Hey Guys,
To 'twcclassics' Steve Hurst was a great guy, I was so sorry to see him leave because he truly was the one that set the tone for the inclusion of 'indie' music in the line-up and to 'bolt96' well it's obvious where your true sentiments lie and that's ok. The thing is, if you read their language carefully, you'll note the phrase 'identity' - this says to me they may be moving towards very specific themes for each segment - to make them identifiable as opposed to the pastiche that they currently have. So you may be hearing not a specific genre of music, i.e. 'rock' or 'smooth jazz' but, instead very regimented 'weather channel' themes.
Either that or they'll employ a company that already has the licenses and pre-formatted music - like a satellite radio channel - in which case you may indeed get your beloved 'rock' as just a part of the 'new' style that they choose. And I'd have to agree with 'localonthe8s' that it's difficult to see 'classic rock' as being particularly appealing to 'youth' - I mean, huh?!