# Bands/Artists you like but have never heard on the radio **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181 "2004-10-26T02:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/1 "2004-10-26T02:58:18Z")
And by “never” I do mean **never**. Not a one hit wonder you decided you liked after hearing their song a couple of times, not something you heard on a college station no one listens to… Just people you dig but never have heard on the radio. Of course, other people may hear your artist daily, but if it’s someone they play on a station of a different format than you listen to, you can miss them. It’d be kind of interesting to know if others have heard them on the radio, actually. Whatever else you heard them on is fine - music channels, soundtracks etc- explain if you want to. I like but have never heard the following bands/artists on the radio: the Guano Apes Aimee Mann seriously. You’d think stations that play Elliot Smith would play her, but they don’t. 12 Stones Calixico Dispatch Kenna Neko Case the Kidney Thieves Beth Orton Cat Power Low And ones I’ve only heard a couple of songs from so far but are promising Moist Calla Familiar 48 Carbon Leaf McLusky (“Without MSG I’m Nothing” rocks in a bizarre, bizarre way) Pan Helcourt Closure Vixtrola Tegan and Sarah Love Spit Love Lakia Howie Day Throwing Muses (I suspect I just missed them, though. ) Charlie Mars Slobberbone Citzen Cope Far Ivy (Roswell and Kingdom Hospital 🙂 ) Rilo Kiley Most of my picks are from tv/movie soundtracks, VA cds, the cds Launch used to sell, and music other people have given me to listen to. Throwing Muses, however, is something I sought out after listening to the former lead singer’s solo stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/2 "2004-10-26T03:02:31Z")
I like Junior Brown, a country blues singer/guitarist, but I’ve never once heard him on the radio. I doubt I’ll hear the new Brian Wilson album either; all local stations have rigid formats, and an “old” artist with new material has no place to play it (Oldies stations only play the old songs, new rock stations only play stuff by new groups, etc). But he’s had his day in the sun, so I’m not too worried. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/3 "2004-10-26T03:29:20Z")
Ani DiFranco! Where is she? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/4 "2004-10-26T03:40:30Z")
I’ve heard Junior Brown and Ani DiFranco on regular rotation at one time or another (on KGSR, Austin, Tx.) I listened to a lot of punk and/or “alternative” stuff in the Eighties, most of which I have never heard on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/5 "2004-10-26T03:47:26Z")
Big amen to **Aimee Mann** - she’s so awesome, and the only song I’ve ever heard from her on the radio is “Save Me.” Round these parts in Texas I never hear no **Sloan** either. And two of my British favorites: **Embrace** and **Gene**. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/6 "2004-10-26T03:51:44Z")
Being a headbanger, it’s not so much that bands I like don’t get airplay, as my two or three favorite styles of music will _never_ see airplay. No point in making a list–it’d be damn near everything in my CD collection. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/7 "2004-10-26T03:56:55Z")
I can only think of three: Frou Frou; Zero 7; and Snakefarm. I heard the first two through a movie soundtrack and the latter from a roomate. I need to eventually get their albums. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/8 "2004-10-26T04:01:24Z")
Frank Zappa - I know that they play him on the radio somewhere, but I’ve never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/9 "2004-10-26T04:13:25Z")
Rasputina The Gathering ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/10 "2004-10-26T07:17:53Z")
In another thread yesterday I mentioned **The Steve Gibbons Band** who I saw in London in the 1970s. Although he was a legend in his home town of Birmigham he was not well known even in London. He was bottom of the bill at the Roundhouse and blew everyone else off stage including Eric Burdon (who I had gone to see). I returned to Australia with all his records on vinyl and lost them mostly to divorce. I have never heard anything of his played on radio or TV in Australia. After posting about Gibbons yesterday I found a more recent CD on the net - **The Dylan Project** and tried to obtain it. Today I went to the secondhand CD place near work and was looking through the Gs and the young guy there asked me what I was after today. I replied that this time he wouldn’t be able to help me because there were probably no other people in Australia who even knew the artist I was after. Incredibly they had a copy of the very album I had mentioned yesterday originally released in 1978 and rereleased on a different label in 2000 in CD format. I remarked in another thread a while ago about how often strange coincidences crop up with SDMB posts and this is another. I have honestly never seen a Steve Gibbons album or CD in any Australian shop ever before. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/11 "2004-10-26T07:32:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I like but have never heard the following bands/artists on the radio… …Which just goes to show you that you don’t listen to [KEXP](http://www.kexp.org) enough. I know they’ve played at least half of the artists on both your lists. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/12 "2004-10-26T08:35:58Z")
Well, I’ve always lived in places with limited radio selection, so the vast majority of my favorite bands/artists I’ve never heard on the air. A sampling: Rammstein Slayer Rage Against The Machine Freddy Fender Marilyn Manson Kraftwerk GWAR For the record, [URL=http://www.wsyc.org]WSYC[/URL, the station MsRobyn works at, plays/has played Frank Zappa. And I recall seeing a “radio edition” LP of “Hot Rats” in our vinyl collection when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/13 "2004-10-26T08:59:38Z")
[ul] [li]Steve Wynn[/li][li]John Wesley Harding[/li][li]Jon Brion (although, will they be releasing a single from the I Heart Huckabees Soundtrack?) [/li][li]Jules Shear[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![frenetic\_amnesic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@frenetic\_amnesic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frenetic_amnesic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/14 "2004-10-26T09:39:21Z")
Ok, well here’s my list. [Pimpadelic](http://www.pimpadelic.com) [CKY](http://www.cky.com) [Ima Robot](http://www.imarobot.com) ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/15 "2004-10-26T11:53:41Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > Rammstein > Rage Against The Machine > Marilyn Manson I hear these all the time here in the DC area. I’ve never heard a Motorhead song on the radio. The only Savatage song I know that has been played is Christmas Eve Sarajevo, but they called the band something else which was then changed to Trans-Siberian Orchestra so I’m not sure if that counts. There are a ton of other metal bands but what would be the fun in that? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/16 "2004-10-26T12:35:00Z")
Nearly everything I listen to … I can’t imagine turning on the radio and hearing **VNV Nation** , **The Echoing Green** , **Assemblage 23** , or **Iris**. Lack of airplay is and always has been a fact of life for me, so I usually just forget that radio exists at all. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/17 "2004-10-26T12:48:54Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I can only think of three: Frou Frou; Zero 7; and Snakefarm. I heard the first two through a movie soundtrack and the latter from a roomate. > > I need to eventually get their albums. Wow, someone else has heard of Frou Frou! Terrible name, great album (Details). **Aesiron** , you should check out Goldfrapp. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/18 "2004-10-26T12:54:37Z")
[IQ](http://www.gep.co.uk/iq) I would bet the house that no commercial NYC station has ever played them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/19 "2004-10-26T15:07:43Z")
This is too easy. There are a _ton_ of artists I like that I’ve never heard on the radio. I hardly ever listen to the radio and haven’t in many years, but if I did, I doubt if I’d ever hear most of them—which may have something to do with why I don’t listen to the radio much. This would include artists I got interested in from reading about them; artists I got interested in through their connection with others I already knew and liked; alternative Christian artists that are too Christian for mainstream radio and too quirky or scary for Christian radio (I guess; I’d rather be immersed in cold maple syrup than listen to most Christian radio); previously unfamiliar artists whose CDs I found cheap as used or cut-outs and decided to take a chance on; artists that friends/family introduced me to; artists I first heard on sampler CDs… these categories are not mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181/20 "2004-10-26T15:39:22Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > Ani DiFranco! Where is she? Streaming weekdays on WFUV-90.7FM Fordham University, Bronx NYC just about once every other day. A search of their playlist shows last 3 times played as: Oct 22, 2004 6:00AM - 10:00AM - Do Re Me Oct 21, 2004 2:00PM - 6:00PM - Not A Pretty Girl Oct 20, 2004 6:00PM - 8:00PM - Misguided Angel Artists I Like but have never heard on the Radio Herbalizer Walter Trout Cranes Can Gentle Giant Caravan Tangerine Dream Ride Nitzer Ebb Modest Mouse Artists I Like that I’ve heard one track played on obscure radio: Jason & The Scorchers Arrogant Worms Soulive Dios Mocean Worker R L Burnside [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-artists-you-like-but-have-never-heard-on-the-radio/271181.md?page=2)