# ...and you call yourselves ROCK radio stations?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 19, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619 "2009-04-19T13:58:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/1 "2009-04-19T13:58:32Z")
Listen: as incredible as it sounds, there is more than Alanis Morrissette, late Metallica (because Ride The Lightning is, like, sooo obscure OMG!), Creed, Nickelback, milder Green Day numbers, and countless 4th-rate copies of the aforementioned artists.
Yes, this rant is utterly pointless, and yes, I am a grumpy bitch.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/2 "2009-04-19T14:52:17Z")
What gets played on the radio has zero (zilch, nada, bupkus) to do with the music.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/3 "2009-04-19T16:29:41Z")
That one is always on my peeve list…
“…and now we’re gonna rock your radio here on Q-Rock radio! Up next, Coldplay with _Clocks_!”
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/4 "2009-04-19T16:40:05Z")
Because people have a much too limited definition of what constitutes “rock” these days. It’s you loss.
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### Author:  [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/5 "2009-04-19T18:46:20Z")
Seether Puddle of Mudd Seether Puddle of Mudd Seether Puddle of Mudd Seether Puddle of Mudd Fight for your Right to Party Seether Puddle of Mudd
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/6 "2009-04-19T20:50:45Z")
You must be talking about Chicago’s Finest Rock, WXRT, who considered themselves “progressive” for playing the Talking Heads. Ten years after the band broke up.
> [@](#):
>
> [paraphrased from memory] \*“We’ve got our core listeners and we’re content to grow old gracefully with them.” \ ***—WXRT’s Terri Hemmert.** [/paraphrased from memory]
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### Author:  [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/7 "2009-04-19T20:57:22Z")
“Oldies” stations are the worst. I understand that what used to be “classic rock” from the 70’s is going to migrate to the “Oldies” category, but I cannot understand why the local oldies station decided that the best version of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” to play is the one by Elton John. Really? The Beatles version isn’t good enough? I’m glad I have a CD player in my car now, and may not even realize when commercial radio dies (officially).
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### Author:  [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/8 "2009-04-20T01:37:20Z")
Y’know what this sounds like?
Pretty much every post I ever made about Guitar Hero.
There is so, _so_ much more to rock music than hideous costumes, garish face paint, amps cranked up to eleven, and belting about drugs and cars and fast living and loose girls and jukeboxes. What about alternative (the rock that defined a whole generation, i.e. MINE)? Rock ‘n roll, an absolute necessity for any guitar or drum music game of any kind ever at all? Punk and all its variants? Classic? Pop? Light? Ethnic? Experimental? For that matter, where the hell ar the other guitar-heavy genres…trance, mainstream pop, disco, eurobeat, etc.? Where the heck is Huey Lewis and the News? Tom Petty? The Vapors? Dire Straits? Steppenwolf? Dear gods, you don’t even have Bruce freakin’ Springsteen??
Anyway, as far as radio goes, you shouldn’t be too surprised. It’s all about playing the one or two songs from each artist that are hot at the moment, finding fresh material every, oh, few months or so. Back in the 80’s, when rock ruled the scene (fueled in part by the huge disco backlash), this wasn’t too hard. Now it’s pretty much just one genre of many, and finding long-term success is difficult.
Otherwise, what RealityChuck said.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/9 "2009-04-20T05:27:10Z")
Radio is to Music what AIDS is to casual sex.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/10 "2009-04-20T15:59:06Z")
I have news on the hopeful for radio front: There is a new station in NY City, WXRP 101.9 and so far (about a few months) - it is excellent. No, seriously! Matt Pinfield, the bald MTV VJ who looks like a white Charles Barkley is their morning guy; Matt has some reasonable rock cred.
But who cares about that? What I dig is the music -
- They have Local Licks, where they play local bands. I just heard this track by a band called The Virgins whom I have not heard of that was totally great - I gotta chase it down - ah, it was called [One Week of Danger](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y9LLr4Bbvc&feature=related)(YouTube link). They play a lot of The Hold Steady and other Brooklyn bands, too…
- They played **[TVC15 by David Bowie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTjsOzeIpc0)**- a huge favorite power-poppy single of his, I am pretty sure off of one of his Berlin trio from the late 70’s…
- Gosh, who else? There have been a few “deep tracks” type of songs off CD’s that were, surprisingly, well, deep tracks - great songs that don’t get much airplay…
So far, this station has been a very pleasant surprise…
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### Author:  [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/11 "2009-04-20T17:38:42Z")
We have a pretty decent classic rock station around here, except they have a little blurb they play after commericals that says “And now…WE ROCK!” Which they then follow with something like Van Morrison or Steely Dan. FAIL!
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### Author:  [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/12 "2009-04-20T20:02:46Z")
**control-z** , a local station around here does that, but their blurb says, “We’re not afraid to play this!” They occasionally play some music that rocks, in the mildest sense of the word, but after that blurb, you can always guarantee the most lame-o pap they have to offer.
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### Author:  [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/13 "2009-04-20T20:59:26Z")
> [@WordMan](#):
>
> I have news on the hopeful for radio front: There is a new station in NY City, WXRP 101.9 and so far (about a few months) - it is excellent. No, seriously! Matt Pinfield, the bald MTV VJ who looks like a white Charles Barkley is their morning guy; Matt has some reasonable rock cred.
Matt Pinfield is incredibly knowlegable. I never understood how he got on MTV actually giving a shit.
Out here, we have Live 105, whose playlist looks roughly like this:
- Offspring
- Foo Fighters
- Offspring
- That Cyprus Hill Song “You Wanna Be a Rock Superstar?”
- Offspring
- Some metal band I can’t place
- Offspring
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/14 "2009-04-20T21:06:10Z")
This has been going on for at least 6 years. They’re playing the exact same bands they were playing 6 years ago, and even then the bands were 2 years out of style (and I don’t care about style except that Rage Rock/pseudo nu metal sucked.) Apparently they haven’t even moved into the 2000’s yet.
I haven’t listened to commercial rock radio for around 5 years, except when others have it on around me. I get all my new bands from going to concerts, Pandora, college radio, and sometimes online recommendations.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/15 "2009-04-20T21:17:08Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#):
>
> Matt Pinfield is incredibly knowlegable. I never understood how he got on MTV actually giving a shit.
>
> Out here, we have Live 105, whose playlist looks roughly like this:
>
> - Offspring
> - Foo Fighters
> - Offspring
> - That Cyprus Hill Song “You Wanna Be a Rock Superstar?”
> - Offspring
> - Some metal band I can’t place
> - Offspring
Man, back in the day Live 105 was decent (back when Alex Bennet was the morning dj in the 80’s)…
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### Author:  [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/16 "2009-04-20T21:19:38Z")
I think they fired Alex Bennet for not playing enough Offspring.
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### Author:  [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/17 "2009-04-20T21:23:48Z")
TVC 15 is from Station to Station, WordMan. Great number, great album. The album before Heroes. I think.
Heroes, Low and Lodger are the Berlin albums, no?
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-you-call-yourselves-rock-radio-stations/493619/18 "2009-04-20T21:37:30Z")
I don’t usually listen to commercial radio in the car, but I was this weekend for some reason. Oh yeah, it was because it wasn’t my car, I was driving my step-daughter’s car while she was borrowing mine. Anyhoo, they had some sort of promo on the “classic rock” station that went something like “Songs you had completely forgotten about” and then they launched into some Billy Squier song, and I yelled “There’s a REASON I’d forgotten about it! It sucks!”