Following the firing of several prominent on-air DJs, a Vancouver radio station has been playing Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” on a loop since 6:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
According to the Vancouver Sun, “Killing in the Name” has been the only song heard on KiSS Radio since Wednesday morning. At various times, DJs have paused the song to take on-air requests. When one listener asked for a different song to be played, the DJ ignored it and resumed playing “Killing in the Name.” Other listeners called up and specifically asked for the RATM song to be played; the DJ apparently responded to one caller by saying, “Stick around – I don’t know when we’ll be able to play it but we will play it.”
Representatives for KiSS Radio declined to comment on Wednesday’s on-air playlist, but the move came on the heels of the station firing its morning and afternoon drive radio hosts. As such, it would appear KiSS Radio, which traditionally plays pop and soft rock contemporary, is employing a practice called “stunting” — where a different type of music is played repeatedly ahead of a format switch. (In 2014, for example, a San Francisco Latin station played Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” for 72 hours on a loop prior to flipping to R&B.)
A spokesperson for KiSS Radio told the Vancouver Sun that “we will have more details to share with you [Thursday] morning on the plans for 104.9 FM in Vancouver.”
KiSS Radio’s mini Rage marathon comes just days before the band is finally set to kick off their long-awaited reunion tour. The “Public Service Announcement” tour launches on July 9th and East Troy, Wisconsin and runs into the middle of next year, with Vancouver getting their fill on March 11th. Tickets to the upcoming tour dates are available here.
