Highlights from the author’s week of (always decidedly random) listening and the week’s radio headlines, ending February 15, 2012. Stations I’ve worked with recently in my Edison Research (or any other) capacity are asterisked.*

Most Timely

KHYL (V101.1) Sacramento, Calif. – Nielsen BDSRadio says that the R&B Oldies outlet was the first to play a Whitney Houston song, “You Give Good Love,” after the AP’s first official news broke at 7:57 p.m. A number of other stations had played Houston, perhaps coincidentally, in the previous 45 minutes or so as online rumors began circulating, including KYOT (Eva 95.5) Phoenix, KSBL Santa Barbara, Calif., WFLM West Palm Beach, Fla., WPZE Atlanta, WFEZ (Easy 93.1) Miami, WDMK Detroit, WLYF (Lite 101.5) Miami, and WTVR Richmond, Va.

Web Content

“How Did You Find Out That Whitney Houston Died?” – AC WFPG-FM (Lite Rock 96.9) Atlantic City isn’t afraid to ask that question online, or report the results, even though the answer is 61% social media and only 11% “mainstream media” (defined as “TV, radio, newspaper”). Station Website polls are entertainment, not research, of course, and the person likely to be participating is probably want to default to the “social media” answer, anyway. But the results further contribute to the discussion about how plugged in radio was on Saturday night.

Jock Lines

“I have seen more people at the Apollo Theater get booed trying that song right there than any other song I’ve ever heard.” – Syndicated morning host (and former “Showtime At The Apollo” emcee) Steve Harvey, commenting on the vocal feat of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” on the Monday morning after Houston’s death.

“I really related to her most when she was with us… when mainstream media began to tear her down, we stood with her.” – Judge Greg Mathis on Harvey’s show, discussing Houston’s support in the African-American community, and Houston projects like “Waiting To Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife” that were a bigger event for Urban radio than elsewhere.

“We left here on Friday thinking we were going to be talking about the Grammys this morning.” – R&B Oldies KISQ (Kiss 98.1) San Francisco morning host Renel, also on Monday morning.

"My wife was screaming all through the Grammys… I couldn’t even focus because she was so mad." Top 40 WWWQ (Q100) Atlanta morning man Bert, discussing the reaction, at home, and in the media, to Chris Brown’s high-profile presence on the show, as if nothing unusual had happened on Grammy Weekend 2009.

“Man I miss these guys.” Who was Country KSSN Little Rock, Ark., middayer Big Mike Kaufman talking about? Lonestar, over the intro to “Amazed.”

Oh Wow Oldie

Whitney Houston, “The Star Spangled Banner” – Because it was on Country WKSJ Mobile, Ala., which used it to kick off the Noon Request Hour as part of a Houston tribute on Monday. In fact, BDS shows about 80 spins on Houston’s rendition of the National Anthem, which, even with no more than 3-4 spins at any station, would put it on the Country chart at about No. 60. WKSJ followed “The Star Spangled Banner” with Garth Brooks’ “The Dance.”

Song You Wish Was Better

Whitney Houston, “A Song For You” – The Leon Russell composition was never a hit single, but it’s become a standard nevertheless over the years because of “American Idol,” numerous covers, and its association with both Karen Carpenter and Donny Hathaway, whose versions took on even greater heft posthumously. Houston was certainly qualified to sing this by the time of her last studio album, 2009’s “I Look To You.” But the song is marred by a jarring uptempo shift midway through and also by vocals that make you wish she had recorded this a decade earlier. That didn’t stop WVEE (V103) Atlanta and a handful of other stations from spinning it a few times, according to BDS.

Online Station

Slacker Radio’s Whitney Houston Tribute Station – Because of the DCMA rules governing Web radio, it’s not all-Whitney but also “artists who have been influenced by Whitney and those that inspired her.” TuneIn.com shows at least two other all-Whitney stations, including French AC Cherie FM’s all-Whitney channel.

Best Consumer Press

Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher does his own First Listen to CBS Radio’s new All-News WNEW Washington, D.C., with a detailed analysis of spot loads, story count, and story length that I wish I’d written myself.

Oh Wow Segue

Abba, “Money, Money, Money” to Roxette, “Spending My Time” – For all the Swedish ESL-bubblegum DNA that Abba and Roxette share, I don’t think I’ve ever heard them next to each other on the radio before. For one thing, Abba wasn’t back on the radio in the U.S., even with “Dancing Queen,” in any meaningful way until after Roxette’s American hit streak ran its course in the late ’80s/early ’90s. That’s why this had to happen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, on FM1 Gold, the Oldies side channel of Hot AC FM1. And while both songs are relative obscurities in the U.S., it’s worth noting that the next song on FM1 Gold was “Summer Of ’69,” so this wasn’t necessarily a product of a deep list.

Out Of Office Message

"Unfortunately, they are closing our building today due to a water main break. All Christal Radio Los Angeles AEs will be working from Blackberry/cell/home today." – Sara Tovar, sending a message that you expect to get from somebody during the winter, but maybe not in Los Angeles.