Final Listen: WLUM Milwaukee as “Hot 102”

It’s the “Now Playing” feature on the Alternative WLUM (FM102.1) Milwaukee website that gives it away. As I write this, the last four songs are Janet Jackson’s “When I Think of You,” Cause & Effect’s “You Think You Know Her,” Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” and Sly Fox’s “Let’s Go All the Way.”

Following last month’s announcement of WLUM’s sale (along with sister AC WLDB [B93.3]) to K-Love, the station has launched its two week “Homecoming,” with special features daily to commemorate its history. On Wednesday, the station saluted its ‘80s/early ‘90s incarnation as Rhythmic CHR Hot 102, again playing “another six pack of cold-filtered genuine jams.” Thursday, it’s the ‘90s Alternative format on “New Rock 102.1 Day.”

I tuned in this morning just as Throwback Nation Radio’s Tony Lorino, who put the Hot 102 day together, was handing off to Amy Foxx, stepping in from her current job as a schoolteacher. A caller asked if he’d won anything and Foxx could only offer an eraser. Here are some fast observations from the hour before she handed off to Eric Paulsen:

• Foxx sounded great, particularly for having been off the radio. She did shout-outs that were never to less than 4-5 listeners, indicating that somebody was out there enjoying this. It was a reminder that good radio—even when straightforward—sounds effortless in a way that much of today’s radio does not.
• Hot 102’s music was heavily focused on that ’88-’93 era, the first generation of Rhythmic Pop. By the time harder Hip-Hop became dominant, WLUM had gone Alternative. That era is often derided by anybody who grew up before or after. Very little of it ended up on Classic Hits, which is now delving more into Hip-Hop from a decade later. It sounded really good hearing these songs again. I found myself fist pumping to that moment where “Rub You the Right Way” stops and starts near the end. That said, by the time Marky Mark segued into Milli Vanilli, it did start to feel a little claustrophobic.
• PD Michelle Rutowski and crew are to be commended for giving WLUM a Viking funeral. Like Foxx’s hour, hearing that sort of effort does sort of show up what’s on a lot of our extant stations. That said, the WLUM/B93.3 sale hit the radio industry hard, and you can only bring a finite amount of joy to the situation—more reason to bring joy to our current stations. (That includes the longstanding one about improving the slots. The other intrusion of reality during the day was hearing real-life spots for the Upside gas card and Ozempic.)

Here’s “Hot 102” just before 10 a.m., September 17:

• Johnny Gill, “Rub You the Right Way”
• House of Pain, “Jump Around”
• Paperboy, “Ditty”
• Cathy Dennis, “Just Another Dream”
• Hi-Five, “I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)”
• Black Box, “Everybody Everybody”
• 2pac, “Keep Your Head Up”
• EMF, “Unbelievable”
• SWV, “Weak”
• Marky Mark & Funky Bunch, “Good Vibrations”
• Milli Vanilli, “Girl You Know It’s True”
• Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, “Joy and Pain”
• Mariah Carey, “Emotions”
• Arrested Development, “Tennesee”
• Technotronic, “Pump Up the Jam”