Do you look down on music that makes it to radio?

Post by **Zaia** » 2005-06-21 07:46pm

Just wondering if we've got any anti-radio folks out there. I personally find people who say that all music on the radio sucks to be rather obnoxious, especially the ones who immediately dismiss any music you might suggest to them when they find out it was played on the radio once or twice. Because, goodness knows, if anyone knows about it, it must be crap!

So what's your take?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2005-06-21 07:49pm

Indie wankers piss me off. The fact is, Indie music is going to suck 99 percent of the time, since there is no quality control. Mainsteam radio is merely going to suck 90 percent of the time, but for that other ten percent, it ranges from decent to pretty damned good

Tinkerbell · Post by **Tinkerbell** » 2005-06-21 07:50pm

I really don't listen to the radio. Mostly because I like to pick the music I listen to. I will admit to a pang of jealousy when one of my underground bands makes mainstream, but I don't look down on it.

I really can't stand people who call every band with a record deal sellouts. Why the hell would you make a band and not want it to succeed?

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-06-21 07:52pm

Songs on the radio tend to be shit. Most of the songs on the radio are shit. Other songs, that are actually good songs turn into shit when they´re played on the radio. That´s not because of the songs but because radio stations for some reason have to play their songs ad nauseum.

At work the radio is on all day. If i hear the same song for the seventh time withing 4 hours it´s not surprising that it gets annoying.

Then there´s my boss who for some reason wants to listen to the same fucking radio station every day. Fuck her.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-06-21 07:55pm

I don't knock it, but then again I don't listen to the radio very much either. Largely due to the fact that the radio has a tendency to play whatever songs happen to be the most popular at the moment rather than anything I might actually like. Not that I'm saying there aren't popular bands out there I don't like mind you. Just that most of the ones I do like don't get played.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2005-06-21 07:55pm

I fucking hate that attitude with a passion... and I'm a music snob! It's usually held by obnoxious art history or music appreciation majors who brag about listening to post-bitches brew Miles Davis and labor under the delusion that Yoko Ono can sing. To them I say: Hey fucknuts, there is a reason why dead artists didn't widely release those rare tracks you found on 78's in the dark corner of the record store. it's because they fucking suck!

sorry Z, rant over.

Post by **Zaia** » 2005-06-21 08:02pm

salm wrote:Songs on the radio tend to be shit. Most of the songs on the radio are shit. Other songs, that are actually good songs turn into shit when they´re played on the radio. That´s not because of the songs but because radio stations for some reason have to play their songs ad nauseum.

I think I'm in the minority, but I don't believe that the number of times a song is played is indicative of that song's quality. The melody, chords, lyrics, timbre, tempo, dynamics--all that remains the same whether it's played once on the radio and thrown out for some stupid reason (I have a great story about that), or overplayed until you want to vomit.

Is it annoying when radio stations play the fuck out of song? Absolutely! But although it may temporarily be obnoxious due to the frequency with which you are forced to hear it, I don't believe that has anything to do with the fundamental quality of the song.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-06-21 08:04pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:I fucking hate that attitude with a passion... and I'm a music snob! It's usually held by obnoxious art history or music appreciation majors who brag about listening to post-bitches brew Miles Davis and labor under the delusion that Yoko Ono can sing. To them I say: Hey fucknuts, there is a reason why dead artists didn't widely release those rare tracks you found on 78's in the dark corner of the record store. it's because they fucking suck!

sorry Z, rant over.

No they don´t necessarily. Take Bob Marley songs. That guy made about 20 million songs. So some of them might suck but there are loads of good ones. The radio station play exactly five. This killed these five songs even though they´re good song. But every time i hear "I shot the Sherif" iwant to shoot the radio. They´re so fucking overplayed while other perfectly good songs rot away in the basement. It´s frustrating.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2005-06-21 08:04pm

I judge music based on whether or not I like it. If I think it's cool it's good, I don't care if they play it on the radio 50 times a day and use it to promote reality TV shows. Led Zeppelin doesn't start sucking just because every classic rock radio station plays their songs, I'll still like their music as much as I ever have.

The underground music snob crap has gotten out of hand. Ok, so you know some bands who make cool music that no one has ever heard of, and the moment they get a bit of airplay you turn around and say they suck and sold out? Gimme a break. It's as if they're pissed that other people now know about the bands, which means they're no longer in some exclusive fanclub, and now they're throwing a hissy fit about it. Honestly, grow up.

Music is meant to be shared, whether it's in some dinky club that holds 20 people or broadcast over the air to millions. I'm happy when my favourite little known artists get their 15 minutes of fame on the air.

Batman · Post by **Batman** » 2005-06-21 08:06pm

Garbage. The fact that it's popular enough to make it the the radio means it's popular, not that it's bad. I hate to tell all you Indie people but music does NOT have to be revolutionary, and rebellious, and full of meaning-all it has to do is be fun to listen to. There's nothing wrong with pop music.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2005-06-21 08:06pm

salm wrote: No they don´t necessarily. Take Bob Marley songs. That guy made about 20 million songs. So some of them might suck but there are loads of good ones. The radio station play exactly five. This killed these five songs even though they´re good song. But every time i hear "I shot the Sherif" iwant to shoot the radio. They´re so fucking overplayed while other perfectly good songs rot away in the basement. It´s frustrating.

still, it doesn't make those songs any less brilliant. Yes, we grow tired of them but they are still fantastic songs.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-06-21 08:09pm

Zaia wrote:
salm wrote:Songs on the radio tend to be shit. Most of the songs on the radio are shit. Other songs, that are actually good songs turn into shit when they´re played on the radio. That´s not because of the songs but because radio stations for some reason have to play their songs ad nauseum.
I think I'm in the minority, but I don't believe that the number of times a song is played is indicative of that song's quality. The melody, chords, lyrics, timbre, tempo, dynamics--all that remains the same whether it's played once on the radio and thrown out for some stupid reason (I have a great story about that), or overplayed until you want to vomit.

Is it annoying when radio stations play the fuck out of song? Absolutely! But although it may temporarily be obnoxious due to the frequency with which you are forced to hear it, I don't believe that has anything to do with the fundamental quality of the song.

No, not with the fundamental quality. It´s like watching a good movie or a playing a good video game. You might do it once or even six times. But after a while it just gets annoying. This is not a problem if you´re not forced to listen to the radio because there´s allways the off button. But i´m forced to listen to the radio at work and it drives me nuts.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2005-06-21 08:30pm

I let a musical piece stand or fall on its own merits. The only exception to this rule I make is when the radio spins it far too many times for my taste.

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2005-06-21 08:35pm

It was years ago that I gave up listening to the radio to find new music I'd like. Radio overwhelmingly plays songs that could be described as appealing to the most people, and I like music that's distinct and original.
I'm not anti-radio though, as some really talented musicians and bands are lucky enough to get their stuff played on the airwaves for millions to hear.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2005-06-21 08:36pm

I never listen to the radio for two reasons:
1) I don't have an aerial for my car.
2) The radio doesn't play my music anyway.

If the radio did play my music, maybe I would, but stuff would just get overplayed. I'd listen to it mainly to find out what other bands are out there, then listen to those at my own pace.

But going on the radio would not necessarily make something bad, just accessible, I guess.

Post by **Zaia** » 2005-06-21 08:49pm

Y'all need a station like WHFS. They play great shit, and I listen to them all the time (well, all the time when they're on the airwaves, that is--they're only on part-time) and am constantly introduced to new music (new to me, that is), because they play alternative-rock-metal-new wave-underground-and otherwise unclassifiable mixed-genre songs.

Basically how they work is like so: they have a huuuuuuuge bank of songs and take requests (some of which are mainstreamish and some of which are completely obscure) for some of the time, and the rest of the time the DJs play their own favourites, regardless of genre because they don't have to stick to any approved list of songs to play. It's fucking awesome. I love that station.

Batman · Post by **Batman** » 2005-06-21 08:52pm

I want SWF3 back.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-06-21 09:37pm

Do you look down on music that makes it to radio?

Yes, but only because so much of what makes it to the radio stations is simply over processed, repetitive, derivative crap. It isn't because it's on the radio that it's crap, it's that it's crap that was produced solely to put on the radio. I have little respect indeed for the nine hundred "punk/alternative" bands out there right now that all sound pretty much the same, the same goes for the "heavy metal" bands that do the same.

I generally like the bands that put some effort into their songs, to create something new and unique. Radio play doesn't really change good or bad.

Post by **Zaia** » 2005-06-21 09:47pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Do you look down on music that makes it to radio?
Yes, but only because so much of what makes it to the radio stations is simply over processed, repetitive, derivative crap. It isn't because it's on the radio that it's crap, it's that it's crap that was produced solely to put on the radio. I have little respect indeed for the nine hundred "punk/alternative" bands out there right now that all sound pretty much the same, the same goes for the "heavy metal" bands that do the same.

I generally like the bands that put some effort into their songs, to create something new and unique. Radio play doesn't really change good or bad.

Yet you like Billy Joel, don't you?

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2005-06-21 09:48pm

Zaia wrote:Y'all need a station like WHFS. They play great shit, and I listen to them all the time (well, all the time when they're on the airwaves, that is--they're only on part-time) and am constantly introduced to new music (new to me, that is), because they play alternative-rock-metal-new wave-underground-and otherwise unclassifiable mixed-genre songs.

Basically how they work is like so: they have a huuuuuuuge bank of songs and take requests (some of which are mainstreamish and some of which are completely obscure) for some of the time, and the rest of the time the DJs play their own favourites, regardless of genre because they don't have to stick to any approved list of songs to play. It's fucking awesome. I love that station.

bah! We have 2 stations like that here! WBRU (Brown University) and WRIU (University of Rhode Island). Although WBRU tends to do a lot of mainstream alt rock, they do dig deep into the library quite often.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-06-21 09:49pm

Zaia wrote:
Stormbringer wrote:
Do you look down on music that makes it to radio?
Yes, but only because so much of what makes it to the radio stations is simply over processed, repetitive, derivative crap. It isn't because it's on the radio that it's crap, it's that it's crap that was produced solely to put on the radio. I have little respect indeed for the nine hundred "punk/alternative" bands out there right now that all sound pretty much the same, the same goes for the "heavy metal" bands that do the same.

I generally like the bands that put some effort into their songs, to create something new and unique. Radio play doesn't really change good or bad.
Yet you like Billy Joel, don't you?

Yes, your point being?

Post by **Zaia** » 2005-06-21 09:53pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Zaia wrote:Yet you like Billy Joel, don't you?
Yes, your point being?

That a great many of his songs were pop songs in their day and all over the radio.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2005-06-21 09:59pm

I don't mind when a band I like makes it to the radio, but I tend to hate radio stations down here. The problem with being in Orlando is the bands that come out of here. Our locals include:

Backstreet Boys
'N-Sync
O-Town
98 Degrees
Creed (sort of...lead singer was raised in Orlando)
Matchbox 20 (the only one I like from this pack)

I strongly dislike the few Indie musicians I know personally, since they act like the pretentious "success is failure" morons who hate anyone who signs a contract as a "sellout." If not getting radio airtime and big contracts is a measure of success, I wish them the best of luck

.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2005-06-21 10:02pm

Frankly I'm usually completely unaware of music unless it is on the Radio. I don't feel like taking a chance on an album of someone that I never heard of before.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-06-21 10:05pm

Zaia wrote:
Stormbringer wrote:
Zaia wrote:Yet you like Billy Joel, don't you?
Yes, your point being?
That a great many of his songs were pop songs in their day and all over the radio.

No doubt about it. I don't have a problem with pop songs, what I have a problem is uncreative, derivative crap that makes the pop charts these days. On the contrast back then a lot of pop artists were that, artists. Billy Joel put a lot of creative effort into writing and scoring his songs; I've seen him talking about and it was anything but mass produced shlock. And you can't tell me that all his stuff sounds the same nor sounded like every one else back in the day.

Where as can you really tell me that Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Ashley Simpson, Paula Rubio, Kylie Mynogue, Mandy Moore, and all their ilk give much of a damn about their songs, spend much time on them creatively, and are capable of much range?

I've got no problem with popular music, what I have the problem with is the soulless mass-produced pop (and for that matter, other genres as well) that dominate the airwaves.