First Listen: The Triple-A Battle for Seattle

When Hubbard’s KPNW Seattle flipped from Country KNUC to Triple-A on Feb. 14 at 9 a.m., crosstown non-comm KEXP’s morning host John Richards was playing “a set within a set within a theme.” That set was mostly late-’80s Alternative love (or breakup) songs. Those were followed by a set from the Pixies featuring “five love songs from five albums.” There were also dozens of listener dedications and comments, many from out-of-town listeners everywhere from Missoula, Mont., to Washington, D.C., to several in the U.K.

Later that day, p.m. driver Kevin Cole ended one set of “songs I love, artists I love, and love songs” that featured Television, Patti Smith Group, and the Replacements, and started one that began with Rihanna’s “We Found Love” — after praising her Super Bowl appearance – and Change’s “The Glow of Love.” In between, there was a live set at noon from the Charlatans.

I first wrote about KEXP two years ago when it went 4.3 – 4.9 – 5.3 6-plus, unheard of ratings for a station so eclectic — except that KUTX Austin, Texas was winning, too. A year earlier, KEXP would have been the kind of station that a mainstream commercial broadcaster was spoiling to compete against. But being commercial-free was suddenly an advantage. Also, in the first year of COVID, a number of unlikely outlets flourished, and not all sustained. But in the just released holiday PPMs, often bad news for anybody not playing Christmas music, KEXP went 4.7 – 5.3 – 5.2. In 25-54, the station had a 7.5 share.

Seattle had a 45-year history as a robust country market. When Audacy flipped heritage KMPS, KNUC made sure its sister KKWF (the Wolf) wasn’t alone for long. At the end, the Wolf had a 3.1, while KNUC had a 2.4. There are stations in Seattle that could go Country, but whether that battle would be anything other than a war of attrition is an issue. It might seem very Seattle that Triple-A felt like a larger opportunity, even flanked by a non-comm and Audacy’s longtime Alternative KNDD (The End). But other former Country stronghold markets are struggling as well. And all three stations are distinct musically.

The new KPNW is consulted by Paragon Media Strategies, which, over the last 15 years, has done a lot to bring Alternative and Triple-A closer. KPNW has a ’90s Alternative component and some of the currents shared between the two formats, but perhaps because of KNDD and KEXP in that space, it also has a heavier-than-most Classic Rock component as well, including some titles that you wouldn’t hear on a mainstream Classic Rocker. (On Tuesday, both KPNW and KEXP played “Avalon” by Roxy Music at various times.) The first day mix I heard was reminiscent of WXRT Chicago.

Also, because KPNW’s OM is imaging guru Scott Mahalick, I made as many notes about the imaging on the station’s first day as its music. There is a lot of straightforward imaging on “Seattle’s home for music lovers.” There is also a liner promising “real kraken in our station fish tank.” The imaging going into commercials asks listeners to “support local independent radio: stick around through the ad break,” but the sweep-starter declares that “we limit the commercials so you can hear more music.” (The two breaks I heard were each four minutes.)

KPNW had contesting right away: a “show us your PNW” contest (on social media) to win a flyaway to Death Cab for Cutie in Los Angeles. It also had drops and promos the first day with people talking about life in Seattle (one declares “I like how crappy the weather is”), ending with “I am PNW.” Listener drops on Day 1 are controversial, but these work better if you accept that listeners are swearing their allegiance to the region and not the station.

KPNW is the first commercial Triple-A in the market since KMTT (The Mountain)’s change in 2012, although it’s not Hubbard’s first attempt to replace KMTT on that frequency. I loved the old KLCK (Click 98.9) and its Alternative/Modern AC hybrid. I also enjoyed seeing KNDD flourish during that time as a “true.alt” success story that set the tone for the format in those years. 

KNDD was working very hard on Tuesday when I took a “Fresh Listen” to it as well. There were ticket giveaways for both Paramore and a package of four shows — Vance Joy, Muse, the Interrupters, and the Wonder Years (in case live Charlatans at KEXP wasn’t enough early ’90s for you). It was, interestingly, the station talking most about “music discovery,” a phrase I didn’t encounter on either of the other stations on Tuesday.

At a time when jock content often sounds slapped together, Regional Brand Manager Christy Taylor sounded very present during the hour — talking about how proud Seattle/Tacoma was of Brandi Carlile, bragging about being first to play an LCD Soundsystem song that is mostly a hit on The End (and sister KNRK Portland) with the help of listener feedback after it was “Song of the Week.”

Here’s The End just before 2 p.m., February 14:

• Oasis, “Wonderwall”
• Foo Fighters, “Best of You”
• Maneskin, “Beggin’”
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Snow (Hey Oh)”
• Brandi Carlile, “Broken Horses”
• Radiohead, “Creep”
• LCD Soundsystem, “New Body Rhumba”
• Modest Mouse, “Float On”
• Weezer, “Undone-The Sweater Song”
• Fun. f/Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
• Cannons, “Fire for You”
• Audioslave, “Like a Stone”
• Billie Eilish, “Bad Guy”
• Eve 6, “Inside Out”
• Lovelytheband, “Sail Away”
• Panic! At the Disco, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”

Here’s KPNW just before 2 p.m., February 14:

• Sam Fender, “Spit of You”
• Garbage, “Only Happy When It Rains”
• White Reaper, “Pages”
• Supertramp, “Breakfast in America”
• Phoenix, “Lizstomania”
• Edwyn Collins, “A Girl Like You”
• Jimi Hendrix, “Angel”
• Beach Weather, “Sex, Drugs, Etc.”
• Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”
• Maneskin, “Supermodel”
• Alabama Shakes, “Hang Loose”
• Pretenders, “Boots of Chinese Plastic”
• Steely Dan, “Do It Again”
• Coldplay, “A Sky Full of Stars”
• The Arcs, “Eyez”
• U2, “I Will Follow”
• Cafuné, “Tek It”
• Roxy Music, “Avalon” 

And here’s how KEXP sounded as KPNW launched:

• Haircut One Hundred, “Love Plus One”
• Psychedelic Furs, “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)”
• New Order, “Bizarre Love Triangle”
• Erasure, “Love to Hate You”
• Depeche Mode, “Master and Servant” — “for our BDSM community … I hope you can celebrate today,” Richards said.
• Pixies, “The Holiday Song”
• Pixies, “Gigantic”
• Pixies, “La La Love You” — set up with a kid stager (“here’s my Uncle John’s favorite band)
• Pixies, “Velouria”
• Pixies, “Letter to Memphis”
• Looper, “Impossible Things 2”
• Noah and the Whale, “5 Years Time”
• Eagle Seagull, “I’m Sorry but I’m Beginning to Hate Your Face”
• Airborne Toxic Event, “Sometime Around Midnight”
• Dogs, “End of an Era”
• House of Love, “I Don’t Know Why I Love You”
• Hoodoo Gurus, “I Want You Back”
• Blues Brothers, “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”
• Stephen Stills, “Love the One You’re With”