The important question is: what is 10@10?
Is it 10 great songs from all recorded music of one great year? All recorded music in specific
genres? (If so, which ones?) Is it 10 great songs that some radio station, somewhere played
at least once? 10 great songs that most [genre] radio stations played? Perhaps is it just songs
that KFOG would have played, had it been that kind of station in that year? Or is it only songs
that would fit in KFOG's current musical format?
Put another way, what is the domain of 10@10?
I'd say the answer changes every time KFOG changes PDs. When Dave had complete creative control, it was indeed "10 great songs from all recorded music of one great year", or as close to that as his personal taste allowed. He would often play songs *he* remembered from growing up in Detroit and could frequently be heard to say "am I the only one who remembers that one?" -- which to most of us was exactly what we liked about Dave's sets. But to a consultant, that's anathema.
That's a fair answer. I note that AL 1.0 appeared to have near complete creative control, and
she was starting to play many of the "big name bust-out" tracks I've been talking about, as
well as others that I was surprised to hear on 10@10. And she seemed more open to playing
a wide variety of requests.
So the issue seems to be whether 10@10 should be a unique and different piece of programming,
one that might attract listeners in its own right, or if 10@10 should be just another vehicle to
express and be molded into the musical "vision" that the PD has for the station.
One of the sad results of national homogenization of the radio playlist at the hands of consultants
is that San Francisco's legacy as a leading music center gets marginalized and eliminated. I've
mentioned Hot Tuna and New Riders of the Purple Sage before as two of the more prominent
examples.
