# Mainstream music makes the baby Jesus cry **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 28, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393 "2010-09-28T20:45:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/101 "2010-10-02T01:53:37Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’m not in the US, and there are several radio stations here in Australia (most notably Triple J) which almost exclusively play “non-mainstream” music. There’s a very… eclectic mix of music on Rage (ABC’s Music Video programming) > > Add to that the “Self-publisbable” abilities of computers and the internet, and I maintain that, if despite all of that, you’re still not getting any exposure to a wider audience, it’s because you _like_ being an obscure indie band and the obscure indie band lifestyle, or- more realistically- your band just isn’t very good. There is a dfference between getting the kind of internet exposure, (which is why these bands are able to tour) and getting the kind of wide exposure you still need corporate promotion for. A huge difference, especially monetarily. The landscape is changing (slowly), but that doesn’t mean we cant still bitch about the damage done by companys like clear channel, especially in this country. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/102 "2010-10-02T02:01:54Z")
I pretty much agree with **Martini Enfield**. It’s been awhile, but I remember back in Hawaii there was a campus radio station devoted to playing all sorts of indie bands late at night. The deejays were supposedly young hipsters who knew what was cool. I found the stuff generally to be dreck. But then I’m an old fogey and gleefully admit to my “poor” musical taste. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/103 "2010-10-02T02:13:58Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I pretty much agree with **Martini Enfield**. It’s been awhile, but I remember back in Hawaii there was a campus radio station devoted to playing all sorts of indie bands late at night. The deejays were supposedly young hipsters who knew what was cool. I found the stuff generally to be dreck. But then I’m an old fogey and gleefully admit to my “poor” musical taste. I’m an old fart too…and most campus radio indie crap does suck. But I recognize that none of the bands I listened to back in the 70’s and 80’s would never have made it on the radio if clearchannel had the strangle hold it then that it does now. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/104 "2010-10-02T04:28:28Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I was into that stuff for awhile, but it all just seems so trendy now. But if we’re talking live shows, I still kind of like Pascal’s Wager, The Burning Bush, Onan’s Sin, The Beatitudes of Pastor Jake, Original Sin, Double-Edged Sword, Ted Seth and Eddie in the Lion’s Den, Samson’s Beard, Two Loaves of Mana, Sunday Evening Reprisal, Caughtcha Sinnin’, Song of Solomon Greenberg (convert), Rebuild the Temple, Isaiah 55:12, Doubting Thomas and the Disciples, Holy Handgrenade, Jump! For Christ, Nebuchadnezzar’s Bane, Midnight in the Garden of Gethsemane, The Hem of His Robe, Altar Wine, The Carpenters, Parting the Pink Sea, Raise Your Cups for Noah, **The Righteous Brothers** , Bright Shining as the Sun, Fishers of Men, His Beard is Our Beard, Sackcloth and Ashes, and The Graven Images. I see what you did there… ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/105 "2010-10-02T07:19:12Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > There is a dfference between getting the kind of internet exposure, (which is why these bands are able to tour) and getting the kind of wide exposure you still need corporate promotion for. A huge difference, especially monetarily. The landscape is changing (slowly), but that doesn’t mean we cant still bitch about the damage done by companys like clear channel, especially in this country. Let’s be honest here: The microsecond any of the “Indie” bands people wank on about got any sort of commercial airplay or recognition, they’d be decried as sell-outs by their fans. More importantly, I truly, honestly do not believe that there are so many genuinely really very good bands languishing in obscurity due to [del]The Man keeping them down[/del] the vagaries of the commercial music industry. Sure, there are probably a couple of very good bands who do deserve wider recognition and aren’t getting it, but on the hole I stand by my beliefs that most of these bands which are allegedly deserving of wider recognition and aren’t getting it are so either by deliberate choice or simply by not being very good (or to many people’s tastes). ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/106 "2010-10-02T11:21:00Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > > [@bdgr](#): > > > > There is a dfference between getting the kind of internet exposure, (which is why these bands are able to tour) and getting the kind of wide exposure you still need corporate promotion for. A huge difference, especially monetarily. The landscape is changing (slowly), but that doesn’t mean we cant still bitch about the damage done by companys like clear channel, especially in this country. > > Let’s be honest here: The microsecond any of the “Indie” bands people wank on about got any sort of commercial airplay or recognition, they’d be decried as sell-outs by their fans. > > More importantly, I truly, honestly do not believe that there are so many genuinely really very good bands languishing in obscurity due to [del]The Man keeping them down[/del] the vagaries of the commercial music industry. Sure, there are probably a couple of very good bands who do deserve wider recognition and aren’t getting it, but on the hole I stand by my beliefs that most of these bands which are allegedly deserving of wider recognition and aren’t getting it are so either by deliberate choice or simply by not being very good (or to many people’s tastes). You are, of course, free to believe anything you like. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/107 "2010-10-03T03:38:37Z")
… man … … i only listen … … to bands … i haven’t heard …of. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393/108 "2010-10-05T14:31:15Z")
> [@pikey\_pete](#): > > oh no, I just think that 99% of the mainstream music of the last 1/2 decade is crap. I have to come out of hiding to respond to this. You’re an idiot. You haven’t listened to 99% of the so-called “mainstream” music that’s been released in the last 5 years. So you have no idea what some, perhaps most of this music sounds like. Now, perhaps you didn’t like what you did hear, but not liking it doesn’t make it crap. All it means is you don’t like it. Subjectively speaking, which is the only way anyone can when talking about music, there has been a lot of really good, some great “mainstream” music released. And just like every other era of popular music, there has been music that ranges from awesome to mediocre. If you weren’t such a close eared snob, you’d realize that there is lots of great music being made, some of it becomes hugely popular and some remains obscure diamonds. So clean your fucking ears and spend more time listening and less time being a cranky asshat about how music is classified. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mainstream-music-makes-the-baby-jesus-cry/555393.md?page=5)