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