The Nashville station the Phoenix (not sure of the call letters off hand) ran into a problem conveying Americana to a local audience sick to death of commercial music. But at the same time, four-track demos still managed to slip into the mix, alienating hordes of listeners. Just because Nashville was tired of cookie-cutter music didn't mean it's standards for sonic quality had declined.

The solution? Well, unfortunately there was no solution. The Americana format was, at least on some level, doomed to fail. The clich�s held true and everyone could not be represented by one format. And in the end even Gavin, the first and last vestige of legitimacy for the America format, gave up the ghost�or chart.

Now the Phoenix has reverted to a AAA (Adult Album Alternative) format. Rather than representing the best of populism through music they have reverted to representing the taste of middle class, college educated, aging Gen-Xers.

What is "Alternative" music anyway? The real question is somewhat philosophical at best. Anything different is either simply original or in direct social conflict with the mainstream. I contend that with the death of heavy metal and the birth of "Mainstream Alternative Music," an obvious oxymoron, the question has been rendered somewhat irrelevant.

Any station that makes an effort to provide some musical variation to listeners has my respect. In a marketplace dominated by middle age suits sporting pony tails and 20-year-old wives, programming stations based on demographic reports and marketing directives, anybody stepping outside the box is committing professional suicide.

That's a unique alternative.

I respect that.