How HERC redefined Classic Rock

For millions of music fans of HERC's generation - Generation X, the one that followed our parents' generation, the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) - Classic Rock is musical comfort food, readily available on the radio dial in just about every corner of this great nation. All of those familiar songs and artists from the albums we grew up listening to on vinyl, while memorizing the liner notes. Or the 8-track tapes we shoved into the players of our muscle cars and cranked up the volume. To paraphrase Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, we got older, but the music stayed the same age.

Fred Jacobs is credited with creating the standard Classic Rock radio format in 1985 and launching it on WMMQ, where it is still going strong today. Flash forward thirty years, and Classic Rock is omnipresent in popular culture. The songs are used in commercials, video games, TV shows, and movies. The acts are still touring and recording. And, amazingly, an entire new generation of fans, Generation Y, featuring those who were born beginning in the early 1980s through the early 2000s. But the format hasn't remained stagnant; as the years pass, the threshold for what constitutes Classic Rock music has changed, and it is not uncommon to hear songs from the mid 1960s up through the early 2000s on Classic Rock stations these days. But how are songs admitted into the Classic Rock pantheon?

Through the years, radio stations have relied on listener feedback to fine-tune their programming. Success was measured in Arbitron ratings, which in turn allowed the more popular stations to charge more for advertising, the lifeblood of any commercial, terrestrial radio station.

By pure chance, HERC answered his landline about six weeks ago without first checking the caller ID. The lady on the phone explained that she was conducting a music survey and asked him if he was interested in participating. HERC answered affirmatively, and she continued the questioning: 

her:  "Are you between the ages of 35-50?" 

HERC:  "Yes"

her:  "Do you listen to either station A or station B?"

HERC:  "Yes"

her:  "Which one?"

HERC:  "Both"

her: "Would you be interested in listening to music for two hours and taking home $70 for your time?"

HERC:  "YES!"

She then gave HERC the details, took some personal information (Taurus, walks on the beach at sunset, and brown eyes), and said a mailing would arrive about a week before the actual session, confirming the details. The company actually called again to confirm the mailing had arrived and asked if HERC had any questions. The date of the session rolled around, and HERC drove to the nearby hotel where it was being held. As he pulled in and parked, he noticed a large group of men smoking out in front of the building. As he got out and approached, he could see that each and every one of them had an envelope similar to the one he had - they were all there for the survey as well. HERC spoke to a couple of them and found out one of them was a veteran of the survey sessions and was a little bummed that they were only getting $70 this time because just last year he took home $120 for one two-hour session. The guy then explained to HERC what was going to go down once they got inside:

"They're gonna play short snippets of songs, all less than 10 seconds long but easily recognizable, and we punch in one of six preferences from 'hate it' to 'love it'.  There's one break about an hour in but it's only 5 minutes so take care of business now."

HERC followed the herd of similar-looking graying or balding men into the conference room, signed in, and took a seat at a table near the front of the room, on the aisle. There were three columns of tables, each six deep, with four chairs at each table. A projector and screen were set up at the front of the room, with the projector connected to a laptop. A small mixing board, which had a red iPod Nano jacked into it, sat atop an amp that was connected to two speakers mounted on 4' stands on either side of the screen. Against one wall were coffee and hot tea, and all the trimmings, while water pitchers and glasses adorned each table. Most of the smoking men were grabbing coffee, too. HERC poured himself a glass of water, and within five minutes, the session had begun.

A gentleman with a slight German accent introduced himself and explained what was going to happen - it was just like the guy outside had told HERC. There were four handheld computers, each about the size of a brick, on every table. He explained how to use them and guided everyone through the initial five or six questions, which were multiple choice: this age group or that age group, station A or station B, or both, etc. Then the man with the accent, which was now starting to sound French to HERC, guided everyone through the first three songs, pausing the Nano after each one and making sure everyone successfully input their preference of the song - several men were having a hard time grasping the simple task of pressing a numerical button and then pressing ENTER and one defective unit was swapped out. There were indeed six possible responses for each song, which were displayed on the screen throughout the session for reference:

• U - unfamiliar, never heard it before, whether you liked it or not
• 1 - used to like it, before it was played to death
• 2 - don't like it
• 3 - it's okay
• 4 - like it
• 5 - a personal favorite

Then he let the iPod play, shouting out the number of each song so the group could match the number on the handheld computer screen. Each song snippet was between 5-8 seconds according to HERC's precision counting skills, and each one was made for maximum identification using the song's hook, usually the part of the chorus that contained the song's title, the song's signature guitar riff, or the instantly identified drum break from Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight". One or two guys even sang along to every song - even the instrumentals. None of the songs were unfamiliar to HERC, and he doesn't believe in "played to death", so he entered no Us or 1s. Or 2s. Most of his entries were 4s, and the 3s probably had a slight advantage in total numbers over the 5s he entered. After the first 320 songs, the break was called. Everyone left the room except HERC, who refilled his water glass and cracked his back. Counting people as they filtered back in, he came up with 66, including himself. Someone asked how many more songs there were, and Mr. Accent said they were a little over halfway through the playlist.

Most of the songs and artists played were undeniably Classic Rock: Zeppelin, Floyd, Aerosmith, Ozzy, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Kiss, Van Halen, Scorpions, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, Eagles, Beatles, The Who, AC/DC (probably had most songs played with nine), Tom Petty, Stones, Kinks, Heart, Kansas, Frampton, ELO, ELP, Yes, Seger, Rush, Foreigner, James Gang, Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, The Band, Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Genesis, Nugent, Springsteen, The Doors, Steve Miller, The Guess Who, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Bad Company, Steppenwolf, Clapton, Neil Young, Queen, Boston, CCR, BTO, Cheap Trick, Bowie, Doobies, Wings, ZZ Top, Triumph, Thin Lizzy, etc.  

Occasionally, a (hair) metal band from the mid-80s snuck in: Twisted Sister, Autograph, Skid Row, Great White, Poison, Queensryche, Whitesnake, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Dio, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Guns N Roses, and Def Leppard (HERC counted six Lep songs).

A few new wave-ish acts were played: The Fixx, The Knack, Tommy Tutone, The Romantics, INXS, Billy Idol, Talking Heads, The Police, The Cars, Loverboy, The Clash, and Blondie.

Some of the grunge bands from the Nineties appeared - HERC counted four Nirvana songs and two each from Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.  

Also heard were Metallica, Pearl Jam, Collective Soul, R.E.M., U2, Kenny Loggins, Jackson Browne, Pat Benatar, Golden Earring, Phil Collins, Night Ranger, Foghat, Head East, Black Crowes, Georgia Satellites, Rod Stewart, Billy Squier, Don Henley, April Wine, Red Rider, Joe Walsh, Red Hot Chili Peppers, T. Rex, Asia, Supertramp, Bryan Adams, John Mellencamp and Santana.

And then there were these odd songs: "Sunglasses At Night" - Cory Hart (which a couple of guys actually booed) and "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot (which HERC loves but felt it was out of place in Classic Rock format). Two other surprise favorites for HERC were Aldo Nova's "Fantasy" and Billy Thorpe's "Children Of The Sun". No Dylan, Creed, or Nickelback were played.

The next session lasted 315 songs and finished with 10 questions about listening habits and preferences:

• Do you prefer harder/faster songs or softer/slower songs?
• What is your ideal mix of hard/soft songs?
• Do you listen to morning shows?
• Late-night shows?
• Weekend shows?
• etc.

And then he said thank you and pick up your money outside the door where you checked in, and there was a stampede - once again, HERC stayed in his chair, sipped his water, and listened to the rest of the men complain about work, women, and their lives. With three men left in line after about 10 minutes, HERC stood up and joined them. HERC signed next to his printed name a second time and was handed a small white envelope. He hopes there is $70 bucks in it - he didn't open it. 

As he walked out through the hotel lobby, there were small groups of men opening their envelopes - several even headed into the bar. He made it to his car and drove straight home. MRS. HERC greeted him and yoinked the still unopened envelope before going back to bed. HERC stood in front of the keyboard and typed this up before calling it a night. Two hours, $70? He'd do it again. And again.

And that's how HERC redefined Classic Rock. By listening to 635 songs in just under 2 hours. You're Welcome.