----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Cagle" >> Its awful. Its like listening to some other guys iPod on shuffle. > > We've got "Charlie" here in Portland - it unexpectedly replaced our > local oldies station a few weeks ago. You've described it perfectly > with your ipod comment, except that I'm not sure if I like the guy > who owns the ipod 8^). The two stations in Boston that have switched to similar formats (one calls their format "Whatever," the other one "Mike") both explicitly made the iPod connection when they did so. In theory, I like the concept behind this format, because it's what I've been saying for years: get rid of the genre and time-period restrictions and play what you like. That's the theory, though. The reality is that both of these stations now play each other's old playlists as well as their own, and their old playlists were dead boring. Now they're just boring and slightly random. There's so much other good radio in Boston, however (WMBR is the ne plus ultra of the college station, and WERS isn't far behind, and WBUR is the best NPR station in the country and WGBH plays jazz all night, and WEEI has the Sox games and WFNX is as good or better than the much more hyped Indie 103.3 in L.A.) that I can't imagine why I would ever listen to either of these stations. Speaking of Boston, fans of the best lil pop band in Jamaica Plain, the Mittens -- which I think includes me and Anna Borg and maybe Jason Damas -- will be pleased to know that they won Best New Local Band in the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll. Everyone else: http://www.mittensmusic.cjb.net/ S