Radio, Radio: Ayo Says Adios, While We Look at Just What Passes for “Quality Rock”

Two follow-ups in this particular radio round-up. First, I exchanged a few messages with Alan Ayo via Facebook, and the long and short of it is, he’s not at all upset that Clear Channel gave him his walking papers yesterday. Writes the former midday host and music director at KDGE-FM:

I’m feeling rather liberated, excited, and have so much else going on, I haven’t even had time to think about my radio past.

I really don’t feel I was ever a “radio DJ”, anyway. Just a music fan who was standing in the right place in 1987. 🙂

I know it was just yesterday, but for some reason, it already feels like it was all that was eons ago.

And while we’re on the subject of what passes for alternarock these days, a Friend of Unfair Park with a great deal of free time on his (or her?) hands has been keeping track of the “quality rock” currently being spun over on the revamped 93.3 FM. After the jump, the first 24 hours’ worth of the Cumulus station’s new (and extremely schizophrenic) playlist — you know, in case you need it for your thesis on Dallas radio. And, yes, it’s in order.

Some observations: This song has been played way too often for a barely three-day-old radio station. And nobody needs that much 10,000 Maniacs or Natalie Merchant. Not then, not now, not ever. Also: far too much Sting. And: While Elvis Costello, My Morning Jacket and the Clash are “quality rock,” Train, Finger Eleven and Live are not. Frankly, I think they took an SMU freshman’s iPod and hit “shuffle.”

“Counting Blue Cars,” Dishwalla

“Rock & Roll,” Eric Hutchinson

“Hey Jealousy,” Gin Blossoms

“Viva La Vida,” Coldplay

“Shattered (Turn The Car…) ,” O.A.R.

“6th Avenue Heartache,” The Wallflowers

“What’s The Frequency Kenneth?,” R.E.M.

“Suffragette City,” David Bowie

“Voices Carry ,”‘Til Tuesday

“Soul Meets Body,” Death Cab For Cutie

“Breaking The Girl,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Drops Of Jupiter,” Train

“Accidents Will Happen,” Elvis Costello

“Crack The Shutters,” Snow Patrol

“Jeremy,” Pearl Jam

“Wild Night,” John Mellencamp

“All Mixed Up,” 311

“Think I’m In Love,” Beck

“I Melt With You,” Modern English

“Hanginaround,” Counting Crows

“Dashboard,” Modest Mouse

“Layla (Unplugged) ,” Eric Clapton

“Airstream Driver,” Gomez

“Brass In Pocket,” The Pretenders

“Drive,” Incubus

“Leaving Las Vegas,” Sheryl Crow

“Walking On The Moon,” The Police

“Love And Memories,” O.A.R.

“The Old Apartment,” Barenaked Ladies

“Sex On Fire,” Kings Of Leon

“Steady as She Goes,” Raconteurs

“No Rain,” Blind Melon

“Domino,” Van Morrison

“All Over You,” Live

“You Are The Best Thing,” Ray Lamontagne

“1979,” Smashing Pumpkins

“You Know I’m No Good,” Amy Winehouse

“Changes,” David Bowie

“Hook,” Blues Traveler

“Yellow Ledbetter,” Pearl Jam

“Cold Shot,” Stevie Ray Vaughan

“Magnificent,” U2

“Wonderful,” Everclear

“Bittersweet Symphony,” The Verve

“In A Big Country,” Big Country

“Follow Me,” Uncle Kracker

“Fly Away,” Lenny Kravitz

“Hard Sun,” Eddie Vedder

“Nightswimming,”R.E.M.

“Because The Night,” 10,000 Maniacs

“Take Back The City,” Snow Patrol

“Games Without Frontiers,” Peter Gabriel

“Torn,” Natalie Imbruglia

“Spaceman,” The Killers

“Right Here, Right Now,” Jesus Jones

“Please Read The Letter,” Robert Plant/Alison Krauss

“You Found Me,” The Fray

“Underground,” Sneaker Pimps

“All This Time,” Sting

“Pump It Up,” Elvis Costello and the Attractions

“Tempted,” Squeeze

“Speed Of Sound,” Coldplay

“There She Goes,” The La’s

“Crazy,” Gnarls Barkley

“London Calling,” The Clash

“Use Somebody,” Kings Of Leon

“Roll To Me,” Del Amitri

“When I Come Around,” Green Day

“Dancing Days,” Led Zeppelin

“Come Around,” Counting Crows

“King Of Pain,” The Police

“The Way,” Fastball

“Soak Up The Sun,” Sheryl Crow

“Waiting For The Sun,” The Jayhawks

“This Town,” O.A.R.

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This),” Eurythmics

“All Apologies,” Nirvana

“Just Like Heaven,” The Cure

“New Shoes,” Paolo Nutini

“Baby Did A Bad Thing,” Chris Isaak

“Hope,” Jack Johnson

“Somebody Told Me,” The Killers

“Radio Free Europe,” R.E.M.

“Over My Head,” The Fray

“You Wreck Me,” Tom Petty

“Devil Inside,” INXS

“Enjoy The Silence,” Depeche Mode

“Lovers In Japan,” Coldplay

“One Week,” Barenaked Ladies

“The Logical Song,” Supertramp

“Put Your Lights On,” Santana

“Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) ,” Robert Plant/Alison Krauss

“Plush,” Stone Temple Pilots

“Girlfriend,” Matthew Sweet

“Walk On,” U2

“Shattered (Turn The Car…),” O.A.R.

“Mercy,” Duffy

“Name The,” Goo Goo Dolls

“Young Americans,” David Bowie

“Once In A Lifetime,” Talking Heads

“Missed The Boat,” Modest Mouse

“The New Pollution,” Beck

“Rehab,” Amy Winehouse

“All I Want,” Toad the Wet Sprocket

“In Your Eyes,” Peter Gabriel

“Selling The Drama,” Live

“Skateaway,” Dire Straits

“Out Of My Head,” Fastball

“Human,” The Killers

“Life In Technicolor II,” Coldplay

“Einstein On The Beach,” Counting Crows

“No Sunlight,” Death Cab For Cutie

“Take A Picture,” Filter

“Come As You Are,” Nirvana

“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding,” Elvis Costello

“Miss You,” Rolling Stones

“Home,” Marc Broussard

“What’s The Matter Here,” 10,000 Maniacs

“Interstate Love Song,” Stone Temple Pilots

“Take Me Out,” Franz Ferdinand

“I Won’t Back Down,” Tom Petty

“Crack The Shutters,” Snow Patrol

“Vertigo,” U2

“Loser,” Beck

“Driver 8,” R.E.M.

“Paralyzer,” Finger Eleven

“One Way Or Another,” Blondie

“Follow You Down,” Gin Blossoms

“Calling All Angels,” Train

“Key West Intermezzo ( I Saw You First),” John Mellencamp

“Staying With Me,” Los Lonely Boys

“The Way It Is,” Bruce Hornsby

“It’s All Been Done,” Barenaked Ladies

“Lay Down Sally,” Eric Clapton

“Thank You,” Dido

“You Oughta Know,” Alanis Morissette

“Violet Hill,” Coldplay

“Say It Ain’t So,” Weezer

“Synchronicity II,” The Police

“Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,” Green Day

“You Are The Best Thing,” Ray Lamontagne

“If It Makes You Happy,” Sheryl Crow

“Give It Away,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

“La Grange,” ZZ Top

“Need You Tonight,” INXS

“Wasting Time,” Jack Johnson

“Backwater,” Meat Puppets

“Closer To Fine,” Indigo Girls

“Magnificent,” U2

“What It’s Like,” Everlast

“Closer To Free,” Bodeans

“All My Love,” Led Zeppelin

“Under The Bridge,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Psycho Killer,” Talking Heads

“I’m Amazed,” My Morning Jacket

“Rebel Rebel,” David Bowie

“All For You,” Sister Hazel

“You’re All I Have,” Snow Patrol

“Pictures Of You,” The Cure

“Rock & Roll,” Eric Hutchinson

“Sitting, Waiting, Wishing,” Jack Johnson

“What You Need,” INXS

“We Let Her Down,” Chris Isaak

“Wonderwall,” Oasis

“Supernatural Superserious,” R.E.M.

“Fortress Around Your Heart,” Sting

“Found Out About You,” Gin Blossoms

“Belief,” John Mayer

“Candy Everybody Wants,” 10,000 Maniacs

“Float On,” Modest Mouse

“Refugee,” Tom Petty

“You Found Me,” The Fray

“Mrs. Robinson,” Lemonheads

“Solsbury Hill,” Peter Gabriel

“Everyday Is A Winding Road,” Sheryl Crow

“Train In Vain,” The Clash

“Brian Wilson,” Barenaked Ladies

“In The Colors,” Ben Harper

“Use Somebody,” Kings Of Leon

“D’yer Mak’er,” Led Zeppelin

“You Can’t Count On Me,” Counting Crows

“Big Me,” Foo Fighters

“The Pretender,” Jackson Browne

“Moondance,” Van Morrison

“Holiday,” Green Day

“Hand In My Pocket,” Alanis Morissette

“Walking In Memphis,” Marc Cohn

“Elderly Woman,” Pearl Jam

“My Lucky Day,” Bruce Springsteen

“Everyday I Write The Book,” Elvis Costello

“If I Had Eyes,” Jack Johnson

“I Can See Clearly Now,” Jimmy Cliff

“Never There,” Cake

“Suddenly I See,” K.T. Tunstall

“China Girl,” David Bowie

“Lovers In Japan,” Coldplay

“Everything You Want,” Vertical Horizon

“What’s Up,” 4 Non Blondes

“What I Am,” Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians

“You Got Lucky,” Tom Petty

“Get On Your Boots,” U2

“Crooked Teeth,” Death Cab For Cutie

“Beds Are Burning,” Midnight Oil

“Drive,” R.E.M.

“Where It’s At,” Beck

“Joey,” Concrete Blonde

“Pinch Me,” Barenaked Ladies

“Crack The Shutters,” Snow Patrol

“No Excuses,” Alice In Chains

“Sympathy for the Devil,” Rolling Stones

“Lost!,” Coldplay

“Inside Out,” Eve 6

“Kashmir,” Led Zeppelin

“Moving in Stereo,” The Cars

“She Moves In Her Own Way,” Kooks

“Possum Kingdom,” The Toadies

“What Are You Like,” Indigo Girls

“About A Girl (Unplugged),” Nirvana

“Message in a Bottle,” The Police

“Golden Years,” David Bowie

“Sex On Fire,” Kings Of Leon

“The Distance,” Cake

“I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz

“Allison Road,” Gin Blossoms

“How You Remind Me,” Nickelback

“Shine,” Collective Soul

“Times Like These,” Foo Fighters

“Buffalo Soldier,” Bob Marley and the Wailers

“Even Flow,” Pearl Jam

“No Sunlight,” Death Cab For Cutie

“Dancing Days,” Stone Temple Pilots

“Something So Strong,” Crowded House

“Don’t Do Me Like That,” Tom Petty

“3 A.M.,” Matchbox 20

“You Found Me,” The Fray

“It’s The End Of The World As We Know It,” R.E.M.

“In My Place,” Coldplay

“Undone — The Sweater Song,” Weezer

“Under the Milky Way,” The Church

“The Man Who Sold The World,” Nirvana

“Sweet and Low,” Augustana

“Running on Empty,” Jackson Browne

“Otherside,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Bigger Than My Body,” John Mayer

“Creep,” Radiohead

“Spaceman,” The Killers

“Behind Blue Eyes,” The Who

“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” The Police

“Airstream Driver,” Gomez

“Santeria,” Sublime

“Take Back the City,” Snow Patrol

“Daughter,” Pearl Jam

“It’s Been Awhile,” Staind

“Walk On The Ocean,” Toad the Wet Sprocket

“Put Your Records On,” Corinne Bailey Rae

“Roam,” The B-52’s

“Longview,” Green Day

“Magnificent,” U2

“Have A Little Faith In Me,” John Hiatt

“Should I Stay or Should I Go?,” The Clash

“Maybe I’m Amazed,” Paul Mccartney

“Runaway Train,” Soul Asylum

“How to Save a Life,” The Fray

“Use Somebody,” Kings Of Leon

“Let’s Dance,” David Bowie

“It’s Not My Time,” 3 Doors Down

“Three Marlenas,” The Wallflowers

“Veronica,” Elvis Costello

“Into The Great Wide Open,” Tom Petty

“The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” Jason Mraz

“December,” Collective Soul

“Lucky,” Jason Mraz

“Soul To Squeeze,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

“The Sky Is Crying,” Stevie Ray Vaughan

“Give Me One Reason,” Tracy Chapman

“Lovers in Japan,” Coldplay

“Are You Gonna Go My Way,” Lenny Kravitz

“Personal Jesus,” Depeche Mode

“Devil’s Haircut,” Beck

“Something Good This Way Comes,” Jakob Dylan

“You Don’t Know How It Feels,” Tom Petty

“Iris,” The Goo Goo Dolls

“Chasing Cars,” Snow Patrol

“All I Wanna Do,” Sheryl Crow

“We Let Her Down,” Chris Isaak