Well, Slap Me Silly And Call Me A Lamestain: Gen X Radio Debuts

noah | September 4, 2009 11:00 am

Clear Channel has flipped one of its Louisville stations to a format called “Louie,” which the bigwigs are actually saying is the first firmament in what will be come to known as “Gen X radio.” Yes, the generation that inspired so much Boomer disdain is finally getting a format to call all its own, although the music associated with it may not be what you necessarily think of when you think of slackers and Singles. Quoth CC market president Bill Gentry: “It’s focused on a musical experience… [that] crosses cultures from grunge, hip-hop, hair bands, boy bands and more.” And another CC higher-up has this to say: “[Louie will] capture how 30-somethings listen to music, and it ignores genres and categories.” Sounds sorta Jack-y to me, but then again, perhaps that ill-conceived marketing will inspire further nostalgia for those 30somethings who remember all too well being ineptly pandered to back in the day. The playlist of Louie’s inaugural hour after the jump.

2 Unlimited, “Get Ready For This” Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Montell Jordan, “This is How We Do it” No Doubt, “Just A Girl” Coolio, “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” EMF, “Unbelievable” OMC, “How Bizarre” blink-182, “All The Small Things” D-Mob, “C’mon and Get My Love” Sublime, “Santeria” Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch, “Good Vibrations” Dave Matthews Band, “Ants Marching” Culturebeat, “Mr. Vain” Spin Doctors, “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” Jennifer Lopez, ”If You Had My Love”

So… the dance songs are actually kind of awesome (“Mr. Vain”!!) but that first hour seems to be made for highlighting just how dreary the “alternative” “revolution” was in retrospect. (Sublime and the Spin Doctors? Oh God.) That said, the EMF/OMC back-to-back is a nice touch. Do you think they’ll eventually throw an All Acronym Weekend, just for kicks?

Louisville’s classic hits “Louie 100.5” goes “Gen X” [Radio-Info] [Image via DrankTank]