Evolution 101.7, the electronica replacement for WFNX, signed off the air forever at noon, after a run of about 18 months. The frequency is now playing country music as its owners go about "building the new country revolution, one artist at a time."
Evolution folks say you can still stream them over the InterWebs and they're still on one of those HD channels that roughly 57 people can listen to. But that's basically what 'FNX said when they went off 101.7 as well; they lasted a couple of months.
H/t Tim Lawrence.
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I think a country station
By anon
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:42pm
could actually do well.
97.5 WOKQ
By anon
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 2:26pm
Is already broadcasting from Portsmouth and doing well.
This May Not Seem Related, But...
By laurence_glavin
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 4:11pm
This may not seem related, but Clear Channel has a reputation for firing employees or flipping formats at any sign of rating slippage EXCEPT FOR ITS RIGHT-WING TALK STATIONS! Yes, they moved the chess pieces in Los Angeles and San Francisco on its owned-and-operated stations, but they keep the same hosts on their stations: the Becks, Limpbaughs, Hannitys and Levins of the world. A prime example nearby is WHJJ-AM 920 in Providence. The stations rating is minuscule, and its total audience (called "the cume" for cumulative) is smaller than that seating capacity of Fenway Park. It's been this way for months but Clear Channel hasn't touched the format there.
**Clear Channel has a
By anon
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 11:00pm
**Clear Channel has a reputation for firing employees or flipping formats at any sign of rating slippage EXCEPT FOR ITS RIGHT-WING TALK STATIONS!**
Most of their talk stations are on AM....and there aren't many choices for them to "flip to".
In order for them to flip a format, there has to be an alternative with some hope for success.
When was the last success on the AM band? What would you have them change to that would have a better chance of sucess than Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Noorey?
In Boston, Thety Flipped
By laurence_glavin
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 12:52pm
In Boston, they flipped AM 1430, now WKOX-AM to Spanish-language programming. And after a disastrous fling with ultra-right-wing talk, the shifted WXKS-AM into a rebroadcaster of Bloomberg Business programming.
Boooooo!
By BostonUrbEx
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:45pm
Despite feeling rage at the loss of WFNX, Evolution was pretty much my default. If I don't like what is on, I bounce between 92.9 and 104.1. I guess I'm down to only those two, now. Sigh.
Me too
By cybah
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:57pm
I liked Evolution too. It wasn't the best dance station (too much main stream) but it was better than what we have now.
And I am reminded why I rarely listen to the radio anymore, most stations suck or you end up with heavily formatted products like KISS 108
Thank gosh for ipods and streaming services.
(Urb, check out www.di.fm .. all EDM stuff. love it. they have a free stream but I pay for it for no ads. Best 4.99/mo I spend)
di is great and has been
By gotdatwmd
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 1:53pm
di is great and has been around since the dawn of the internet it seems.
Not a fan of EDM, but I
By Dave
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 2:47pm
Not a fan of EDM, but I looked at your link out of curiosity.
The Electronic Pioneers channel is great.
yeah
By cybah
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 2:56pm
They have good stuff. Lots of channels to choose from, so if you don't like hard techno there's other stuff to listen to. (I play the funky house station a lot at home)
Lots of variety. When you pay for the service you also get a subscription to SKY.fm which is more top 40 and non-EDM stuff.
I like DI's "futurepop" station
By BikerGeek
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 4:06am
Bit poppy for my taste, which normally runs to things like :wumpscut: and Das Ich (see here for a sampling), but has enough thud for my liking.
http://www.di.fm/futuresynthpop/
When I need to hear someone shouting in German over distorted drumbeats, though, it's off to Pandora.
92.9 is unlistenable for
By anonermus
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 9:02pm
92.9 is unlistenable for anyone who remembers the 90s, and 104.1 is mostly dumb teen pop. If you miss WFNX, spend some time with WERS (88.9 - weekdays only, the weekend programming is awful), WMBR (88.1), WZBC (90.3). And if you have the TuneIn app, you can hear some great alt-leaning local programming from Radio BDC and WEMFradio.com
Noooooo! Boston actually had
By DTP
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:56pm
Noooooo! Boston actually had a unique station for once!
I know tons of people who listened to Evolution.
Oh goddamit!
By Bon
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:57pm
Oh goddamit!
SomaFM.com!
By Brian Riccio
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 1:30pm
Why bother with commercial radio anymore?
Wee doggies, Sgt Johnny !
By kvn
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 1:35pm
Wee doggies, Sgt Johnny !
Dang!
By Gary C
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 1:37pm
I left the clock radio on my desk at work on 101.7 after WFNX went off the air and found that I quite liked Evolution. I especially loved the virtual lack of commercials.
Evolution was basically Kiss108 without rap music and that was a good thing.
RIP to "All Things Dance".
Seriously?
By MatthewC
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 1:46pm
People still listen to the radio? That's adorable.
If ignorance is bliss you must be ecstatic
By Jeff F
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 5:50pm
More than 90% of Americans regularly listen to terrestrial radio, and that number has been stable for over a decade. When you add in satellite and streamed radio, the number gets up around ~99%.
Radio is far and away the most widely used communications medium - not just in this country, but the world.
I don't believe that for a
By DTP
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 6:24pm
I don't believe that for a second, considering that from my experience very few people listen to terrestrial radio outside of their cars. I know I certainly don't, especially given that apart from Evolution there are no good radio stations in Massachusetts. And there are only 797 cars in the US per 1000 people, implying that more than 10% of Americans don't own cars. No one carries radios around with them anymore.
As for radio being the most widely used communications medium, I'm gonna have to argue that's the internet.
Your personal experience ≠ objective truth
By Jeff F
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 6:49pm
Here's some actual data to back up my statements.
And yes, the internet is used by many people, but that number has not yet approached the number who listen to radio or watch TV regularly. Eg, North America has the largest percentage of internet users (~78%...only 2/3rds are everyday users) - but worldwide the number of people with 'net access is still only about 1 in 3. Whereas the regular radio audience worldwide is well over 95%.
Just fyi, most of the world - even most of the people in this country - do not live the same life you do. But surely you must have realized that, if you stopped to consider how very very narrow your viewpoint was when claiming that there was a single decent radio station in the whole of MA <eye roll>.
I think you are conflating my
By DTP
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 6:58pm
I think you are conflating my opinion with a claim of fact.
As such I'm not even going to bother addressing your points, since you are clearly just trying to be argumentative.
You said you didn't believe his claim
By Waquiot
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 10:58pm
And he showed where the claim came from.
It's okay to eat crow. I do it all the time around here. Just admit you were wrong and move along, rather than doubling down like you did.
Oh I admit I may be wrong
By DTP
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 12:35am
Oh I admit I may be wrong statistically. Kudos to him for providing a source to back himself up! That's not what I meant at all. I just think he took my initial comment far more seriously than I meant it, and that his reply was a bit more insulting than it needed to be.
Now I get it
By Waquiot
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 9:17am
Hyperbole meets statistics.
My bad. As one who engages in wiseassery all the time here, you'd think I'd know better.
"Some"
By MatthewC
Sun, 06/15/2014 - 3:16pm
Hey, even I listen to "some" radio. And it usually last for about 10 seconds before I switch to a medium where I get to choose what I listen to.
**I don't believe that for a
By anon
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 9:24pm
**I don't believe that for a second, considering that from my experience very few people listen to terrestrial radio outside of their cars.**
Showing your provincialism....reminds me of a quote attributed to the New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael almost 40 years ago, and has been discussed in right-wing circles ever since. It went something like this: “I can’t believe Nixon won. I don’t know anyone who voted for him.”
Source?
By MatthewC
Sun, 06/15/2014 - 3:14pm
You're throwing a lot of concrete numbers around, so I expect a source to give it even the most remote credibility.
Also, I will ignore your little insult. It's obvious that you need to do that to feel special.
Just a word of caution ..
By jdrinboston
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 2:15pm
Just a word of caution ...this may very well be a "stunt" and not a permanent format.
Seems odd that they would go with a country format in a market that already has a country station owned by a company with a fairly decent track record in the market. (WKLB - Greater Media)
We may have a wheel of formats here until the real one launches, similar to what happened when WTKK changed formats a while back.
EDM to Twang
By fanonscudder
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 3:29pm
Aw, I liked it too & at least thought it was relatively related to the old WFNX new wave legacy, but to switch to twang? Really? Is the (Greater)Boston demographic really moving in that direction?
world class city
By broader than br...
Fri, 06/13/2014 - 4:08pm
Well it was good while it lasted (especially after 9pm)... Too bad country replaced it. Well here's to hoping the new station fails.
Sucked during the day
By Markk02474
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 2:24am
Heavy rotation during the day of bad commercial, hard, "progressive" was horrific and why not enough people listened. Ibiza (etc.) sets at night, house, tribal, and garage and their EDM evolutions I greatly enjoyed when I stumbled upon them in the car. Too bad these weren't on during the heaviest listening times when they could have sold commercials. They must have gotten paid to play the crap on during the day by the labels.
Loyalty slapped
By Toots75
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 12:24pm
I agree, the night sets were the best. Would listen for hours driving. Featured DJ's from around the world brought Boston into the modern age, but alas we've retreated. I really couldn't believe it when I would turn it on at night and it was still on the air, so now I can be amazed that we need (3) country stations in this city? I think not. Too bad Evolution couldn't have grabbed 103.3 or 104.1 or 107.9 - they are all generic and play the same stuff. Meanwhile stations want your loyalty, but give you no respect by simply dropping off the air with no explanation.
Remember the days of WLYN 102
By ed
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 12:45pm
Remember the days of WLYN 102 the Y , had to put just a small amount of tin foil on the tip of the antenna of your boombox so you can hear your favorite punk/new wave tunes.Dead Kennedys, SSdecontrol, The Jam, The Clash, GBH, The Pretenders, Sex Pistols, Radio station has become a corporate entity now, Johnny Lydon is very disgusted by the changes at wfnx..lol
101.7 off air
By D
Sat, 06/14/2014 - 12:02pm
Worst thing that you could have done. You finally had great music and replaced it with throw up!! Stupid just what Boston needs more garbage!
Complete bullshit in my
By Luke
Mon, 06/16/2014 - 9:29pm
Complete bullshit in my opinion. This was the only radio station that played the music I liked and now it's taken over by another country station. What is that like 5-7 stations of country and 0 electro house
too bad
By dBoy
Fri, 06/20/2014 - 9:58pm
Evolution made me want to listen to radio again ... now we're stuff with all that crap again. Boo ... well, gonna go back to streaming.
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