RUMOR MILL
“We loved Broken Bells from first listen, put it in before Xmas and now it's our #1 record. Edward Sharpe has come all the way thru for us. Mumford & Sons is a hit for us in every measurable way.”
Thursday, July 1, 2010
POST-TOASTED: IVANA & MIKE POGO DOWN MEMORY LANE
A Pair of PoMo Veterans Balance ’90s Nostalgia and 2010 Realities in Their IM Dialogue
This week’s column features music industry legend and current WFNX VP of Programming Mike Tierney.
IVANA: hey mike, i know your nuts (sic), so thanks for filling in for lenny this week. how's life in Lynn?
MIKE: better than yesterday when a crazy dude was watching me do selector from the train platform across the street from the WFNX offices
IVANA: i told you, i hired that guy to make sure you played more spoon!
MIKE: i thought it was dennis blair, checking up on his florence & the machine spins
IVANA: isn't his boss joel klaiman still sitting in the lobby of wfnx, waiting to meet with max tolkoff?
MIKE: trying to get his spins up on fuel’s “hemorrhage”
IVANA: hope that works out for him. so you've had one of the most storied music business careers of our generation. what have you done wrong that you never got the big payout for sucking at your job? was it, perhaps, that you are too good at what you do? have you not learned from your peers to strive for mediocrity?
MIKE: some might say i've made a career out of doing half that. i do sort of keep my publicist busy updating my imdb page. i really feel lucky tho. happy to be here. at my age and in this biz, happy to be anywhere
IVANA: so here you are in beautiful lynn, at one of the longest-running independently owned stations. what was your mission statement to the staff when you got there, and did keith arbitrarily disagree with you about it?
MIKE: I've said that i have a crazy fixation with dysfunctional brands, and wfnx had me at hello.
IVANA: i miss the bill glasser "radio anarchy" days. that worked out well.
MIKE: bringing anarchy to wfnx would be a bit like bringing sand to the beach
IVANA: but seriously, tell me about the challenges inherent in programming a station with a limited reach, and the changes you've implemented
MIKE: We're trying to focus on our assets, rather than the challenges. There will be plenty of time for that later. We're like Nate Robinson of the Celtics. He's always gonna be 5'8". Nothing he can do about it. And he's never gonna be anybody's power forward. But he's strong and fast. And from Seattle. He does the most he can with what he's got.
IVANA: i'm sorry, was that a sports reference? can you put it in a context i can understand, like Real Housewives of New Jersey?
MIKE: i dunno. is there a housewife who's small, but strong and fast?
IVANA: have you changed how new music is presented on the air? is it still an important part of the mix?
MIKE: i think new music is more important than ever for wfnx. our audience expects it and has a real appetite for it. we're gonna let them have it. we're not too worried about negative side effects just yet.
IVANA: is that more difficult in the world of ppm, where familiarity is key? how do you "brand" the new songs you play?
MIKE: there's more great new music than over out there. we're trying to be receptive to things that are happening in the marketplace...selling, downloading, moving tickets. we prefer pouring gasoline on small fires to rubbing sticks together. nothing against friction.
IVANA: you take chances on music based on personal taste, like the XX. most stations don't trust their own guts. can you give me other examples of music you and your staff has championed that have been hits for wfnx?
MIKE: familiarity is definitely important in ppm. and i'd argue that wfnx is more familiar than it has ever been. we think we have to balance at wfnx, between the familiar and the fresh. and i mean “fresh” in the dated Eighties hip-hop sense.
IVANA: of course. so other examples of songs you're championing?
MIKE: i think we played the xx because it was outselling breaking benjamin in boston. and because "crystalized" felt like a classic hit song to us. Sure, we all loved it, but we love a lot of things. that song made a stronger empirical case for us playing it than 99% of the so-called safe records out there. playing the hits in your market, especially when they're being exposed in other media… what strategy is safer than that? no disrespect to breaking benjamin.
IVANA: none taken.
MIKE: we loved broken bells from first listen, put it in before xmas and now it's our #1 record. edward sharpe has come all the way thru for us. mumford & sons is a hit for us in every measurable way. i think "little lion man" can be a hit for every station in the format. it has a weird thing where it's almost like an active rock record.
IVANA: in what way?
MIKE: i dunno,. in the cryin' like a bitch kind of way. it's got a big memorable chorus and a lot of attitude.
IVANA: it's the nate robinson of songs?
MIKE: it's a smart record, but it's not just for music snobs. it's an everybody record. it's reacting with the people who like coldplay and the dropkick murphys fans equally. it is quintessestially a wfnx record. it will never play power forward in the nba.
IVANA: lenny calls me the charles barkley of hits
MIKE: you think "power forward" is a verb? in hoops it's a noun
IVANA: i am aware of that. it is a position, similar to PD or President of my Desk
MIKE: kevin garnett IS a power forward. ivana DOES power forward, as opposed to DOES power forwards, which is something else entirely
IVANA: unless said power forwards were also in unrecouped bands in the ‘80s, it's not really my target demo. on that note, any other "pearls" of wisdom?
MIKE: as long as you mean dwayne "the pearl" washington of the syracuse orange ... who in his day was also considered the wfnx of point guards ...
IVANA: i meant earl the pearl, of course
MIKE: that man could rock a chapeau
IVANA: thanks for being in HITS this week; another career-defining moment in your life
MIKE: my publicist is updating my imdb as i type
IVANA: hey mike, i know your nuts (sic), so thanks for filling in for lenny this week. how's life in Lynn?
MIKE: better than yesterday when a crazy dude was watching me do selector from the train platform across the street from the WFNX offices
IVANA: i told you, i hired that guy to make sure you played more spoon!
MIKE: i thought it was dennis blair, checking up on his florence & the machine spins
IVANA: isn't his boss joel klaiman still sitting in the lobby of wfnx, waiting to meet with max tolkoff?
MIKE: trying to get his spins up on fuel’s “hemorrhage”
IVANA: hope that works out for him. so you've had one of the most storied music business careers of our generation. what have you done wrong that you never got the big payout for sucking at your job? was it, perhaps, that you are too good at what you do? have you not learned from your peers to strive for mediocrity?
MIKE: some might say i've made a career out of doing half that. i do sort of keep my publicist busy updating my imdb page. i really feel lucky tho. happy to be here. at my age and in this biz, happy to be anywhere
IVANA: so here you are in beautiful lynn, at one of the longest-running independently owned stations. what was your mission statement to the staff when you got there, and did keith arbitrarily disagree with you about it?
MIKE: I've said that i have a crazy fixation with dysfunctional brands, and wfnx had me at hello.
IVANA: i miss the bill glasser "radio anarchy" days. that worked out well.
MIKE: bringing anarchy to wfnx would be a bit like bringing sand to the beach
IVANA: but seriously, tell me about the challenges inherent in programming a station with a limited reach, and the changes you've implemented
MIKE: We're trying to focus on our assets, rather than the challenges. There will be plenty of time for that later. We're like Nate Robinson of the Celtics. He's always gonna be 5'8". Nothing he can do about it. And he's never gonna be anybody's power forward. But he's strong and fast. And from Seattle. He does the most he can with what he's got.
IVANA: i'm sorry, was that a sports reference? can you put it in a context i can understand, like Real Housewives of New Jersey?
MIKE: i dunno. is there a housewife who's small, but strong and fast?
IVANA: have you changed how new music is presented on the air? is it still an important part of the mix?
MIKE: i think new music is more important than ever for wfnx. our audience expects it and has a real appetite for it. we're gonna let them have it. we're not too worried about negative side effects just yet.
IVANA: is that more difficult in the world of ppm, where familiarity is key? how do you "brand" the new songs you play?
MIKE: there's more great new music than over out there. we're trying to be receptive to things that are happening in the marketplace...selling, downloading, moving tickets. we prefer pouring gasoline on small fires to rubbing sticks together. nothing against friction.
IVANA: you take chances on music based on personal taste, like the XX. most stations don't trust their own guts. can you give me other examples of music you and your staff has championed that have been hits for wfnx?
MIKE: familiarity is definitely important in ppm. and i'd argue that wfnx is more familiar than it has ever been. we think we have to balance at wfnx, between the familiar and the fresh. and i mean “fresh” in the dated Eighties hip-hop sense.
IVANA: of course. so other examples of songs you're championing?
MIKE: i think we played the xx because it was outselling breaking benjamin in boston. and because "crystalized" felt like a classic hit song to us. Sure, we all loved it, but we love a lot of things. that song made a stronger empirical case for us playing it than 99% of the so-called safe records out there. playing the hits in your market, especially when they're being exposed in other media… what strategy is safer than that? no disrespect to breaking benjamin.
IVANA: none taken.
MIKE: we loved broken bells from first listen, put it in before xmas and now it's our #1 record. edward sharpe has come all the way thru for us. mumford & sons is a hit for us in every measurable way. i think "little lion man" can be a hit for every station in the format. it has a weird thing where it's almost like an active rock record.
IVANA: in what way?
MIKE: i dunno,. in the cryin' like a bitch kind of way. it's got a big memorable chorus and a lot of attitude.
IVANA: it's the nate robinson of songs?
MIKE: it's a smart record, but it's not just for music snobs. it's an everybody record. it's reacting with the people who like coldplay and the dropkick murphys fans equally. it is quintessestially a wfnx record. it will never play power forward in the nba.
IVANA: lenny calls me the charles barkley of hits
MIKE: you think "power forward" is a verb? in hoops it's a noun
IVANA: i am aware of that. it is a position, similar to PD or President of my Desk
MIKE: kevin garnett IS a power forward. ivana DOES power forward, as opposed to DOES power forwards, which is something else entirely
IVANA: unless said power forwards were also in unrecouped bands in the ‘80s, it's not really my target demo. on that note, any other "pearls" of wisdom?
MIKE: as long as you mean dwayne "the pearl" washington of the syracuse orange ... who in his day was also considered the wfnx of point guards ...
IVANA: i meant earl the pearl, of course
MIKE: that man could rock a chapeau
IVANA: thanks for being in HITS this week; another career-defining moment in your life
MIKE: my publicist is updating my imdb as i type
