Radio Sucks

The BBQ Pit
1

I find it increasingly difficult to listen to the radio.

Pop/ Top 40 music generally sucks. How much teenybopper pop can a person stand before he goes insane? And when our local Top 40 station isn’t playing bubblegum pop, they’re playing bland “rock” like Drops of Jupiter or psuedo-grungy stuff like Creed and the like. Used to be that Top 40 stations sometimes snuck in a few techno/dance numbers throughout the day just to shake things up, but not any more.

Modern Country music generally sucks. Faith Hill, Shania Twain and the like are all just slightly countrified pop musicians. Most of the rest of it is horrifyingly bland and non-threatening. Give me Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline any day!

Christian radio generally sucks. The music sounds almost exactly like Top 40 pop. And when our local Christian station isn’t playing Top 40 Pop With Different Lyrics, they’re giving a half-hour talk show to just about every self-appointed Christian “leader” with an axe to grind.

Classic Rock radio generally sucks. There are about 300 songs that every Classic Rock radio station in America has in ultra-heavy rotation, and that’s it.

Oldies Radio generally sucks. There are about 300 songs that every oldies station in American has in ultra-heavy rotation, and that’s it.

NPR sucks. Classical music is great and all, but combine it with DJ’s who sound like they’re providing color commentary for a golf game and it’s Snooze Central.

Gone are the days of DJ’s who weren’t afraid to play innovative, off-the-wall, groundbreaking, imported, or otherwise exciting stuff. Nowadays it’s all the same bland, non-threatening crap no matter where you are on the dial.

I imagine that a lot of this has to do with the fact that many (most?) radio stations are owned by huge conglomerates that want everything to be as bland as possible in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator and not shake things up anymore. Even in larger cities, things have gotten pretty sorry. St. Louis used to have an “Imagination Station” that played everything from Yanni to Broadway soundtrakcs to weird stuff you’ve never heard of; it also used to have an “all 80’s all the time” station that is now just another “lite rock” station.

[sub]I can’t think of a good conclusion for this rant, so I’ll just abruptly stop right here.[/sub]

2

I’m with you. Some day I will be able to afford XM Radio and enjoy the alternative offerings there. They have a station that plays Wilco, Billy Joe Shaver, Lyle Lovett, the Vice Roys and Steve Earle.

Also, check out the live broadcast from KHYI out of Plano

3

You’re right. Radio sucks. I came to the same conclusion a few years ago.

I couldn’t tell if it was just me. If I was just tired of music in general, or what. But, I popped in Garbage’s Version 2.0 CD the other day, and it was good. Popped in Old Medicine Hat by Cracker. It was good. Played some funky 70’s disco hits, and they’re fun. It was like a respite from the crappy radio. (I really need a CD player in my car.)

Personally, I’m not slamming today’s artists. I like some music out there today. Macy Gray’s different. My wife has her newest CD. I like it well enough. (Don’t listen to country, but I do like old classic country more and more, to the point where I think I’m going to buy some of those old compilation CDs.)

But, yeah, on the radio, it’s all the same crap. I think you’re right that radio station owners just want to play it safe. They’re trying to turn a buck, so that’s their right.

I’d just like too see somebody take a chance and play music you don’t hear enough. Rasta, you mentioned the 80’s station in St. Louis. That’s still here, and they’ve expanded to include the early '90s, but amazingly, they stick in a rut of seemingly just a few dozen songs in their rotation.

Imagine. You have more than a decade of songs to choose from, and you listen to the same ones over and over and over and over …

4

Yup… count me in there as generally dissapointed with radio nowadays. I mostly just listen to Mp3s anymore.

Though there is one really good station out there that I know about. WRFL - Radio Free Lexington runs out of the University of Kentucky. Most of the DJs are communication majors trying to get extra credit and they play and do some totally wild stuff. Plus, they allow anyone with the money to buy a block of airtime. There’s a rabid baptist preacher who comes on and bible bashes every Tuesday. The best part is, he lets people call in, and then proceeds to tell them how wrong they are on air. Then they argue with him… get frustrated… and hang up. It’s one of the more entertaining things I’ve ever listened to. They have countless other shows and whatnot too. Man… I miss that station.

See if your local college or university has a station… they generally tend to be pretty good and play a lot of local and obscure music.

If you’re into that kinda thing.

5

Slightly off-topic rant: You’d think that a major metropolitan area like DC would have a good college radio station. Hell, you’d think they’d have a college radio station, period.

Even if it was UDC I’d still be happy.

6

Here in Sweden it is even worse!! For the most part Swedes seem to all be true believers in the “hits of the 70’s” and “disco fever”, etc…but the radio situation is even worse!
It is a loop of usually the same 10 songs over and over which (if I might add) includes Tom Jones and his sex bomb offering…we listen to the radio at work all nite and I feel I am going insane sometimes…kylie, cher, roxette (who are swedish), did I mention tom jones? Oh God, now I am repeating myself.
sigh

back to your regular broadcasting…

7

I see radio as a portrait of the death-spiral of today’s music business model. It’s a synopsis of the effect that a monopolistic hold on art always has; a gradual homogenization that eventually saps the creative spirit out of what’s generally available, until the quality material that’s lurking underground has a chance to be distributed through new outlets.

This is one of the most exciting times, musically, that the U.S. has ever seen. Sure, there’s no overriding trend in popular music, and there are no huge, unassailable superstars, but only the record companies see that as being unfortunate. Instead, there are myriad small artists making excellent music, and receiving some recognition for it.

Small venues are opening up, where these small bands can be heard. Small record labels are thriving. Small record stores are doing well selling what you can’t get at Best Buy. Bands are selling merchandise off their own web sites at an increasingly fast rate. It is, in short, getting easier to make a living as a musician. It may be tougher to make billions off it, but that only matters to a few would-be behemoths.

If you still listen to radio as if it’s somehow relevant, you owe it to yourself to go and find out what’s going on. Check some databases out there for your favorite bands, and find some other band you’ve never heard of that’s like them. Find out what your favorite band’s favorite band is. Check out some Internet radio stations, and make notes on who you like. Find their websites, buy their stuff. Repeat as necessary.

Radio is dead. Long live music.

8

No offense intended toward our Swedish brethren, Donnat, but it is all too easy for Public Radio to become Radio Free Sweden by restricting the local programming to hits of the 18th Century brought to you by some pimple faced undergraduate from Suburban Chicago who is trying to cultivate an unclassified Central European accent. Certainly in Springfield, Rastahomie, you can pick up some of the Chicago NPR stations even if you can’t get Wisconsin, Minnesota or Iowa Public Radio. All three systems have some really good and progressive stuff. Even the station at Carbondale tries to push the news and classics envelope. If you access is to Public Radio that won’t spend the money to do anything but play records they got for nothing and minimal National stuff you could be getting pretty weak tea.

I have to agree that local commercial radio is pretty awful and is good only for local sports, obituaries and local news read from the early addition of the local paper. However, there is no place to go if you want call-in recipes or you want to know who wants to get rid of a kitten to a good home or the up to the minute school closings.

9

My local radio station plays folk,jazz,blues rock and worldbeat. Was floored by a tune from Ismael Lo today sung with Marianne Faithfull. My personal CD collection is miniscule but I listen to great tunes everyday.

I love em and support em WYCE

10

Not really. Our local NPR affiliate (WUIS, UIS being the University of Illinois at Springfield) plays classical, classical, and more classical until about 6:00 PM, when they kick in the syndicated NPR shows such as All Things Considered, Piano Jazz, etc. This lasts until 9:00 PM when it’s back to classical again.

On the weekends we get a lot of Minnesota and Wisconsin syndicate programs such as Prairie Home Companion, What Do You Know?, and Delicious Dish (;)). However, none of these are what one could call “pushing the envelope.”

11

You’re right…radio sucks.

But not for me anymore. Last Friday I took the day off to go to a winery way the hell out in Mt Airy, MD.

On the way back, on impulse, I stopped into Best Buy to ask some questions about XMRadio. They couldn’t help me. I left in a huff (a favorite mode of transport).

Driving down Market Street in Frederick I spotted this small auto body and detailing shop and they had an XM banner up.

I walked in and told the kid at the counter that I was just passing through town and I would buy the top-of-the-line XMRadio set up if they could install it by 5PM. And I told the guy installing it that there was a $20 in it for him if it was early.

Lemme tell you, that gets you some attention.

And I love my new radio. Just the reggae version of ‘My Generation’ I heard yesterday was worth it all.

12

I’ve heard that radio stations would rather not play a song that might be a little off-the-wall because you can’t prove they didn’t play it (unless you listen all the time which is impossible). - They play it safe.

Also does xm radio work in tunnels, near skyscrapers?

13

Yep. Only place I have any trouble is around the mountains near Chattanooga, cause there are no repeaters down there. So I long signal for about a minute. Basically, they have ground based repeaters set up for times when you can’t get to the satellite. The XM antenna has two wire leading out of it, one for satellite, one for repeaters. No user intervention needed. AND IT’S WONDERFUL!!! Four hour trip back to Nashville from Atlanta today, just constant music and talk all the way back. Except for that one spot.

14

Sweden: Gave the world ABBA and still haven’t recovered.
But with porn alone they got entertainment covered.
Too bad they can’t play smut instead of that shit.
But then people would be crashing from driving while beating it. Killed from porn? That’s just natural selection.
Next time use a hooker instead of a hand for seduction.

-Derleth, listening to the Bloodhound Gang CD ‘Hooray for Boobies!’

:smiley:

15

Sweden: Gave the world ABBA and still haven’t recovered.
But with porn alone they got entertainment covered.
Too bad they can’t play smut instead of that shit.
But then people would be crashing from driving while beating it.
Killed from porn? That’s just natural selection.
Next time use a hooker instead of a hand for seduction.

16

Radio does suck. Our local indie rock station, CD101, has been sneaking in Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit into their rotations. I wrote them an email begging them not to become one of the faceless crappy stations we are innundated with. Bah.

17

Not sure what you mean by that.

I’ve said this before, but I’ll just say it again. LA radio needs to be reminded that there is such a thing as rock-and-roll, not to be confused with rock. There was music before the Beatles. NO, I’m not putting down the Beatles. I am merely saying that I’d like to hear “Sixty-Minute Man” or “Rip it Up” or “You Talk Too Much” or “Your Feets Too Big” or “Stagger Lee”…You get the idea. Or do you? Am I the only person still interested in that genre?

18

The world is collapsing around our ears

It’s that same sing song on the radio
It makes me sad

–R.E.M., “Radio Song”

I bet there’s lots of space in today’s radio stations. They only need maybe a dozen CDs to fill out their playlists.

19

And the recording industry wonders why I download MP3s… it’s the only way for me to find the good music that’s out there, since every radio station I’ve heard just plays the same old shit, over and over.

20

All the corporate radio in Atlanta sucks for the most part, and when I do hear a song I like withing the next two weeks I’ll usually hear that song so many times that I start to hate it, but there is one radio program on corporate radio called The Dunhams at 11:00PM on Sunday night (when it’s least likely people will be listening) that has all sorts of great jam bands on it including the Grateful Dead hour. And Album 88 the college radio station is fairly good except I can never remember the names of the songs.