Oldies Format

[rogerkirk]

"Stephanie Weil" queried: 

>What are "unsafe oldies"?

It's a catch-all term to describe songs that for many reasons
don't test well.  The presumption is that playing that song is
"unsafe" and listeners will tune out in droves.  

Contrast with "safe" oldies e.g. "Young Girl" (or any song, for 
that matter) by Gary Puckett or "Brandy" by the Looking Glass -
songs that have stood the test of time, are played to death and
yet, somehow never seem to burn out.  Personally, I detest Gary 
Puckett's music - I find it sexist, patronizing, chauvanistic and
quite frankly, representative of an embarassing attitude in the 
60's culture.  On the other hand, based on demos and requests, it 
would appear that women just can't get enough of the Union Gap's 
handsome lead singer.  Perhaps a crush on him years ago?

As the number of "unsafe oldies" grows year after year, the core
playlist for Oldies Stations becomes smaller and smaller. The 
word "Oldies" itself is now considered unsafe and most stations 
have dropped the word from their on-air promos and jingles.