There are not a lot of markets with an Easy Listening station or even an Adult Standards outlet left. Thanks to translators, Palm Springs has both on FM. Independently owned KWXY has been a favorite of aircheckers for decades, thanks to its retro presentation, and just for persevering as Easy Listening. Over the last 11 years, KWXY has been on three different FM frequencies and intermittently on AM only.
Alpha’s KDES-HD2 (107.3 Mod FM) is the current occupant of the second of those frequencies. It takes the lounge approach to adult standards that took root in the early ‘00s, led by Michael Bublé, the Rod Stewart covers albums, and the swing-dance revival. In one of the long-running disputes of the Adult Standards format, Mod FM is song-driven and plays contemporary covers of standards. KWXY’s sweepers emphasize “original songs from the artists who made them famous.”
In fact, reader Roger Schwarz, who drew my attention back to KWXY vs. Mod, was drawn to the “old time station war,” even though, he notes “Mod 107 doesn’t appear to retaliate.” Many of KWXY’s sweepers conjure ‘60s and ‘70s easy listening (“the difference is delightful,” declares one). Others are more like the famous Top 40 WIXY Cleveland sweepers of the ‘60s. “Last hour Mod 107 played 17 songs. KWXY played 20 songs.” Another calls it “the little station with a lot of swagger.”
Mod’s imaging refers to it as both the “unforgettable sound” and “unmistakable” sound of 107.3 Mod FM as well as “the new standard.” The :00 ID says it’s “from the modernism capital of the world, Palm Springs, California.”
On March 5, it was announced that KWXY had been sold. So we didn’t just take a Fresh Listen to the stations. We brought back Punch Wars — in which we try to monitor a format battle through the ears of those program directors who once scanned the dial to see whether they or their competitor were playing a better song. There hasn’t been a Punch Wars column recently in part because there haven’t been as many head-to-head station wars. The last one we wrote about was Top 40 KYLD vs. KMVQ San Francisco a decade ago. But Mod vs. KWXY certainly qualifies in its ferocity.
In Punch Wars, songs are matched as close to each other as possible for timing. If one station is in a music sweep and one is in a stopset, the punch goes to the station that’s playing music. Decisions are meant to be based on programming judgment, not favorite songs. That’s a challenge in a format that hasn’t done significant music testing for decades, but with 21 rounds of competition there were only two times that I declared a toss-up.
Here is what happens when the great radio punch war meets the Great American Songbook. Winners are italicized.
Song 1: Floyd Cramer, “San Antonio Rose” (KWXY) vs. Sergio Mendes, “The Fool on the Hill” (Mod)
Both instrumentalists are an important parts of pop history. Mendes feels like he has more currency now, both because of his ‘80s comeback and syncs over the years.
Song 2: Ace Cannon, “Tuff” (KWXY) vs. Sophie Millman, “Fever” (Mod)
The early ‘60s Cannon instrumental was the interesting choice. Millman’s cover of “Fever” was more hard-core jazz than the Peggy Lee pop hit, which would have bested all comers. I called this a toss-up.
Song 3: Lou Rawls, “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” (KWXY) vs. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” (Mod)
Enduring and relatively recent hit vs. all-time standard. I went with Rawls, but it was the toughest call of the hour.
Song 4: Les Brown, “Anything Goes” (KWXY) vs. Bobby Darin, “Mack the Knife” (Mod)
“Mack the Knife” is another signature for the format and a beats-all-comers song. “Beyond the Sea” would have been, too.
Song 5: Barbara Lewis, “Hello Stranger” (KWXY) vs. Rachel Price, “I Love You Madly” (Mod)
MOR/R&B from the ‘60s vs. a scatty, very stylized 2009 cover of a Duke Ellington song. I went with Lewis but if your tastes are more lounge or more Great American songbook, you might have chosen Price.
Song 6, Nat King Cole, “For Sentimental Reasons (I Love You)” (KWXY) vs. Tom Jones, “Thunderball” (Mod)
Also a tough call. Went with the standard, but Jones was an interesting choice.
Song 7, KWXY stopset vs. Etta James, “I’d Rather Go Blind” (Mod)
Love hearing James claim her place as one of the great voices of the format. Plus the punch always goes to the station in music.
Song 8, Jackie Gleason, “I Can’t Get Started” (KWXY) vs. Merle Haggard, “You’re Nobody ‘Till Somebody Loves You” (Mod)
An early-‘50s instrumental from Gleason’s era of instrumental stardom vs. Haggard’s cover of Dean Martin. Both interesting. I called it a toss-up.
Song 9, Dean Martin, “Sway” (KWXY) vs. Mod’s stopset
“Sway” is one of the format’s signature songs (even more so if you heard it interpolated into a British dance hit in the ‘90s).
Song 10, Peter Paul & Mary, “Blowing in the Wind” (KWXY) vs. Mod’s stopset
Mod’s stopsets, four minutes, are brief by any other standards, but gave KWXY time to get in two extra songs.
Song 11, Krista Ricci, “Walk On By” (KWXY) vs. Della Reese, “Don’t You Know” (Mod)
My generation knew Reese first as a TV star; I learned about her pop and gospel stardom retroactively. Her signature pop hit was taken from a Puccini melody, a year before Elvis Presley’s operatic change-of-pace with “It’s Now or Never.” Reese won against an instrumental cover of the Burt Bacharach song, but the Dionne Warwick hit would have beaten anything, especially now.
Song 12, Herb Alpert, “This Guy’s in Love With You” (KWXY) vs. Michael Bublé, “An Evening in Roma” (Mod)
KWXY’s “no covers” promos also take issue with Bublé, but “This Guy” would have beaten anything.
Song 13, Roger Williams, “Born Free” (KWXY) vs. Sting, “Nice Work if You Can Get It” (Mod)
Again, I went with the ‘60s hit; you might have gone with the more classic song.
Song 14, Frank Sinatra, “My Funny Valentine” (KWXY) vs. Dinah Washington, “September in the Rain” (Mod)
Song 15 Cannonball Adderley Trio, “Mercy Mercy Mercy” (KWXY) vs. Frank Sinatra, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (Mod)
Sinatra plus a classic song wins for each station in turn.
Song 16, Tony Bennett, “Stranger in Paradise” (KWXY) vs. Mod’s stopset
Song 17, Jimmy Haskell, “A Shot in the Dark” (KWXY) vs. Mod’s stopset
The latter song is another ‘60s movie theme.
Song 18, Richard Clayderman, “When a Man Loves a Woman” (KWXY) vs. Haile Loren, “Danger in Loving You” (Mod)
In this case, the punch goes to a 2015 torch song original.
Song 19, Mel Torme, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” (KWXY) vs. Jack Jones, “The Mood I’m In” (Mod)
I learned the Jones song growing up because it was a staple of ‘60s TV variety shows. This one is probably a generational/sentimental choice.
Song 20, Frank Pourcel, “Theme From ‘M*A*S*H’” (KWXY) vs. Diane Schuur, “What a Difference a Day Makes” (Mod)
Another lounge remake wins against an easy instrumental.
Song 21, Judy Collins, “Send in the Clowns” (KWXY) vs. Tony Bennett, “Old Devil Moon” (Mod)
I went with the (again, relatively) recent pop hit. Some readers would likely go with any well-known standard by Tony Bennett.
The final total was KWXY 11, Mod 8, with two toss-ups. That said, if you remove those punches won while rivals were in stopsets, it’s a dead heat (or, being Palm Springs, a dry heat) with seven songs each. Ultimately, the station you prefer may come down to the “great songs vs. hit singles” discussion. And it’s great to see that continuing in any way in 2021.