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"Before He Cheats" on WTFM: Appropriate?

S

Sammy Reed

Guest
This afternoon, I was eating lunch at a Chinese restuarant thyat plays WTFM on their speakers. They had all that good "soft rock" music - until they came to this one song. They actually played "Before He Cheats"!
Now, WTFM is supposed to be a "soft rock" station. I'm sorry, folks, but it don't seem to me that a song about tearing up someone's vehicle is indicative of "soft rock". I think this was 3 1/2 minutes that could've been better-spent on Billy Ocean or Bread.
 
Well, it was #7 on the AC chart last week and has been on the AC chart for more than 4 months. So, appropriate or not, it's a popular AC song that couldn't be getting that much airplay without its target audience liking it. Soft rock targets women, and I don't know a woman who wouldn't at least want to take a Louisville Slugger to a cheating boyfriend's headlights! So, in that sense, I'd say it's appropriate, and, if it's not, WTFM is far from being the only offender.
 
The song is not appropriate for anything. This country is violent enough already. This garbage just adds to it.
 
RMarino said:
The song is not appropriate for anything. This country is violent enough already. This garbage just adds to it.
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you're kidding...right? you think anyone is influenced to violence by this song?
 
romer979fm said:
you're kidding...right? you think anyone is influenced to violence by this song?
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Do you think NO ONE is influenced by it? Nobody needs to be that vindictive, at least physically. America has become so distructive. It's sickening.
 
I am not a fan of any of the new country. Like the classic stuff though. Anyway, I hadn't heard this song until you all were talking about it so I went to YouTube and watched the video. I have to say that Carrie Underwood looks like a slut in the video. I don't own a Dodge truck like her boyfriend has in the video - but I do drive a 53 Oldsmobile - and knowing women are hearing this song and getting "poisoned" by it kinda makes me afraid to date anyone again. I feel like for the safety of my old car, I need to stay away from women :D!

Not sure if Knoxville's B-97.5 plays it or not. Come on radio stations - let's not get the women of America wound up and angry at us guys. We don't want our vehicles keyed, the headlights busted, and the interior torn up. I better go make sure my car is LOCKED!
 
It's simple.

Don't cheat, and she doesn't do that stuff to your truck.

Sad to see so many missing the point of the song.

Even more sad to see the problem being her reaction to his cheating. Like his cheating is perfectly fine, but she can't react to it.
 
OK, guys. Now things are getting off-topic here.
"Two-timing is a bad thing, and those who do should have their trucks smashed" does seem like pretty fair social gospel. But this isn't what I'm talking about.
My comment is that hearing a whole song about this is not what I want to hear on a "soft rock" station. I sortof thought that "soft rock" was supposed to be a way to "get away from it all" for a while.
Aside from country, this thing belongs on "Electric" a lot more than "soft rock".
 
RMarino said:
The song is not appropriate for anything. This country is violent enough already. This garbage just adds to it.
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I agree wholeheartedly. I'd been thinking the same thing for the past few months as this song has been climbing up country, AC, and even some CHR charts. This song is an immediate channel changer for me simply because of the lyrics. With the subject of the song, the first thing that always comes to my mind is "redneck trash". Anyone who would do what the singer in the song does or react and behave in that way for any reason is simply that to me; "redneck trash". I actually have always thought Carrie Underwood was really talented and it's a shame that she chose something as sorry as this to further her career. It doesn't even seem to match her personality. There's no reason for this at all. What's even more sad is that people seem to love it and agree with it.

I know, were getting all riled up over a silly song, but this one just rubs me the wrong way and personifies everything I think of when I think of dumb, uneducated, trashy people. Country has spent years trying to shed images like this, so why record something like this that simply reinforces those stereotypes.

And as far as it being on WTFM. Yeah, that's because it is huge on not only the country chart, but also the AC chart. I've heard most every AC and Hot AC that I know of playing it, and it even is on many CHR's too (I know Sirius "Hits 1" played it constantly). But as I said, I can't get past the negative, redneck image from the lyrics and this is probably the one song that makes me reach for the button more than any other right now.
 
Women apparently love it. Men hate it. Redneck Women love it. Where do we live? Who does TFM target?

On paper, they are correct for playing it.

I hate Celine Dion, too. I'm offended by her sugar coated offerings. I totally despise AC in all its forms as fashions. It all sounds like a big steaming pile of sloppy ploppy to me. I hope they keep playing that garbage.

Play on TFM, saturate the airwaves with venom!!!! ::)
 
Sloppy Ploppy? Interesting observation...and unique. Is that kinda like Silly Putty?
 
Re: It's simple.

pbf1 said:
Don't cheat, and she doesn't do that stuff to your truck.

Sad to see so many missing the point of the song.

Even more sad to see the problem being her reaction to his cheating. Like his cheating is perfectly fine, but she can't react to it.
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Two wrongs do not make a right. She has plenty of legal avenues she could follow without being destructive. I am NOT defending the cheating.
 
I gave our B-97 here in Knoxville a listen today. They used to be "soft rock" and played stuff that women would listen too. But me being a guy, I was actually impressed with the station. They're calling themselves "favorites of yesterday and today." On my drive home I heard The Steve Miller Band "The Joker." They played Electric Light Orchestra, Tommy James & The Shondells, Peter Frampton, KISS.....yeah....B-97 played KISS but it was "Hard Luck Woman" that sounds alot like Rod Stewart. And as I was pulling into the driveway here at home they were playing Journey. Journey being the newest thing I heard on the station. NO CARRIE UNDERWOOD! Ha ha. I was really impressed because before I could not stand the station. I just wonder if they might be planning a format change soon.
 
Re: It's simple.

RMarino said:
Two wrongs do not make a right. She has plenty of legal avenues she could follow without being destructive. I am NOT defending the cheating.
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I'm sure you've been told a zillion times not to overreact.

IT'S A SONG.

Sheesh...
 
Re: It's simple.

RMarino said:
Two wrongs do not make a right. She has plenty of legal avenues she could follow without being destructive. I am NOT defending the cheating.
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OK, Cool on "not defending the cheating"! But getting to what my original gripe is:
Is this song "soft rock"? I mean, that day I heard that "Hero" song by Julio's son, and a few other songs like that, then they played this, which to me is a train wreck to hear with the other "soft rock" offerings.
 
Sometimes the texture,type and categorization of a song are not as important as the emotional connection it makes with a stations target audience. This must be one of those songs. Electric played Mercy Me along with a bunch of other top 40's (before Electric tried Hot AC) and the song made a HUGE impact on the audience. Nothing you can put around it is gonna stop a trainwreck. Right now, Plain White T's are having monster success at alternative with "Hey there Delilah". Anything you put around it is abrupt to say the least. With these songs, its the lyrical connection and not some sound code us radio types label it with.

The song apparently has working its magic on some men as well, I'm assuming most on this thread are men....and your ire seems to be raised. You don't have a song that does this and not get played on a WOMENS station.

If you don't like what the tune says, then don't dock you pontoon in someone elses slip.
 
Just a side note: Carrie jumped on-stage at the Vince Neil show in Nashville a few days ago to sing Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart. She refused to sing the line "I'd say we've kicked some a$$" despite much prodding from Vince. I would imagine if she had known the song is about being revived from a heroin overdose, she wouldn't have been up there messing with scary ol' Vince anyway.

Carrie is young and trying to find her way in life, and she will make some mistakes no matter what path she chooses. Hopefully one of these passages contains the thorny out-growth of Hustler magazine and we'll finally get the payoff we're looking for. That or she marries Tommy Lee. I'm good with both.
 
Knoxradiolstnr said:
I gave our B-97 here in Knoxville a listen today. They used to be "soft rock" and played stuff that women would listen too. But me being a guy, I was actually impressed with the station. They're calling themselves "favorites of yesterday and today." On my drive home I heard The Steve Miller Band "The Joker." They played Electric Light Orchestra, Tommy James & The Shondells, Peter Frampton, KISS.....yeah....B-97 played KISS but it was "Hard Luck Woman" that sounds alot like Rod Stewart. And as I was pulling into the driveway here at home they were playing Journey. Journey being the newest thing I heard on the station. NO CARRIE UNDERWOOD! Ha ha. I was really impressed because before I could not stand the station. I just wonder if they might be planning a format change soon.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you were listening during their all 70's weekend...give a listen during the week and your opinion might be a little different!
 
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