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2022 Christmas Radio Stations Thread

Started by Henry, November 24, 2022, 10:41:05 AM

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hotdogPi

I forgot to mention this earlier. It's been up the entire season, but since I typically switch around the 20th or so (I switched a bit earlier this year because of signal issues regarding 106.7):

https://www.classicalwcrb.org

Stream "Perfect Holiday Party Soundtrack". You'll get a single ad immediately upon clicking but none after that until you stop and start again. It contains some instrumental and some choral, and I would say about 60% are religious. There are a few you might not recognize (I would say nothing more obscure than Il est né le divin enfant, which isn't universally known but is known by a decent percentage).

(The other two streams include more obscure pieces. Heavenly Holiday Classics includes long pieces like Messiah, the entirety of the Nutcracker, and Charpentier's Christmas Mass, while Ultimate Holiday Classical Mix is all standalone but I only recognize about 1/3. You'll definitely want the Party Soundtrack.)
Clinched

Traveled, plus
US 13, 50
MA 22, 35, 40, 53, 107, 109, 126, 141, 159
NH 27, 78, 111A(E); CA 90; NY 366; GA 42, 140; FL A1A, 7; CT 32, 320; VT 2A, 5A; PA 3, 51, 60, WA 202; QC 162, 165, 263; 🇬🇧A100, A3211, A3213, A3215, A4222; 🇫🇷95 D316

Lowest untraveled: 36


Henry

The end is fast approaching, so I was wondering something else: Does your station flip back to regular music at midnight on December 26th, or at a later date and time? I remember a time when the former was done nationwide, but now that rule has apparently been relaxed because few stations extend their holiday marathon to the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday after Christmas. (However, this year I wouldn't count on it going past Friday, since the next two days will be New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.)
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

MATraveler128

Quote from: Henry on December 21, 2022, 10:46:02 AM
The end is fast approaching, so I was wondering something else: Does your station flip back to regular music at midnight on December 26th, or at a later date and time? I remember a time when the former was done nationwide, but now that rule has apparently been relaxed because few stations extend their holiday marathon to the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday after Christmas. (However, this year I wouldn't count on it going past Friday, since the next two days will be New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.)

I know Magic 106.7 in Boston goes right back to regular music starting on the 26th.
Formerly BlueOutback7

Lowest untraveled number: 96

roadman65

At one time ZRadio in Orlando kept it going beyond Christmas Day, but in the past few decades have stopped after the 25th.  It seems they were catering to the denominations that believed in Advent with Christmas only starting on the 25th, but now stopped.

WBVM being part of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL has kept it going till New Years to keep up with the Catholic Liturgy, as New Years the Church stops it's Christmas music at mass even though their season official ends after the Second Sunday of January.

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

PurdueBill

Quote from: BlueOutback7 on December 21, 2022, 11:33:06 AM
Quote from: Henry on December 21, 2022, 10:46:02 AM
The end is fast approaching, so I was wondering something else: Does your station flip back to regular music at midnight on December 26th, or at a later date and time? I remember a time when the former was done nationwide, but now that rule has apparently been relaxed because few stations extend their holiday marathon to the first Friday/Saturday/Sunday after Christmas. (However, this year I wouldn't count on it going past Friday, since the next two days will be New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.)

I know Magic 106.7 in Boston goes right back to regular music starting on the 26th.

It is almost comical how WMJI in Cleveland, after playing Christmas music nonstop since before Halloween, cut to "regular" stuff as soon as possible after midnight passed.  One might think that especially with the legal holiday being the Monday and people still in the holiday mode, maybe another day of it? Nope!  Even the Hallmark Channel continues Christmas movies until January 1!

ZLoth

Quote from: ZLoth on November 24, 2022, 11:32:28 AMKDGE-Star 102.1 in Dallas, TX started their Christmas music rotation on November 10th.

In Dallas, KDGE went back to standard music on the 26th. WRR 101 (yes, a station west of the Mississippi that begins with a W), however, is sticking with holiday music until January 2nd because they are transitioning to being managed by KERA and becoming a non-commercial all-classical station.
Don't Drive Distrac... SQUIRREL!

hotdogPi

96.1 (Worcester) has seriously cut back on variety this year. 106.7 (Boston) is about where it was before.

Songs that 96.1 doesn't seem to play despite definitely hearing them repeatedly on "standard" Christmas stations (so not now-gone 104.9 that had unusually high variety):


  • The "other" All I Want for Christmas is You — the one that's not Mariah Carey (you can tell the difference by the time signature)
  • Caroling Caroling
  • Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
  • Merry Christmas Darling
  • Merry Christmas Baby
  • Celebrate Me Home
  • Mele Kalikimaka
  • Christmas Waltz
  • Little Saint Nick
  • Mary's Boy Child
  • My Grownup Christmas List
  • Christmas Tree Farm
  • Christmas Wrapping
  • Some weird arrangement of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
  • Dominick the Donkey
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
  • Same Old Lang Syne (not to be confused with Old Lang Syne itself)
  • Snoopy's Christmas
Clinched

Traveled, plus
US 13, 50
MA 22, 35, 40, 53, 107, 109, 126, 141, 159
NH 27, 78, 111A(E); CA 90; NY 366; GA 42, 140; FL A1A, 7; CT 32, 320; VT 2A, 5A; PA 3, 51, 60, WA 202; QC 162, 165, 263; 🇬🇧A100, A3211, A3213, A3215, A4222; 🇫🇷95 D316

Lowest untraveled: 36

CapeCodder

Coffee FM out here on the Cape is Christmas 24/7. The other stations here mix in the Christmas standards amongst the normal songs. KEZK 102.5 in St. Louis flips back to normal at midnight the 26th. A few years ago, when there were two other Christmas stations in town they stayed all Christmas until New Year's Day.

golden eagle

Quote from: CapeCodder on December 09, 2023, 11:00:17 AM
Coffee FM out here on the Cape is Christmas 24/7. The other stations here mix in the Christmas standards amongst the normal songs. KEZK 102.5 in St. Louis flips back to normal at midnight the 26th. A few years ago, when there were two other Christmas stations in town they stayed all Christmas until New Year's Day.

A couple of years ago, B98.5 in Little Rock stayed all-Christmas through December 30.

Here at home, Mix 98.7 (WJKK) went all-Christmas the second week of November.

ErmineNotyours

#59
Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1 106.9.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.

Henry

Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 11, 2023, 07:56:59 PM
Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.
First off, you mean Warm 106.9. The station at 106.1 has a Top-40 format, and I think you're forgetting about 94.1 The Sound, another Soft AC station that competes with the same station from which it stole Delilah (Warm 106.9).

Second, there are still plenty of stations to pick from, even though they're simply not as good as they used to be. Notice how nobody says "oldies" anymore, because it's now "classic hits", and several other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz. Even the nonmusical stations have gone downhill, with news that gets stale within an hour and loudmouthed talkshow hosts who throw their support behind Donald Trump. Pandora is far better at preserving these formats than the big-money companies are (that means iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus).
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

vdeane

#61
Quote from: Henry on December 11, 2023, 09:47:30 PM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 11, 2023, 07:56:59 PM
Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.
First off, you mean Warm 106.9. The station at 106.1 has a Top-40 format, and I think you're forgetting about 94.1 The Sound, another Soft AC station that competes with the same station from which it stole Delilah (Warm 106.9).

Second, there are still plenty of stations to pick from, even though they're simply not as good as they used to be. Notice how nobody says "oldies" anymore, because it's now "classic hits", and several other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz. Even the nonmusical stations have gone downhill, with news that gets stale within an hour and loudmouthed talkshow hosts who throw their support behind Donald Trump. Pandora is far better at preserving these formats than the big-money companies are (that means iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus).
I associate "classic hits" with the 80s.  "Oldies" to me implies older than that - 60s at the latest.

In my head, the quintessential classic hits stations are CBS FM (WCBS) in NYC and Classic Hits 104.1 (WHTT) in Buffalo.  I'm aware others are different
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

golden eagle

Quote from: Henry on December 11, 2023, 09:47:30 PM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 11, 2023, 07:56:59 PM
Only two FM stations in Seattle have transitioned to all-Christmas this year: Spirit 105.3, which is Contemporary Christian anyway, and Adult Contemporary Warm 106.1.  Santa 101.5 is a no-show this year.

I wonder if this is another sign that radio has given up.  There are almost no radio station billboards any more, even though we have had two recent format changes: KJR Sports Radio moving to FM and 98.9 changing to Adult Album Alternative.  There used to be radio station remote trucks at the Puyallup Fair, or at least radio station sponsors in the schedule books handed out, but now nothing.
First off, you mean Warm 106.9. The station at 106.1 has a Top-40 format, and I think you're forgetting about 94.1 The Sound, another Soft AC station that competes with the same station from which it stole Delilah (Warm 106.9).

Second, there are still plenty of stations to pick from, even though they're simply not as good as they used to be. Notice how nobody says "oldies" anymore, because it's now "classic hits", and several other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz. Even the nonmusical stations have gone downhill, with news that gets stale within an hour and loudmouthed talkshow hosts who throw their support behind Donald Trump. Pandora is far better at preserving these formats than the big-money companies are (that means iHeart, Audacy and Cumulus).

The big conglomerates like iHateRadio have ruined radio by taking away almost all local control. With a few exceptions, it's glorified satelliited radio.

hotdogPi

#63
Quote from: Rothman on November 26, 2022, 07:20:03 PMWould appreciate a direct recommendation for a station that has Christmas variety like this.

105.1 in Providence seems to be doing something similar right now, although maybe not quite to the same extent. Unfortunately, it's just barely out of range for me; I'm getting about 97% static and 3% the station.

https://wwli.tunegenie.com/onair/ for most recent songs (updates live). If you're reading this immediately after I post, it seems to be in an hour with mostly standard songs, but if you look back over the previous hours, there are more that most stations don't play.
Clinched

Traveled, plus
US 13, 50
MA 22, 35, 40, 53, 107, 109, 126, 141, 159
NH 27, 78, 111A(E); CA 90; NY 366; GA 42, 140; FL A1A, 7; CT 32, 320; VT 2A, 5A; PA 3, 51, 60, WA 202; QC 162, 165, 263; 🇬🇧A100, A3211, A3213, A3215, A4222; 🇫🇷95 D316

Lowest untraveled: 36

english si

Quote from: hotdogPi on November 24, 2022, 01:13:12 PMStill missing and non-religious
  • Good King Wenceslas, except as a station identifier on 105.7 years ago
Non-religious? The final verse says otherwise

"In his master's steps he trod,
where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
shall yourselves find blessing."



Though I must say that it's shocking you had Merry Xmas Everyone (and several others) as only being on the one station - it is a staple here. In fact Slade only hasn't had a game where you lose it if you hear it created for it (unlike Wham, Mariah or the Pogues) because no one could win unless they were hermits (and also because it doesn't get people cringing in the same way as the other songs) who didn't visit anywhere with music playing during December.


Slade also works really well in the US as an awful lot of UK Xmas pop music is 70s Glam Rock (so its just a pre-eminent song of the genre), whereas US stuff is either saccarine 80s/90s/00s/10s stuff, or 40s/50s/60s crooning, so Slade mixes stuff up a little and gives some variety.

QuoteHallelujah (Leonard Cohen) performed by Pentatonix (putting something on a Christmas album doesn't make it a Christmas song) (also heard at one restaurant)
Any song on this list is automatically a Christmas song in the UK, eligible for putting on Christmas compilation albums, lists of best Christmas songs, and - most importantly - Christmas radio (to help break up the overkill). The Alexandra Burke version of the song therefore counts.

So if they printed more in advance (#2 to Michael Jackson's Earth Song because they ran out of copies on the last day of the week but otherwise would have beaten it - hence the intro to this never-aired pre-recorded live version done on the Friday as they just didn't know how many would sell on the Saturday of each) this would be as the 1995 Christmas #1:
(the original also failed to get to number 1 a month before)

Likewise, everything here is automatically a Christmas song in Blighty.

Therefore this is a Christmas song due to being the 2022 John Lewis Christmas Advert song:

Break up your Christmas music with some quasi-Christmas music DJs! Just slip something in every hour with justification for the 'we must have Crimbo music' crowd to let the more curmudgeonly survive the season by having a little break...

Scott5114

#65
Quote from: Henry on December 11, 2023, 09:47:30 PMseveral other formats have gone extinct, including smooth jazz.

It's alive and well in Las Vegas thanks to the local college radio station KUNV. They've gone all-Christmas, but it doesn't really bother me because they're playing an incredibly bizarre jazz-blues Christmas playlist, and I haven't heard most of it ten thousand times before (though Nat King Cole remains unescapable for some reason). Most of the musicians seem like they'd really rather be playing a totally different song and just decided to throw a few bars of "Jingle Bells" in to pump up their December royalty payment.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef



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