Terrestrial radio in most places is terrible for good music, in my opinion. Hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, deep classic rock, and more is sorely lacking on "normal" radio. Too many commercials and terrible pop and "urban" music. No Bluegrass or Outlaw Country either, for the most part. I'm age 49 and barely listen to FM radio anymore. I listen to 97 Underground online, and stations like XM Deep Tracks when my subscription is current. Sometimes I don't renew SiriusXM because it gets expensive and I wanna' look around.. But FM radio sucks. Just sayin
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For True Music Fans, FM Radio Sucks
- Thread starter jehoyle
- Start date
Radio is a business, not a hobby. You seem more interested in a personal playlist, rather than a broadcast product.
If you have creative ideas to run successful radio stations playing the sorts of music you espouse, I'm sure station owners would love to sit with you and hear them.
Better yet, lease some time on a local station with your own money and show what sort of following (and profits) you can develop! Why give away your creative ideas?
If you have creative ideas to run successful radio stations playing the sorts of music you espouse, I'm sure station owners would love to sit with you and hear them.
Better yet, lease some time on a local station with your own money and show what sort of following (and profits) you can develop! Why give away your creative ideas?
MassMusicMan
Banned
"Hi, I'm an older guy five years away from aging out of targeted demos. I like music made by white people, and I use air quotes to signal that I don't like music made by black people."
Basic much?
Taste is a very personal issue. We have to consider that people who were not exposed to types of music when in their per-adolescent and early adolescent years are not necessarily prejudiced.
Given the poster's age, one can consider that 40 years ago there were many markets where both Black and Latin influence music did not get considerable airplay or, if it did, it was on ethnic stations that generally would not be used by young non-ethnic kids.
I'll give a reverse example: I was in Latin America when hard rock (or whatever term you want to call it by) developed. I was not exposed to it, as anything too "hard" did not work on my Top 40 station in Ecuador when, in the later 60's, we started getting songs of that type. Later, in the 70's in Puerto Rico, only rhythmic English language songs were commonly heard. So, as a result, I have limited knowledge of the music and no real taste for it. That does not mean I am prejudiced... just unfamiliar.
Good point! Forty years ago was 1980, so his teenage years would have been spent in the MTV era of CHR and AOR, which saw the marginalization of much black music on radio used mainly by young whites. He'd have heard little black music outside of Prince, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson on CHR, only Prince on AOR. Ten years earlier, he'd have grown up with the Spinners, Earth Wind & Fire and the O'Jays being played in heavy rotation alongside Elton John, the Eagles and Paul McCartney. AOR was still fairly segregated, but some stations would have still been playing Hendrix, B.B. King, and a few other black acts, as well as the Latin-influenced sounds of Santana and the reggae of Bob Marley. It wasn't until the mainstreaming of hip-hop at the very end of the '80s that black music returned to CHR in meaningful quantity.
Still, if our mysterious 49-year-old friend was living in either of the cities he posted his complaint in -- New York or Washington -- it would have been difficult for him to avoid urban music completely!
There was a very length piece some time ago about MTV, and how things began to shift in the late 80s with the Run DMC duet with Aerosmith. That was seen as the turning point for not only MTV, but also suburban whites. Some went off towards the hip hop side, some stayed on the rock side. But that division, coupled with the rise of boy bands in the early 90s ultimately killed music on MTV.
That is a good point. Many programmers in the pop/rock/AC area watched the MTV playlists; whether the tail wagged the dog is another discussion.
I'm not sure it did, but my view is it played a role in popular culture in a way that we still see today especially with regards to rock music. It was interesting to watch the Grammy tribute to Prince last night, and how his music spanned rock, pop, and urban. That's a hard feat to duplicate. The rock part of the equation would be the hardest.
Lenny Kravitz came to mind, but I don't think he ever had the urban appeal of Prince. His genre was pop/rock and, of course, his career never reached the heights of Prince's.
It was just interesting to see the diversity of artists performing Prince songs. Beck was one that seemed to stand out.
That's sad because Lenny Kravitz is a great musician! I do notice the lack of diversity with regards to non whites in Rock and Country music and it makes me upset. Music knows no race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. We see whites in Hip Hop and sometimes in R&B.
There's a lot of great FM stations if you look for them even if your musical tastes run to the eclectic.
Of course some of them are noncommercial, based on listener support. For Americana, there's stations like WMOT in Nashville and WDVX in Knoxville.
There's also some independently owned stations trying to make a go of it, or run as a passion project by their owners - deep classic rock on KCDX in Arizona, and an eclectic mix of alternative, classic rock, blues and roots on WPFQ in Albany, GA.
Worth looking for and supporting the independents and the noncomm stations. They're not in every market, but they're the last bastions other than satellite and streaming of the type of radio the OP is looking for.
Of course some of them are noncommercial, based on listener support. For Americana, there's stations like WMOT in Nashville and WDVX in Knoxville.
There's also some independently owned stations trying to make a go of it, or run as a passion project by their owners - deep classic rock on KCDX in Arizona, and an eclectic mix of alternative, classic rock, blues and roots on WPFQ in Albany, GA.
Worth looking for and supporting the independents and the noncomm stations. They're not in every market, but they're the last bastions other than satellite and streaming of the type of radio the OP is looking for.
WSOU.
WFMU sometimes. And WFUV sometimes. But then you won't find a dedicated channel on SiriusXM either.
WFUV again. And WXPK in parts of the NYC metro.
Yes, but you get what you pay for.
No one forces you to listen to those stations. There are others playing the styles you described.
Not much audience for those formats in NYC. There are Outlaw Country and Bluegrass/Americana FM stations from more rural country regions of the U.S. that you could stream, though.
Who says it has to be one or the other? I think all of us here listen to a variety of sources, not exclusively FM radio, although it offers a lot more than you claim.
Or just trollin, it seems.
You're exactly right. The critics of FM never seem to ever look to those non-commercial choices. New York is especially fortunate to have a wide range of musical choices all commercial free, programmed by people who truly LOVE the music they play. It's not a job for these people, it's their life! The fact that there still are a number of student-run college stations in the area is fantastic. Before anyone ever complains about the state of FM radio, they should be required to spend a few days with the non-com stations.
G
Groove1670
Guest
There is a reason that you don't hear this kind of music on terrestrial radio. It has been tried, and usually fails. The average listener doesn't care to hear some obscure or deep track. Youtube and music services have solved that issue for many and the "FM radio sucks" argument.
Back in the 70's and 80's If you lived near a large market like Miami or New York, your heard many "urban" and dance cuts on CHR.
Y-100 in Miami was a good example. Shalamar, The Gap Band, Newcleus, SOS Band, and many others were on the playlist. We had rock stations such a WSHE and K102, but most of the younger demos were listening to Y-100, I95, and 96X.
It depends on the geographic region, and what station you listened to.
The boy bands became popular in 1996 or 1997. Music was already not played much by then.
I don't know why people complain about today's music radio. Yes, it isn't near the same as it was in decades past and modern pop music does really suck but now there are so many ways to record your own playlists. Without commercials. Without chatty DJ's. Without stupid contests.
I keep saying IMHO the day the music died was sometime in 1984 (with very few exceptions and even fewer today). Put the music you like on a portable device. I have a DVD, DVD-A, CD and memory stick in my car and home and can play anything I like whenever I want to listen. No need to use radio for music any longer. Leave radio to the political rants, sports talk, home flippers and religious spammers.
Confession, I do use my FM or FM-HD when I want to tap into some Oldies just to see what's going on.
I keep saying IMHO the day the music died was sometime in 1984 (with very few exceptions and even fewer today). Put the music you like on a portable device. I have a DVD, DVD-A, CD and memory stick in my car and home and can play anything I like whenever I want to listen. No need to use radio for music any longer. Leave radio to the political rants, sports talk, home flippers and religious spammers.
Confession, I do use my FM or FM-HD when I want to tap into some Oldies just to see what's going on.
Hmmm, the New Kids on the Block we late 80s, early 90s. Backstreet Boys came along in 96 and 97. They were huge on MTV. They showed up at the MTV Awards at Radio City Music Hall and there was a stand-off between their fans and the rap fans. They hung in with music into the early 2000s with TRL, but it was very different.
Echoing a suggestion from another member...This site needs a “like” button. I remember the days of radio listening before the Internet. I had the limited choice of classic rock, hot AC, and new country formats that overplayed the same songs every two hours. Now, I have access to almost any song of any genre that’s ever been recorded...all for less than the cost of a CD album. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like if a pandemic lockdown of this caliber happened in the ‘80’s.
Radio will always have a role in providing critical information and serving niches such as sports and ethnic & religious communities. For music discovery & entertainment, radio provides little utility beyond background noise.
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