By Karen Glauber
One year ago, two nights before the Grammy Awards, Dualtone’s Lori Kampa and I were prepping for KROQ’s Grammy Museum event with The Lumineers. I was wearing a Dries Van Noten dress (my favorite designer) and the Prada shoes that I “won” from the band’s manager after betting him that “Ophelia” would reach #1 at Modern Rock. There have been two guiding principles in my life: (1) Don’t get mad, get even; and (2) The only bet worth making is the one you know you’ll win. After the KROQ set, we ran through the rain to the Convention Center for the MusiCares gala honoring Tom Petty, where The Lumineers played his song “Walls,” which the honoree told the band was one of his favorite performances of the night. This year, I hope that Arcade Fire and Chris Cornell both win the Grammy in their respective categories—I’ll be watching online in my Target loungewear, wearing a white rose to support the #timesup and #metoo movements…
It was lovely to see many of my iHeart friends at last week’s ALTer Ego show. AJR opened the evening with two songs, their soon-to-be-#1 smash “Sober Up” and “Weak.” Ted Volk and I were intent on having the band meet Nerf, since it was his support at KTCL that set the campaign in motion. Running backstage, up ramps, through crowds, up and down elevators and crashing into people in the Forum Club (sorry, Dennis Blair), I felt like I was reenacting the car chase in The French Connection, minus Gene Hackman and a Pontiac. During Spoon’s incredible set—their “Vegas 25,” as they called it, singer Britt Daniel proved for the millionth time why he’s the standard by which all other singers should be compared. Did you hear him yell “KA-REN” over and over during “Rent I Pay”? Yep, that was for me. The other highlight of the evening was seeing Lisa Worden reign supreme in her new iHeart role. She has earned her executive position and all the decision-making authority that comes with it, especially now that she’s also PD of 98.7…
Although there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, it’s no secret that Mike Kaplan will be heading to NYC in May for the PD gig at Entercom’s ALT 92.3, where he’ll be an hour train ride away from his beloved Phillies. Without question, Mike is perfectly suited for this gig… My favorite song of 2018 is Jack White’s “Connected by Love.” Brady continues to stun me with stories of programmers who are overthinking the record. “Are you fucking kidding me?” has been my hair-trigger response to nearly EVERYTHING in the past year—and is certainly an appropriate reaction to anyone who might WRONGLY think that one of the most ICONIC singers in the format isn’t worthy of airplay. BESIDES, the song is in 6/8, which means you can waltz to it. “Connected by Love” is the first radio single from Jack’s third solo album, Boarding House Reach, slated for release on 3/23 on Third Man/Columbia…
The buzz is strong on new music from James Bay, who personally greeted the radio elite on hand for a playback of his upcoming record in L.A. and NYC. Republic’s Amanda Dobbins and Drew Hauser hosted these well-attended gatherings. This is just one of many marquee releases the label will have this year, including new signing Lord Huron (swoon), Two Feet and watt, among others…
I heard that Vince Richards is replacing Jim Fox in Sacramento, overseeing KRXQ and KKDO. As Ted always says, “Once a name, always a threat.” Hopefully, Andy Hawk will still have the biggest voice in the music selection for KKDO, which has thrived since he was brought back into the programming mix…
Alice Merton’s “No Roots” is on course to becoming the highest-charting song by a woman since Bishop Briggs’ “River.” Nick Petropoulos played me the new CHVRCHES single, and I’m thrilled that it will be months, rather than years, between female-voiced Top 5 songs!...
SONG TO HEAR: Mt. Joy’s “Silver Lining.” Same pick as last time—I’m obsessed!
