On Radio: Stations break out the summer mood music
By BILL VIRGIN
SEATTLE P-I REPORTER
July 17

On KMTT-FM/103.7, Duffy's beat-driven, hook-laden "Mercy" bursts from the speaker, leading a host to wonder aloud: "Is that the song of the summer?"

Over at KPLZ-FM/101.5, program director and radio consultant Kent Phillips doesn't think so; the song has been around for a while and may have already peaked. But there are plenty of other songs that, in his view, fit the bill: Kid Rock's "All Summer Long," Coldplay's "Livin' La Vida" or "Summertime" from New Kids on the Block.

Just as the coats and sweaters of the winter wardrobe are replaced by shorts and T-shirts in summer, so too is there a seasonal shift in the music. That happens almost regardless of musical genre. A few weeks ago in this space Bryan Lowe at KING-FM/98.1 noted that even in classical music there are pieces that fit the summer mood better.

"We always have a few upbeat fun summer songs that increase in rotation for the summer months," says Becky Brenner, who programs country station KMPS-FM/94.1. "It just makes sense to match the mood of the audience."

The station's Ryan "Big Daddy" Michaels nominates "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," "When the Sun Goes Down" and "Summertime" by Kenny Chesney, "Summer's Comin' " by Clint Black, "Chattahoochee" and "Summertime Blues" by Alan Jackson, "Redneck Yacht Club" by Craig Morgan and "Sunshine And Summertime" by Faith Hill as prime examples of the summer song for country. This year's crop of summer-fun songs includes Jackson's "Good Times" and Brooks & Dunn's "Put a Girl In It."

Phillips says summer songs are characterized by "happy lyrics, talking about fun, they've got a beat to it." The use of some reference to the season or summer is also a clear indicator of the intentions ("Pocket Full of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield).

Those elements, and the timing of songs containing them, are not accidents, Phillips adds. Most pop artists "are smart enough to release summer songs."

In other radio notes:

*KPTK-AM/1090 is bringing nationally syndicated talk hosts Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, Randi Rhodes, Sam Seder and Mike Malloy to a town hall forum, moderated by Ron Reagan Jr., at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall at 6 p.m. Aug. 16. Tickets are available through brownpapertickets.com. At present the station does not plan to air the forum.

*Salem Communications has swapped call letters on two stations, one of them in Seattle. KDOW-AM/1680, which carries brokered-time Spanish-language programming, is now KNTS-AM, with the former call letters going to a station in California.

*KEXP-FM/90.3 this week launches a 10-part documentary, "Death, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll," airing at 3 p.m. Thursdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays.

*Lee Callahan interviews Kimberly Dozier, CBS News correspondent and author of "Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report and Survive the War In Iraq," on "Community Matters" at 7 a.m. Sunday on KJQ-FM/96.5 and 9 a.m. on KPTK-AM.

*Aimee Mann performs in the "Mountain Music Lounge" at 3:15 p.m. Thursday on KMTT-FM.

*Jim Wilke's Jazz Northwest at 1 p.m. Sunday on KPLU-FM/88.5 features a recent performance by the Hadley Caliman Quintet featuring Thomas Marriott.

*Los Lonely Boys performs in the "Mountain Music Lounge" at 3:15 p.m. Monday on KMTT-FM.

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or billvirgin@seattlepi.com.