I have noticed that K-hits have thrown in some harder classic rock titles. While they don't play a lot, Ive noticed they have added ACDC and I also heard a Jimmi Hendrix tune the other day.
Just thought that was interesting.
Ive been curious to see whether k-hits will broaden their playlist especially since they are facing SOME MAJOR COMPETITION with Kool 1059. Ive often wondered How long K-hits will be able to stay alive considering the fact that they are only playing 2 decades of music!! While 2 decades of music is a lot, they will only play the researched stuff, which really narrows down the variety. As a k-hits listener I still think that station needs more variety! Im still hearing a lot of the same overplayed songs!!

What time of day did you hear AC/DC and Jimi?

Last Saturday I heard ACDC and I've heard jimmi Hendrix at various times!

I just checked the logs for Saturday, and didn't see anything from AC/DC...

The Cars: My best friend's girl 7:13am

The playlist is expanding.....

Yeah, but it's not expanding in a positive way given their format. Adding overplayed early to mid 80s songs is not the way to get your core audience to continue to be loyal to you. There's HUNDREDS of un-mined 60s and 70s songs out there that K-HITS could add to their playlist. They should also add "themed hours" like they were doing at the beginning. Perhaps a 60s acid rock-themed hour on a certain weeknight, and a 70s disco party Friday evening or something. There's lots of untapped potential still left in K-HITS, expanding to include 80s tunes is not the right direction.

I just think it's a crucial time for both KOOL and K-HITS. The big missing element is, DJs! Great promos would make a big difference too. Some actual excitement and the crucial predictable un-predictablity would make it huge. Will it happen? Who will be first?

I get the feeling those at K-HITS land are not used to that kind of thinking. They think KINK is the ultimate. Will KOOL become an actual "show?" God I hope so.

Portland used to be a small, geographically isolated town. Those days are over. We really need several stations in this market to grow up with the rest of Portland. It's not the same audience that was here back in the day.

Oh course, that's just me I guess!

Seems like the only real air personalities in this market are on the TV. They seem to get it.

It doesn't matter what you do in radio not everyone's going to like it. KOOL is doing what the suits want them to do as is K-HITS. When it comes right down to it you going to be FORCE fed whatever they want to play.
Don't like it.... That's what your Ipod's for.

I think Kool is going to take a HUGE bite out of K-hits audience, and if they hire some good air talent, K hits MIGHT even have a format change. I know plenty of people who are burnt out of the overplayed songs on K-hits. You play the same stale songs DAY AFTER DAY, your audience is eventually going to go elsewhere. There is too much competition. I still think Charlie is the best station in town, Always unpredictable and different tunes each day. Plus the Random request hour is now 2 hours instead of one hour.

The random request things sounds like a good program but the last time I listened I got rolling with some good rock for 2 or 3 tunes then drove into a brick wall with something that just went spastic into another direction. I can't take the "Random Change In Direction" It's like following a woman through a mall parking lot on sale day and her blinkers are broken! You have no idea when or how fast she's gonna change directions! Good music though.....just to many different types of it at random!

"It's like following a woman through a mall parking lot on sale day and her blinkers are broken!"

Or watching TV when a man's got the remote.

Oh wait. They always have the remote...it comes standard with that model.

HA! You got that one right! DON'T mess with a man's remote control!

Alright, since the battle between K-Hits and KOOL is officlally going to happen, I thought I would weigh in as a true P-1. This is my favorite station and although I do scan the dial, I always come back.

I agree with Chrispdx. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant from 1977 was perfect and then all heck broke loose. Please, no 80s Billy Joel. My heart says, make an exception for Allentown, but no, please do not toss the 80s in the mix.

For many of us, the demarcation between decades is the murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980. My world changed that day and I am not alone in that feeling. So, if one were wanting to subtly experiment with cuts, why not Double Fantasy for heavens sakes? Billy 2CV Wreckin' Joel? Seriously though, keep it right at December 31, 1979.

Enough snarkiness, I also have noticed some really great adds. A much higher ratio of Stevie Wonder is always welcome. Along those lines, more Tom Petty is great, but the classic, American Girl is still not in rotation.

The addition of more Cheap Trick is awesome, and as a big fan, thank you. Could you toss Dream Police in there once in a while? Journey doing Anyway You Want It always reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield's golf bag in Caddy Shack. Perfect. Early Fleetwood Mac? More Kinks? More Who? More Cars? Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

A deeper, but great cut, Everybody's Everything by Santana was a nice choice. This territory is usually where KGON excels, and with that ever growing library, K-Hits looking deeper does not hurt the station one bit.

In fact, being rigidly true to the decades, and deeper, could make them easily a better station than KOOL. Since 105.9 is spread thinly over 30 plus years, they are often going to be left with the obvious choices and little else.

The Blues Magoos doin' Aint Got Nothing Yet was just the sort of gem hunting I have been hammering flat every few months here on the board. Curious about what drummer Geoffrey Daking is up to today? http://www.daking.com/

Other fantastic additions include Another Day and Helen Wheels by Paul McCartney, Stand and Everyday People by Sly & the Family Stone, and a Move cover by essentially the same band, Do Ya by ELO, and Little Bit O' Soul by the Music Explosion. Yes, more soul, more rock and deeper cuts!

Here is a crazy idea: Why not grab a few cuts from the decade that corresponds to the American Top 40 shows? Let's say that the show from this coming week is from 1971. So you dig up a few deeper cuts from '71, and a few from '61 to balance it out. It would be a very simple formula to keep things fresh, and it would all tie together nicely every Sunday morning.

The station is clicking, and it has personality and depth. I think that the wealth of local information from Brian Morris, Carol Bachelor and Mark Dornfeld make the whole feeling very KGW. You can tell these folks like each other and they love Portland. Seems simple, but it is an elusive intangible magic that is happening every day.

I heard the absolute best K-Hits lineup a few times covering vacations and whatnot, and here goes: Dave McKay mornings, Jeff Thomas middays, Steve Lloid afternoons, Craig Adams evenings, and Robert Craig overnights.

This is not a slight to Brad Dolbeer at all. In fact, his depth of knowledge of music not only makes his show great, but has made this station infinitely better. The One 45 at 1:45 and the Soul Kitchen are great and fresh every time. To be frank, I have often wondered what K-Hits would be like with Brad running the show.

I also do not want to knock Jay Letterman -- or as Craig Adams calls him, Regis Philbin's Son. Jay is a pretty good disc jockey, but the "Mott the Hopple" bit still drives me nuts. All things considered, I just think Robert is simply better in a different way. He loves and knows the music, always has interesting thoughts about Portland, and shares upcoming events. In the end, it is obvious that Robert simply does more homework than Jay.

Here it is, a Tuesday, darkness falling over the city, and Lou Reed is doing Walk on the Wild Side as the chill of fall creeps in. Then, to rattle those visions of future months of clouds loose, they flow right into All You Need is Love by the Beatles. Vinyl era intuition has slowly crept back into play and I love it.

K-Hits has become a beloved local radio station. So loved in fact, that some of us have to get pretty picky to find things we do not like. This station is so live & local, they had an on-air wedding proposal today for crying out loud! (She said yes.)

I think that K-Hits can survive any storm, including KOOL, by just being the best at covering the arguable peak of popular recorded music in a comprehensive and human way. Also, the audio quality of the music on this station is really really really good.

Thank you for indulging me. Marvin Gaye? Nice!!

Damn Little songs, I never knew you had such a huge BONER over k-hits.

The problem I have with K-hits is the nerdy voice guy, he has to go. Somebody please take him out and get him laid. The jingles on kool 1059 make the station sound more exciting and fun. Who wants to be associated with the nerdy voice guy who sounds like a 50 year old virgin????

Bunsofsteel, I do not get aroused by KLTH, but I suppose that if one can burn saltwater with radio waves, anything is possible. Are your buns stainless, or will you be changing your handle to Rustykeester after our long rainy winter? :o)

Proving me wrong on my "pretty good" rating, Jay Letterman has turned in a fantastic show this morning. I am off tomorrow, so I brewed myself some joe to catch his shift. I will admit, it has been a few months since I've caught more than a break or two.

Jay has been on top of everything, the stories behind the music and what folks are up to now. He also runs a tight board. I take back any implication of slack in my earlier homework comment. So, in an era with few live overnighters, K-Hits probably has two of the best. Of course, KITI has one of the others. :0)

Yes, I do love this station. Not just because they sent me to Stevie Wonder, not just because they have great folks working there, and not just because most of the other stations stink. I love K-Hits because they do great live and local radio in the tradition of my transistor days, but with the technology of today.

This is a broadcaster that regularly surveys the listeners, takes polls, and encourages constructive interaction with not only the on-air personalities, but with the behind the scenes folks too. They aggressively seek a connection with the listeners, and often act on good input. They also have developed from a decent, but spartan web presence to a great interactive website with a worldwide live stream in less than a year.

K-Hits sponsors charitable events, sends the Mod Squad out into the community nonstop, and builds up the audience one Portlander at a time. This is a station that binds the Boomers with Gen X, they know it, and they go for the nostalgic heartstrings pretty effectively. Not just with the great old clips, but yes, with the geeky guy.

Could you imagine James Earl Jones, Orson Welles, or Jack Webb doing the old Portland flashbacks? No. It has to be the inner geeky xenophobic webfooted demon that possesses most locals. Okay, I'll say it -- a Sarah Vowell-ish character would have really kicked butt. Sarah herself would have been a coup.

Bunsofsteel, he isn't 50. His point of view seems to be right around thirtysomething. If you are right about the cherry part, all the geeky guy has to do is scoot on up to The Know on Alberta. Cardigan season is beginning, and he is bound to find someone sweet and mousy to fascinate with anecdotes. I sure hope he can navigate a front clasp with one hand while showing her postcards of the Mount Tabor trolley back in his apartment. If his voice changes afterward, this could be awkward. Forget I mentioned it.

Remember, not long ago this was the station that was not KISN, so it had to suck. That argument was utterly apples and oranges, but it was sure a hot topic in these parts. K-Hits has never been, or tried to be KISN, and has evolved closer and closer to a KGW format than any station since the early 80s. To further reinforce the local roots, they now are the centerpiece of a crowded old school Portland eatery.

The folks who think that the CC "put a Starbucks across the street from the best little coffeeshop" schtick is a shoe-in may be in for a rude surprise. K-Hits has worked very hard for those numbers and has a fantastic signal all over town.

I think KOOL has a greater potential to eat away at the music as background stations, like Charlie and K103, than the music as companionship stations like K-Hits and KGON.
Generally, outside of drive time, the former require little from the listener, while the latter engage, inform and amuse like a friend with a stack of great records.

If the 105.9 rumors are true, great folks like John and Scott will bring that energy, but if they are surrounded by VT slots, it really hurts the potential of KOOL.

Some folks like Charlie, but to me, I find it to be the laziest format in town. You could program that station from the overplayed duff in the skuffs section at Everyday Music. If it were woven together in a seamless colorful quilt, then it would be brilliant. As it stands, it is just a bunch of random trainwrecks with all the imagination of a robot and the soul of a screensaver.

This, of course, is just how I see it, but I have been on both sides of the microphone and I know what I like. Right now, it is seeing the growth and future of K-Hits. This station has a unique niche, and a unique niche done well is solid until the audience gets too old. So, this format has at least ten good years, and if the playlist gets exponentially bigger, perhaps even twenty in the tank. As a listener who is tired of heartbreaking sales and flips, I do love that potential, and the 60s and 70s format. Are they perfect? No, of course not. Are they getting better and better? An unqualified Yes.

Now, if only they would scare up some Harry Nilsson, Sam & Dave, Carpenters, Curtis Mayfield, Taj Mahal, Johnny Cash and Randy Newman a bit more often. Hey, I heard KLYC added Roger Miller, and I think that if he was hip enough for Eve and the legendary T.A.M.I. Show, he is hip enough for K-Hits. :0)

Don't know which annoyed my kids most, when driving, and I would put a Janis Joplin or Rodger Miller CD in.


Dang me.

.....the legendary T.A.M.I. Show,.....

For one gazillion dollars, who hosted it and what was the name of the less than impressive single that was released by the artist....

ooooh ooooh..... I know, I KNOW.... PICK ME PICK ME!!!

I wonder if there is a way to clean out all of this useless information?

I am pretty sure it was Jan & Dean. They performed the theme song, (Here They Come) From All Over the World written by Sloan & Barri.

I did remember the Roger Miller performance, but I was wrong, he did not appear in the original film. He was featured in the follow-up, The Big T.N.T. Show.

An obscure pop classic, Useless Information was the eighth track on the self-titled debut album from the Move in 1968. :0)

The Move did not cover the ELO song "DO YA"

The MOVE was Jeff Lynn's band prior to ELO which evolved into ELO.

DO YA was originally done by the Move...

Then as ELO they re did their own song.

I still have the 45 by the Move! The move were also on UA records, same as ELO.

"...and a Move cover by essentially the same band, Do Ya by ELO." Yes, that is exactly what I said, awkwardly perhaps, but true. If we were both a little more accurate, we would also say that the Move was Roy Wood's band, Jeff Lynne joined later, the Move broke up and he created ELO with Roy and Bev Bevan, and after a little while, Roy left to found Wizzard. God, we are geeks. :0)

Littlesongs said, "a Move cover by essentially the same band, ELO". That's essentially what YOU said!

I have noticed a change at K-HITS as well, also the addition of tired Billy Joel 80s records (Pressure and You May Be Right.) They are sounding more like KGON at times. They need to stop with the album tracks and stick the the records that were TOP 40 back in the day. It is like they're trying too hard to be cool.
I guess the honeymoon is over.

I wonder if they're starting to panic over KOOL? No need to in my opinion. If K-HITS does what they had been doing they would win that battle. Moving in an 80s direction and tightening the playlist is going to lose listeners and not gain many. Enough with the friggin 80s already. That goes for all oldies / classic hits stations.

Littlesongs is kerrrrrrect. You must claim your prize in person by noon today.

I know it has been said before, but somebody has got to get Roger on the radio. Look at how deftly he kept that contest from bankrupting the station. :0)

I am really glad you fell off the posting wagon. We missed you.

LITTLESONGS SAYS:

"Jay has been on top of everything, the stories behind the music and what folks are up to now. He also runs a tight board. I take back any implication of slack in my earlier homework comment. So, in an era with few live overnighters, K-Hits probably has two of the best. Of course, KITI has one of the others. :0)

I would BET MY LIFE SAVINGS(which is about a dollar) That Jay Letterman is voicetracked!! There is NO WAY he is live!
By the way. Letterman's voice cracked on the air the other night. I think the boy is finally going through puberty!

Even more great adds the last few days, upbeat confident vibes from all the hosts, and heck, even the attack of the 80s Joelnicksmonster might have a happy ending. Still, after Timberfake's question, I gotta weigh in with a theory or two.

I have heard humans hosting 24/7 on K-Hits, and yes, there were a few odd times when I wondered, but not too often. If it is actually VT here and there, then it is natural enough to be applauded rather than derided. You said that you heard his voice crack. With a mouse to edit, why would Jay leave an embarrassing "Brady" moment in his break?

A shift a while back that went horribly wrong -- that I kinda feel bad for harping on so harshly here -- proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone is working live, even in odd slots on a long weekend. The fingerprints of people seem to be on these airwaves at all hours.

What station looking at the dollars spent on VT and automation would regularly and purposely have the tags and intros stepped on once in a while in a perfectly awkward -- but very live and human -- way? Seems like too much trouble.

This kind of break happens naturally once in a while to even the best. It starts out so smooth, dialed in, got it backtimed perfectly, then somewhere along the line, the universe opens and the nature of time changes. The song is just building way too fast. The rest of the liner is spilled quickly and toes the line enough for a DQ in bowling, but not so much that the listener is unforgiving.

Missing random posts is a cute idea, but hardly likely, is it? Especially at a station with managerial roots in the pursuit of perfection at KINK. Furthermore, the automation horror stories from their early days would still make me want somebody breathing around that console all the time.

I posted, "just the sort of gem hunting I have been hammering flat every few months here on the board" at 8:11pm. During his shift, Jay seemed to have referenced my post by saying "that was a gem -- and we do dig for the gems here at K-Hits!" Since he hosts from midnight to 5:30, if he were truly in VT land, what are the odds him of seeing that before he left the booth?

To me, it seemed more reactive, like somebody who triple checked his facts on an upcoming title, or found the latest dates for a tour, popped in here for a moment of late night reading, then did his break. If it is just a coincidence, well, it is a doozy.

Finally, both Jay and Robert seem to tire a bit around the four o'clock hour, then get peppier in the 45 minutes before Dave and Carol or the next host arrives. When I was an all night board op, I had that kind of cycle. My shift started at 10 and my morning folks rolled in at 4:45. I had coffee and the latest from the wire waiting. I was glad to see them. Again, if it is all smoke and mirrors, it is very human.

Timberfake, you might just lose that dollar. I also only have about a dollar to bet myself, so why not? Winner will be paid at the get-together. :0)

Add: Jeff is turning in a really great one tonight, so stop your griping and catch some of it! :0)

In my very unscientific study, I've determined that Kool plays anywhere between 1 and 4 60s songs per hour. K-Hits seems to be between 2 and 5 during regular programming. I haven't checked yet but weekends seem to be higher yet. I say "unscientific" because I'm depending on my memory, what constitutes a 60s song. Sometimes, I get 69 and 70 confused. I'm actually looking up the information on Yes.com but they don't list years.

I havent listened to Kool much, because I like live announcers, occassionally when Khits plays a song I really don't like I will turn the dial.

After Kool adds announcers, then I will start comparing the two.

they really need to add some 80s. phil collins and annie lennox.