:\'(
For anyone of you in the Baltimore-Washington D.C., station 101.9 Lite FM on the weekends for the past few years was the successor to original oldies station 105.7 WQSR (now 102.7 JACK-FM which plays nothing but '80s on the weekends!) From May 2005 when WQSR switched to JACK to just last November just before the all-Christmas switch, WLIF 101.9 played nothing but '60s and '70s music on the weekends. But just before I began to type this, Bette Davis Eyes came on the radio on WLIF! I also heard Take Me Home Tonight earlier today and Aretha's Freeway of Love last week! I think this is a crime considering there is already an establshed station that plays nothing but '80s all weekend long! Even Washington's 105.9 that bills itself as "TRUE OLDIES" is still playing songs like Kokomo and Celebration! In other words, WLIF today is just like listening to MIX 106.5 in the late '80s, or any soft adult contemporary station of that era!

What this is doing on the other end of the oldies spectrum is eliminating a lot of mid-60s music, particularly Motown. 1965 and 1985 music doesn't mix well on the same dial.

And now, PRINCE's 1999 is on as I'm typing this!  8-P

HA I posted something similar in the You Know you're old when thread....

About a year or two ago our oldies station from LA was playing a 60s song and followed it up with Hungry Eyes (from Dirty Dancing)  >:(

The oldies station around here did it too.  I thought it was odd when they added 70's music, adding 80's is depressing.  Where the heck is my Geritol? >:(

The oldies station around here did it too.  I thought it was odd when they added 70's music, adding 80's is depressing.  Where the heck is my Geritol? >:(


between the oldies station playing music from my youth and all the AARP invites I keep getting... I guess I am old at the ripe old age of 41.....but I'm still not middle aged damn it!  ;D

between the oldies station playing music from my youth and all the AARP invites I keep getting... I guess I am old at the ripe old age of 41.....but I'm still not middle aged damn it!  ;D


Wait till the joint pain starts.  I'm 36 and I've got the same creaking sound my Grandmother had at 80. :\'(

Wait till the joint pain starts.  I'm 36 and I've got the same creaking sound my Grandmother had at 80. :\'(



watdaya mean "wait"?  I'm already there...  I hear more popping when I stand now than ever

The oldies station around here did it too.  I thought it was odd when they added 70's music, adding 80's is depressing.  Where the heck is my Geritol? >:(


It sucks, but I won't feel old until they stop playing the 80's on the oldies station...then we will be old.  :o

I agree with Yelimsexa that no matter how much time passes, I don't think those eras will ever really blend together, there's just so much difference. I've also noticed most '60s music dropping off the radio, except for the Beatles or a few of the really popular songs around here too, and that does seem weird.


Here's my take on why - I'm pretty sure the term "oldies" itself was coined in the 80s (does anyone know for sure?). Back then it meant the '50s, 60s and maybe a teeny bit of early '70s. Like Elvis, Beach Boys, Motown songs, Beatles, early Stones, Surpremes, British Invasion...stuff lke that. Therefore I think anyone who grew up or was around then has been conditioned to see that as being oldies, partially because that's just always the reality of how people like me have known it, and since that IS what it meant at the time. Even in the '90s it was still basically like that too really.

I've heard that 20 years is technically oldies and retro, but that doesn't work so well anymore (just because there hasn't really been as many revolutionary, groundbreaking changes in music). That would mean 1989...and something like Paula being oldies is like WTF. ;D

Personally I have trouble seeing anything from the MTV era as being true oldies. I think as long as anything is still picking up new young fans (i.e. kids and teens) and influencing new artists, it's not totally dead and still has some relevance. Considering how old it is, I think the '80s are holding up pretty well! ;)

I agree with Yelimsexa that no matter how much time passes, I don't think those eras will ever really blend together, there's just so much difference. I've also noticed most '60s music dropping off the radio, except for the Beatles or a few of the really popular songs around here too, and that does seem weird.


Here's my take on why... I'm pretty sure the term "oldies" itself was coined in the 80s (does anyone know for sure?), back then this meant the '50s, 60s and maybe a teeny bit of early '70s. Like Elvis, Beach Boys, Motown songs, Beatles, early Stones, Surpremes, British Invasion...stuff lke that.

So I think we've been conditioned to see that as being oldies, partially because people like me were kids then (and that's just always the reality of how I've known it) and just because that IS what it meant. Even in the '90s it was still basically like that too really.

I've heard that 20 years is technically oldies and retro, but that doesn't work so well anymore just because alot of music from back then still influences today, even indirectly. Everything except hip hop has some roots in the 80s (and even that kinda does, just not the gangsta or crunk stuff). That would mean 1989...and something like Paula being oldies is like WTF. ;D

Personally I have trouble seeing anything since MTV and Michael Jackson as ever being true oldies (like 1982ish), again just because artists are still being influenced by it. I think almost any 80s song could come out today if it had different production.


the oldies of the 50s and 60s was the big band music.

the oldies of the 50s and 60s was the big band music.




Well yeah, I'm sure it was (it was probably REALLY old and lame then, considering the generation difference)...but I dont think they CALLED it oldies. I could be wrong, but didn't oldies radio stations not even start until the '80s?

Did you even read the rest of my post either? ;)

Well yeah, I'm sure it was (it was probably REALLY old and lame then, considering the generation difference)...but I dont think they CALLED it oldies. I could be wrong, but didn't oldies radio stations not even start until the '80s?

Did you even read the rest of my post either? ;)



yeah but you know how I feel about the generalizing so I didn't respond to the rest of it. 

Around here the only time I get to hear any 80's music is on the soft rock stations and this one station called Jack FM.

Around here the only time I get to hear any 80's music is on the soft rock stations and this one station called Jack FM.


  I used to listen to Jack FM at work, can't anymore.  It's the radio equivalent of a good mix tape...

Good god, now I'm feel old.....

Actually, the first "oldies" station was WCBS-FM in New York, which was launched in 1972, and was the first "oldies" station, and through the '70s and '80s, oldies stations continued to grown, peaking late in the '80s, just before talk and sports radio began its slow decline. In the early '70s, oldies consisted of '50s and pre-psychedelic '60s (except for maybe a few soul songs from the late '60s.) The psychedelic oldies were added in during the Disco era. Early '70s music would then be added in the mid-late '80s, with non-disco mid-70s added sometime in the early '90s. Then the '70s retro movement really kicked in, and not only did disco music started to get added in the mid-'90s, but '50s songs SHARPLY declined on the radio around this time, and even most early '60s stuff was gone by the late '90s. Unfortunately, the core audience for most '80s music is the 30-45 year old range, so it is necessary for oldies stations to keep their advertisers by adding in '80s music, and many stations no longer bill themselves as "oldies", but rather "classic hits", "greatest hits of all time", or even "old school" to find it more appealing to the younger demographics. The decade that is best represented on an average "nostalgia" station today is the '70s; with most playlists 1973-centric (it seems the singer-songwriter era is the most timeless).

As Yelimsexa posted, here in NY, WCBS FM is playing 80's music.  It is depressing, but not as bad as our classic rock station playing Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers  :o

Actually, the first "oldies" station was WCBS-FM in New York, which was launched in 1972, and was the first "oldies" station, and through the '70s and '80s, oldies stations continued to grown, peaking late in the '80s, just before talk and sports radio began its slow decline. In the early '70s, oldies consisted of '50s and pre-psychedelic '60s (except for maybe a few soul songs from the late '60s.) The psychedelic oldies were added in during the Disco era. Early '70s music would then be added in the mid-late '80s, with non-disco mid-70s added sometime in the early '90s. Then the '70s retro movement really kicked in, and not only did disco music started to get added in the mid-'90s, but '50s songs SHARPLY declined on the radio around this time, and even most early '60s stuff was gone by the late '90s. Unfortunately, the core audience for most '80s music is the 30-45 year old range, so it is necessary for oldies stations to keep their advertisers by adding in '80s music, and many stations no longer bill themselves as "oldies", but rather "classic hits", "greatest hits of all time", or even "old school" to find it more appealing to the younger demographics. The decade that is best represented on an average "nostalgia" station today is the '70s; with most playlists 1973-centric (it seems the singer-songwriter era is the most timeless).


Oh cool, that's interesting. :) That makes sense and that's about what I would've thought too, based on what I can remember or what I've heard. It's weird to think oldies used to mean basically only 10 years ago! Do you know if there ever any '40s (or pre-rock and roll) songs like Sinatra on oldies stations, or was that too old even by the '70s? It probably seemed ancient by then since it was a totally different genre too.

Yeah, I remember a few Fifties songs on the radio around 1993/94ish, but they seemed to disappear sharply once I was in middle and high school towards the late 90s. It's basically like grandparents time now, sadly.

I've also noticed they bill themselves as "classic hits" and not oldies, so I think that's more accurate. You're probably right too, that they do it to sound cooler and less antiquated. I think they know that lots of age groups listen to it, but for better or worse 35 and 40 year olds would be the most "hardcore" dedicated fans of 80s music, so that's what they have to appeal to.

I agree with Yelimsexa that no matter how much time passes, I don't think those eras will ever really blend together, there's just so much difference. I've also noticed most '60s music dropping off the radio, except for the Beatles or a few of the really popular songs around here too, and that does seem weird.


Here's my take on why - I'm pretty sure the term "oldies" itself was coined in the 80s (does anyone know for sure?). Back then it meant the '50s, 60s and maybe a teeny bit of early '70s. Like Elvis, Beach Boys, Motown songs, Beatles, early Stones, Surpremes, British Invasion...stuff lke that. Therefore I think anyone who grew up or was around then has been conditioned to see that as being oldies, partially because that's just always the reality of how people like me have known it, and since that IS what it meant at the time. Even in the '90s it was still basically like that too really.

I've heard that 20 years is technically oldies and retro, but that doesn't work so well anymore (just because there hasn't really been as many revolutionary, groundbreaking changes in music). That would mean 1989...and something like Paula being oldies is like WTF. ;D

Personally I have trouble seeing anything from the MTV era as being true oldies. I think as long as anything is still picking up new young fans (i.e. kids and teens) and influencing new artists, it's not totally dead and still has some relevance. Considering how old it is, I think the '80s are holding up pretty well! ;)it's beem around since at least the 70s.

were you quoting it for posterity?

;D

Another trick that oldies stations update their playlists is by replacing older hits with newer covers that were also hits. For example: Phil Collins' You Can't Hurry Love instead of the Supremes.

Oh no. 80's music is now considered oldies?

Oh no. 80's music is now considered oldies?


Hold on to your hat kid, 90's music is now Retro.

Hold on to your hat kid, 90's music is now Retro.


;D


Just wait until  90steen is hanging in the retirement home partaking in the group sing-a-long of Bye, Bye Bye! 

At least we get to sing Hanging Tough!  all things considered......  :D

;D


Just wait until  90steen is hanging in the retirement home partaking in the group sing-a-long of Bye, Bye Bye! 

At least we get to sing Hanging Tough!   all things considered......  :D


Oh I can't wait until those days.  ;)

The music of your childhood being "oldies" is weird. That's I think why people in their 20s (like myself, and I think 90steen said he's about my age too) can feel old, because stuff you were born into and remember as a little kid is suddenly getting far away for the first time. That's such a surreal, unsettling feeling.

That's bad enough, but I can only imagine having your TEEN years be that way (once you're around 40). I'm actually midly nostalgic for high school myself too (even if it half sucked at the time), so I guess I can understand how they feel.

Basically 90s rock I think holds up better than pop. I hear Nirvana, Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers on alternative stations (which focus on newer music) all the time still, and it doesn't sound out of place. 80s stuff I think depends on the song...like "Every Breath You Take" mixes well with new songs too, but most hair metal would be really cheesy. ;D

;D


Just wait until  90steen is hanging in the retirement home partaking in the group sing-a-long of Bye, Bye Bye! 

At least we get to sing Hanging Tough!   all things considered......  :D


Old folks home "Battle of the Bands".  Why am I amusing that thought? ;D

It's funny because I host a show on a college radio station where I play music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  One time a listener called and said, "since you're playing oldies, how about some Alice In Chains?"  

When I first started listening to oldies stations/programs as a teen in the early 80s, the time-frame was roughly 1954-1971. I was very disappointed when the songs from the 50s and early 60s started falling off the oldies playlists in favor of mid to late 70s songs.  As much as I like music made post-1972, I generally don't want to hear it on an oldies station.  Luckily, there are some "Real Oldies" stations like KRKE AM 1600 out of Albuquerque where fans can listen online and hear artists such as Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Bill Haley & his Comets, and The Crystals.

It's funny because I host a show on a college radio station where I play music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  One time a listener called and said, "since you're playing oldies, how about some Alice In Chains?"  

When I first started listening to oldies stations/programs as a teen in the early 80s, the time-frame was roughly 1954-1971. I was very disappointed when the songs from the 50s and early 60s started falling off the oldies playlists in favor of mid to late 70s songs.  As much as I like music made post-1972, I generally don't want to hear it on an oldies station.  Luckily, there are some "Real Oldies" stations like KRKE AM 1600 out of Albuquerque where fans can listen online and hear artists such as Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Bill Haley & his Comets, and The Crystals.


Yeah dude, that would make me freak out a little too, especially since modern alternative stations still play alot of grunge..heck, even a few '80s songs.

I agree with the rest of your post too. I listened to some classic rock stations in the mid '90s and I remember they played '70s songs and it didn't seem out of place. Anything before MTV and certainly before Disco is fair game to be oldies, imo.

It was nice to hear Elvis and Little Richard at the tail end of the oldies stations in the 90s too.