The radio stunt in western Canada that attracted attention across the continent this week may have sounded familiar to Twin Cities residents.
On Wednesday, Rogers Sports & Media’s CKKS-FM in the Vancouver market dropped “Kiss Radio” and began a 30-hour marathon of “Killing in the Name Of” by Rage Against the Machine.
The station went viral, with Esquire declaring that it thought the act was a protest over the firing of two “Kiss” announcers. Actually, the repeating song was a successful stunt to attract attention ahead of a format change, with a “Sonic” Alternative format debuting Thursday morning.
The same type of stunt was used in Minneapolis in February 1994. “93X” (KRXX/93.7), after being sold to KQRS owner Cap Cities/ABC, dropped its Hard Rock format and began looping “It’s The End of the World As We Know It” by R.E.M. without any other explanation.
93X went viral in the pre-social media sense, with word of mouth and media attention. Fans reportedly drove to the station on Cliff Road in Eagan because no one was answering the phone, and the station hadn’t updated its answering machine with any explanation.
Of course, I was among those jamming the phone lines, and of course, I recorded it:
Some listeners called 911 to make sure the DJ’s were OK. The station added an announcement between commercials asking listeners not to call the police.
There were no other announcements other than the legal ID and commercials.
Of course, those in the radio business and those who followed it knew what was happening. It was public knowledge that KQ was buying 93X. After a weekend of stunting, 93.7 became “The Edge” with a Modern Rock format intended to complement KQRS’ Classic Rock playlist. The format launched with a simulcast of an existing Modern Rock show that had aired on KQ:
As all of this was happening, it was also the last weekend of the Hot Adult Contemporary format on WTCX/105.1 (Lakeville), which was poised to be part of “REV 105.” Cargill Communications had been publicly planning the eclectic Alternative format for months and launched it a month after “The Edge.”
After three years and a loosening of ownership caps, Cap Cities/ABC bought the three “REV” signals and immediately switched them to Hard Rock as “X105.” But a month later, in April 1997, “X105” found itself in a battle with “Rock 100.3,” which had a bigger signal. So, in September 1997, it was the end of “The Edge” and a return of “93X.”
To this day, anytime I hear a Twin Cities station playing “It’s The End of the World As We Know It,” I have to listen all the way to the end to make sure it’s not another stunt.