It’s been a recurring theme in this column over the last five months, but I’ve been particularly drawn to those stations that still “do radio,” including those that really relate to their music and their markets. It’s hard to observe the tenets of Triple-A and not talk about the music, but the moment WXRT Chicago got my attention yesterday afternoon was when p.m. driver Marty Lennartz backsold the Siouxsie & the Banshees version of “Dear Prudence” by quickly noting, “John Lennon would have loved that version.”
In that moment, WXRT played a song that I didn’t expect to hear. It also invoked the station’s ‘80s legacy when Alternative didn’t have a station in every market and it was old-line progressive outlets like WXRT that played New Order and Depeche Mode. Lennertz had endorsed the song, and tied it to the rest of the station with just one PPM-compliant sentence. Later, WXRT played Kate Bush’s original “Running Up That Hill” and Lennartz mentioned the recent Meg Myers version. (“Sometimes you just have to play the original.”)
In recent months, there have been success stories of traditional TSL-driven radio stations that suddenly defied the less-valid PPM truisms. But you could already hear WXRT starting to spark again under PD Greg Solk before the COVID-19 pandemic. The station had staked out territory as a more guitar-driven Triple-A than others (despite those occasional ‘80s synth titles). In the August PPM, it was up 3.9 – 4.5 – 4.9 and fifth in the market setting a station record high, prompting this Fresh Listen.
You can hear WXRT working hard to be a resource to listeners. WXRT has been going into its ample live concert archives; promos declare “we cherish the shared experience of live music.” Next up is a Clash recording from a 1979 Chicago visit. The station is still “Chicago’s home for live music lovers” (a variant on its “home for music lovers” positioner, which it uses along with its heritage “Chicago’s Finest Rock”).
Here’s WXRT just before 3 p.m., August 25 with p.m. driver Marty Lennartz:
- U2, “Beautiful Day”
- Billie Joe of Green Day, “I Think We’re Alone Now”
- Black Pumas, “Colors”
- Clash, “London Calling”
- Led Zeppelin, “Dazed And Confused”
- Nathan Rateliff & Nightsweats, “You Worry Me”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Give It Away”
- Santana, “Winning”
- Siouxsie & the Banshees, “Dear Prudence”
- Coldplay, “Viva La Vida”
- Cage the Elephant, “Cigarette Daydreams”
- Jayhawks, “This Forgotten Town”
- Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill”
- Lovely The Band, “Broken”
- Elvis Costello, “Veronica”
I suspect there are more Triple-As like that than people realize. Suburban NYC’s “The Peak” is another — a station not afraid to play the Kinks’ “Sleepwalker” in the middle of the day, and to do a “10@10” feature that reaches back as far as 1965 on occasion.
Like that other Chicago institution The Second City, XRT has always had to fight with the opinion of some that the station was better in the old days, whether you considered “the old days” the 70s freeform era where they mixed in classical music and played the pre-Steve Perry jam band Journey or the 80s when they were the home of New Wave in Chicago. The decision they made in the early 90s to let Q101 win the hipness war and superserve their longtime listeners has done them well, even if nowadays the hipster element looks down their nose at the station and others complain about too much classic rock and overplaying favorite artists (of course, it didn’t help when Westinghouse bought the station from its local owners 25 years ago). But XRT still has its own sound and swagger and stands out, while Greg Solk’s previous station, the Drive, has become just another classic rocker.
It is amazing that WXRT has stayed true to itself despite now being on its third corporate owner. Even more amazing, Entercom hasn’t deployed their usual heavy-handed approach to alternative formats to force WXRT into a template. So far, they seem to know that they have something special and haven’t screwed it up. While definitely commercial and somewhat mainstream, WXRT surprises just often enough to avoid being boring. In many ways, the personalities make the station, too, but by complementing the music rather than getting in the way of it. Even after leaving Chicago more than 20 years ago, I still often listen to it online.
Sean knows that I have been somewhat critical of San Francisco’s now-defunct KFOG. WXRT is one reason for that. When I moved to the Bay Area, I found KFOG to be a bit pretentious, as well as bland and predictable, other than its “10 @ 10” feature that so many have imitated. It also had lots of ups and downs. WXRT has been *much* steadier and more purposeful.
WXRT also grew into its current strength; it wasn’t artificially constructed by a consultant.
Congrats 93XRT my favorite station in Chicago as it lands in the Top 5!!! Since 1990, that’s 30 years – when I came to Chicago, I taped WXRT and have compiled several cassettes to USB. Love them, always have – and always will. Along with KFOG in SF, I got my crash course in “listen to new rock and not always the classic rock” hence Adult Album Alternative. First heard The Goo Goo Dolls On XRT In ‘90, Janes Addiction and Soundgarden In 1990, Temple Of the Dog In ‘91. The beginning – Life changing and that’s why today I’m a member of 88.5 FM Radio here in LA. Our lil WXRT here