102.7 The PEAK

Good radio station. Music is great — but very repetitive. Their DJ game has definitely improved, though!

I’m pretty bitter still about the loss of Shore 104.3 but The Peak has gained a place in my heart due to all of the amazing new musical acts that they play. Plus, who else are you going to listen to when all of the other stations start playing non-​stop Christmas music in late November/​December (LOOKING AT YOU QMFM)

The only «new rock/​alternative» station in Vancouver. It’s very repetitive. Tune in for an hour then tune out or you will hear the same songs over and over. They played the «Get Lucky «song way too often for me.

CBC preset 1, The Peak preset 2. This station has a good mix of music from Nirvana to Beck to The Smiths. Brings me back to my semi-​youth. It’s not all oldies, not all new stuff and what they play I don’t remember getting played back in the day. I can’t say that listening in helps sooth my traffic woes but it helps.

This station picks up where Rock 101 fails me. in providing classic rock. In my 30’s classic rock is now Nirvana, Soundgarden, Beck etc. Yet these bands aren’t «classic rock» enough for the other station. I love new music, however, hearing some of the music that I grew up with is awesome. Truthfully I rarely listen to the radio at all and do more channel surfing than I do go out of my way at work or in my car to listen to music. I play my IPOD in the car and at work I listen to either alternative radio and or customized play lists. The morning show, as with all morning shows, annoy the f*ck out of me. They do play some new alternative as well.

The Peak 102.7
World Class Rock
Sunday October 7, 2012
2:15pm
Modest Mouse — Float On
Not really a current song, but a good one. I’m guessing the target market is probably people in their 30’s?
Slave to the Squarewave — Big Change
A Canadian indie band, i’ve never heard of. It’s got an 80’s feel that I kind of like.
DJ comes on to give away some cash and talk to a caller.
Advertisements (3min)
Zolas — Knot in My Heart
Another Canadian indie band. Seems like they’re going for a mainstream college radio station type feel.
Michael Kiwanuka — I’m Getting Ready
I’ve never heard this before, which I kind of like. When listening to the radio, I like hearing new and old stuff, especially new stuff I haven’t heard before.
The White Stripes — Denial Twist
I actually don’t mind the White Stripes, a lot of people I know hate them. This is not one of their big hits, but it’s not bad.
Hey Ocean! — I am a Heart
Another Canadian indie act, but these guys are a little too sweet for my tooth. Had to turn it down.
Imagine Dragons — It’s Time
A very interesting format with lots of new indie music, but this is another sub par act, that’s very plain and boring considering they are from Las Vegas.
DJ comes back to talk to callers about Thanksgiving before going to Ads.
The indie rock format is good for the radio landscape of Vancouver, especially since they seem to be branching out and playing artists that don’t get much radio play. I like the DJ’s (are they even called that anymore?) announcing the songs of the bands you’re not likely to know, I wish more radio stations did that. The methodology is right for this station, but unfortunately the music choices are still feeling pretty ordinary. Even with smaller indie bands there’s still that «radio friendly» sound. Maybe that’s just the nature of the industry now. Is the bands that are dictating the sound or the stations? Maybe a little bit of both.
⁷⁄₃₀ Unilocal 30 in 30

Dear 100.5 The Peak and CBC,
The Peak, you have overtaken my radio life.
CBC, you’re in the backseat now. I will only play you when The Peak is playing Kings of Leon, Bedouin Soundclash, Everclear, or Jack Johnson (which — I’m being 100% honest here — is way too fvcking often). Even better, when Jenna Chow is on CBC, I get transported back to the days when I used to work with Jenna behind-​the-​cash at a giant whore of a record store. And we used to do things like, oh, actually talk about music because we actually listened and gave a toss about the actual majesty behind it when it’s done well (meat-​dress accoutrements most definitely not included). OK, and also what various guitarists from the entire canon of rock-​and-​roll would be like to _​_​_​. But I digress.
I have to thank The Peak for making me feel like I can dip my toes into some good new music.
New good music is important because it keeps you moving forward. Good music is the soundtrack to whatever current story arc is weaving itself throughout the fabric of your reality-​show life (although lately, mine is written by some ghostwriter in my brain that has Larry David’s neurosis and Liz Lemon’s spectacles). And even though some old music is still good, it’s better to just revisit certain things instead of subconsciously wading in the mire of, say, teenage chaos (mine sounded like R.E.M.‘s AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE). Best not to revisit that on a regular basis.
So if it wasn’t for The Peak, I wouldn’t have discovered Tegan and Sarah and then fallen in love with their last album, which was the soundtrack to so many sunny days toodling around the seawall on my bike for hours while occasionally blurting out «on the left!» or «bike path!» to those idiot people that can’t heed the instructions of giant petrograms on the ground. (How very Vancouver of me.)
Perhaps to win my allegiance entirely they could add some edge, some DJs that were a little more zingy and less… marshmallowey?
(Backstory: I say that as someone whose spent time at a college radio station. Those people could sit. And talk. About anything. For hours. Then go our and «grab some fags and play some pool, pretend they never went to school» and come back and be on-​air talking about it intelligently for 5 minutes. You know… like thoughtful, witty, clever banter than was genuine between people that had some sh! t going on in their lives that they were willing to talk about and be open with an audience of, «fvck-​it-​no-​one-​is-​listening-​anyways.» That kind of thing.)
Oh, and way less commercials. Enough already. No wonder I listen to the CBC, goodness me! So not to have to hear such garbage radio commercials. They are embarrassingly bad. They are certain nightmarishly bad Canadian TV shows from the 60s or 70s. (Although definitely not HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN, which is seriously amazingly awesome. In fact, it would make for a great musical on Broadway. Pee-​Wee did it!.)
But definitely, much love for playing FOSTER THE PEOPLE’s single «Pumped up Kicks.» Love, love, love. Boys with guitars and good hair never gets old.
Love,
Penny Lane.

In the car and in the office or on my iPhone, the Peak it is or nothing. Great mix of new indie and stuff I never listened to from the 80s. Tune it in.

New voice in Vancouver radio.
As a musician and critic of some sort, radio stations are right up my alley. Unfortunately, neither of those things stops me from working 5, 6, or 7 days a week at my real job. And while at that job, I have to listen to the radio, as do the customers. I have experimented with different stations, but there are some obvious no gos: You do not endear yourself to customers with occasionally pretty hard rock (sorry CFOX) nor can you stay sane with talk radio all day (you can tell by your callers thats true CKNW). I have had to put up with either Rock 101 or JACK FM for a long time, but both drive me nuts, because you get the same songs. every. single. day. One day I decided to try out the Peak, seeing their ad on a bus shelter. And behold! Our customers, and my precious hearing, were saved. Mostly. The mix of songs is pretty good. I do love hearing Nirvana, especially if it isn’t one of the big hit songs on the other stations, and hearing Portishead and then Vampire Weekend brings a little tear to my eye. Oooh and a live Jolene by the White Stripes… I don’t like the Canadian songs they use on occasion to fill their CanCon requirements, I am of the opinion that as a AAA station they should be playing pretty much new Canadian artists only, to give them exposure… we can hear the Tragically Hip on ANY station, why waste time with them?
All in all though, there isn’t another station I will listen to in Vancouver consistently. Well, maybe the TEAM…

This station is fairly new. I’m not sure exactly what to call their format: but it includes better-​known indie lineups. For instance you might hear these bands: Death Cab, MGMT, Spoon, Tokyo Police Club, and Snow Patrol. But then you also get some of that adult contemporary like Coldplay.
For the most part, I like it. I don’t listen at a consistent time of the day, so I don’t have much to say about the DJs. So far they’re ok. One was talking about he he really didn’t like the song he was about to play. I found that to be a little unusual. But whatever…
100.5 check it out.