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Bands Ahead of Their Time

F

Fieldtech1

Just a quick rant. I was discussing the state of alternative radio with the PD of an alternative station the other day. He was stating how bands like MGMT, Foster the People, Arcade Fire have really brought a fresh new sound to the format. I argued that those bands as good as they are, are just revisiting the sound of many 90s alt rock bands.

Some examples:

Dandy Warhols - Godless http://youtu.be/7l5kQWjhyeg

Lusk-Backworlds http://www.billboard.com/song/lusk/backworlds/748021#/song/lusk/backworlds/748021

Self-Low http://youtu.be/DUKcitcWkBQ

Howlin Maggie- Alcohol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvHqWciyu1E&feature=artist
 
The commercial alternative format had an unbelievable variety of sounds in the 90s: From industrial to slowcore, from ska to swing/jazz, from female singer/songwriter to electronic music, and seemingly infinite other subgenres.

Whereas the prevailing sound in the format of the last several years from new bands has been a soft quasi folk sound.

The only thing keeping the format even remotely fresh IMO has been new music from bands like Sublime/Rome & 311 (reggae influence), Foo Fighters (rock), Pennywise (punk) etc.....all 90s bands.

But overall the format relies too much on its heritage. New crazy exciting sounds are coming out all the time, but programmers are stuck in a tremendous rut. It was only when programming was not afraid to jump on dozens of new sounds and mix them all in a blender that the format experienced its best ratings ever.
 
Fieldtech1 said:
Just a quick rant. I was discussing the state of alternative radio with the PD of an alternative station the other day. He was stating how bands like MGMT, Foster the People, Arcade Fire have really brought a fresh new sound to the format. I argued that those bands as good as they are, are just revisiting the sound of many 90s alt rock bands.

Some examples:

Dandy Warhols - Godless http://youtu.be/7l5kQWjhyeg

Lusk-Backworlds http://www.billboard.com/song/lusk/backworlds/748021#/song/lusk/backworlds/748021

Self-Low http://youtu.be/DUKcitcWkBQ

Howlin Maggie- Alcohol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvHqWciyu1E&feature=artist
Click to expand...

He said they've brought a fresh new sound "to the format" though - those 90s bands you mentioned didn't get any airplay
 
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