Rebecca Black and the Death of Mainstream Rock

[Lee Rust]

Justin Bieber started out performing in malls. Rebecca Black made her own video. The Web spread the word.

There's no center to the 'music biz' anymore. It's all over the map, all over the internet, spread around in billions of iPods in MP3 downloads and YouTube clips. It used to be that Radio & Records™ was where it all happened, but now that's just a small piece of the action.

Those of us who are used to being the gatekeepers in charge of such things are left holding the bag and wondering who took the goodies. Time has passed us by.

Like Jazz before it, 'Rock' became a trademarked commodity, and then it became a slightly musty antique, and now it is finally becoming a classical form suitable for academic enshrinement and study.

Check out the April 6 edition of USA Today. Todd Rundgren, Tommy James and Steve Miller are now rock & roll doctors teaching college seminars in rock theory and practice. Students gather at the feet of the Old Masters, learning how to hold their guitars and bend their notes. Soon there will be MFA's in middle-80's metal. Doctoral theses will be written about Roger Daltry's microphone technique. The universities will do anything to attract paying customers, but I wonder what those graduates will do with their degrees. They certainly won't be getting any jobs as DJ's.

Jazz academics like Wynton Marsalis host Ken Burns specials, manage corporately-funded museums like Jazz At Lincoln Center and tour with big bands that keep a sanctified jazz repertory alive long after the passing of the original artists. Before too long there will be similar rock ensembles performing the works of Clapton, Tyler and Reznor to appreciative and wistful audiences of grey-haired boomers in concert halls around the world. Of course, it'll all be posted on YouTube and replayed in Hi-Def during PBS telethons.

Speaking of videos, I enjoyed that clip of Robert Randolph & The Family Band. They've been to Rochester, but I've never had a chance to actually hear them. Good stuff! I should get out more often.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

...Speaking of videos, I enjoyed that clip of Robert Randolph & The Family Band. They've been to Rochester, but I've never had a chance to actually hear them. Good stuff! I should get out more often.

Robert Randolph & The Family Band opened for the Clapton Tour in '03 and frequently plays Buffalo's summer Thursday At The Square free concert series. Each member of the band plays every instrument on stage. They do a set wherein they rotate through all the instruments and never miss a note. Outstanding group of musicians.

 

[chas108]

It's been a busy couple weeks...only now getting to read the comments...and they are good ones. Excellent analysis.

I'd like to think a good pop-rock band could come out today and make a splash. Certainly Maroon 5 and OneRepublic fill a role in Top 40 that was once held by Three Dog Night or the Grass Roots 40 years ago...or Matchbox 20/Third Eye Blind in the 90's. Acts based in pop but with a little bit of an edge. Maybe things are so fragmented today that mass-appeal success is all but impossible.

It used to be that rock would hit a back-to-basics mode...as it did with New Wave in 1979 and Grunge in '92, that had the effect of pushing the "reset" button. But there's been no real "reset" in rock since the early 90's. The Garage Bands of the early 2000's were pretty much here and gone...which, at some level, speaks to the already splintering state of Rock even back then. It's just that there were enough Mainstream successes...Creed, Nickelback, Evanescence, Linkin Park...to cover up the undercurrent of young people - particularly teenage guys - who were discovering niches of underground rock that no radio station would touch. Today I think it's just inbred in teenagers that there's an entire sphere of musics that you learn about from your friends or the internet...and when you want your fix of Katy Perry or Bruno Mars, turn on Kiss or 'PXY.

Or you turn on 'YRK or 'BEE and crank up Kenny Chesney or Lady A.

Now THERE's something that wasn't a factor 30-40-50 years ago...the mainstream popularity of Country Music, even with teens.

I pinpoint Pop Culture's wake up call regarding Country to...

1) Soundscan - which showed more Country product sold than previously thought,

2) The 1992 This Is Garth Brooks TV Special. Garth was as influenced by Kiss and James Taylor as he was by George Jones and rodeo icon Chris LeDoux, and he blended it all with an "aw shucks" presentation ready to appeal to people sick of pre-Nirvana hair bands, lite-pop and lite rap that characterized much of that period's Top 40. And with Mainstream Rock just beginning to stick its toe into Metallica's waters, yet unsure about Grunge...Country Music was the most consistently fresh thing on radio. What's been long forgotten is that CBS aired a Michael Jackson retrospective that same evening at 8PM. The same Michael Jackson whose album Dangerous was battling it out with Garth and Nirvana for dominance on the Top 200 Album Chart. The King of Pop's special tanked. This Is Garth Brooks, which aired at 9PM on NBC, won the night. It wasn't even close.

Nirvana, as we all know, would revolutionize Rock and ignite the Pop/Alternative sound of the 90's...but now a parallel universe - Country Music - would share the stage. It wouldn't be long before dial sharing between Pop and Country became commonplace...as it is today.

In 1985, the New York Times asked "Is Country Music Dead?" In 1986, Randy Travis saved Country Music by going back-to-basics...updating a sound not heard in that format since the late 50's....and setting the stage for all that came after. Before Randy Travis, you could sell 30,000 total singles and have a #1 song.

Today, Lady Antebellum is celebrating 5 million downloads of "Need You Now". Taylor, Kenny, and Brad Paisley put together all-star festivals and sell out stadiums. John Rich, on Celebrity Apprentice, raises over half-a-million dollars for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...founded by Danny Thomas almost 50 years ago but virtually unknown until Alabama embraced them in 1989. Rich correctly noted the relationship between Country radio and St. Jude on the show: Country Music adopted St. Jude. And while I was DVR'ing Celebrity Apprentice, the ACM Awards featured Steven Tyler and Rihanna dueting with Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Nettles respectively. Somehow in this day and age it works...and people watching the ACM's saw a show.

And the biggest selling acts over the past couple years? Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. Even while Lady GaGa herself was delivering hit after hit to Pop formats and selling plenty of product. Maybe the combination of Rock's fragmentation and Country's popularity is what accounts for the current state of Mainstream Rock. As noted elsewhere in this thread and in Jay Frank's analysis...Classic Rock is where the interest seems to lie, even with teens. Maybe this is how the taste for Mainstream Rock is being satisfied nowadays. And let's not forget the increasing use of Rock elements by some Country artists...from Jason Aldean to Rodney Atkins to Kenny Chesney.

And meanwhile a 13-year-old kid puts a stupid song on YouTube and gets 80-million hits. And Top 40 virtually ignores it. Why? Because it's awful, insipid and unoriginal? Then what's Ke$ha's "Blow" doing on your station? Isn't that just the fourth shameless re-write of "Tik Tok"? (Not that that's anything new...Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, anyone? The Buckinghams? There's nothing new under the sun!) Novelty? What, do you expect Far East Movement to be around in ten years? Or is it because it didn't come to your attention by conventional means...thru a record company going for adds next Monday?

I'm not advocating for Rebecca Black per se, in fact according to Sean Ross it was played on Australian radio and is apparently the worst-testing song ever. (Then again, Top 40 played "Macarena" until the negatives reached over 55%!) I'm just saying that the era of "if we ignore it, it didn't happen and our listeners will never know" is long gone...and the record company model is also dancing off the stage. I'd think if a song is creating a buzz with your listeners, you at least owe them the opportunity to hear it on your air, even if dayparted to nights or a AM show feature. Either your research or your gut will tell you how long to play it and when to get off it.

My gut believes someday a real certifiable hit or artist will emerge from YouTube or other non-record label channel. And if radio doesn't play it...it will be a turning point. One that won't be good for radio's relationship with its listeners.

 

[TheBigA]

My gut believes someday a real certifiable hit or artist will emerge from YouTube or other non-record label channel. And if radio doesn't play it...it will be a turning point. One that won't be good for radio's relationship with its listeners.

Exactly, which is why I think country radio is playing a lot of the artists you mention. Country claims to aim at women around the age of 40, but they're playing a lot of music that aims to people in their 20s because that's where the demand and action is.

It's a chicken and egg kind of thing. Programmers need to be watching Big Champagne very carefully for new trends. I usually get more information there than from traditional trades. Their chart is posted at AllAccess, and it's definitely a younger group. Justin Bieber's duet with Rascal Flatts is #2, Aaron Lewis is #8, so you see some things that country radio is missing.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Chas, yours is one of the most informative posts I've read on this board, offering the perspective of a seasoned professional over many formats. Kudos, and much obliged.

 

[bbb]

I don't listen to Top 20 or even much music radio at all. I'm amused by the whole Rebecca Black thing, though.....Is it getting radio airplay? Or is it just a youtube thing?

 

[leelee]

It's being played everywhere. And I'm not surprised by its success.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I'm not sure which is a bigger blow to mainstreal rock - grunge, which featured people who couldn't sing, or the current reliance on Auto-tune to feature electronically distorted people who can't sing.

 

[umtrr-author]

My vote would be for auto-tune... although I do like "Auto-Tune The News" (look it up, I lol'd).

Meanwhile, "Friday" has over 92 million hits.

However, I checked a couple of other songs and they are well ahead of "Friday." Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" for example is over 207 million. Katy Perry's "Firework" is over 160 million. Justin Bieber's "Baby" is closing in on 514 million hits. The mind boggles. At least mine does.

Chas, Lee, great comments.

 

[chas108]

My vote would be for auto-tune... although I do like "Auto-Tune The News" (look it up, I lol'd).

Meanwhile, "Friday" has over 92 million hits.

However, I checked a couple of other songs and they are well ahead of "Friday." Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" for example is over 207 million. Katy Perry's "Firework" is over 160 million. Justin Bieber's "Baby" is closing in on 514 million hits. The mind boggles. At least mine does.

Chas, Lee, great comments.

Thanks, umtrr-author. And Jim, thanks for the kind words.

I know I beat 'KB to death on this board but what you guys did back then was a huge influence. Despite my age, I guess I'll always be fascinated with Top 40...and of course my current format, Country.

That said..."Friday" is about a month old, and its time-frame of reference would be the much-hyped "Born This Way" by Lady GaGa, which the last time I heard numbers...was still several million views behind "Friday".

"Party In The USA"...as insipid a song as "Friday", came out Fall 2009. "Firework" was out last Fall, and as red-hot as Katy Perry is (and I think "Firework" is a great pop song), she should have a good 160 million views.

"Baby" is about a year old. Half a billion hits is remarkable by any standard.

SirRox, I know there's a whole contingent of people who believe Nirvana killed Mainstream Rock...but the entire "Nevermind" album, somehow, kept reminding me of British Invasion-era music. Something in some of the chord progressions...I never could quite put my finger on it. Years later I stumbled across a Nirvana documentary that included the making of "Nevermind". Turns out the threesome were all Beatles fans, and Cobain in particular, was a HUGE John Lennon fan. And it should be stated that Kurt Cobain was unhappy that producer Bitch Vig's finished product was "too polished". I listen to it and think Vig was merely reintrepreting Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound for that time.

Spector - and Beatles fan that I am, this probably explains my affinity for that entire era. I firmly believe Grunge, as a "back to basics" reset of Rock, saved it from extinction, or at least utter irrelevance. It set the stage for several years of great Pop/Alternative music.

The current reliance on Auto-Tune...however, I agree with you all the way. It's a fun gimmick...but reliance on Auto-Tune tells me "we're fresh outta fresh ideas."

 

[Paul_Warren]

I know I beat 'KB to death on this board but what you guys did back then was a huge influence. Despite my age, I guess I'll always be fascinated with Top 40...

Alas, if only it still existed. In the days before fragmentation, Top 40 was actually the 40 most popular songs, almost regardless of genre, and stations in the format became cultural gathering places. I still remember when I was in fourth grade, in 1964, and the first really cool classmate brought his new transistor radio to school. We had it on 'KB at recess, and heard The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" back-to-back with Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody (Sometime)." 'KB played "Convoy" and Led Zep as late as 1975. Amazing by today's standards!

All bound together with a solid news department that worked all day, and jocks who'd come play basketball at your high school against the faculty. It was a great time to be a kid with a radio!

 

[Philip_Airtime]

I know I beat 'KB to death on this board but what you guys did back then was a huge influence. Despite my age, I guess I'll always be fascinated with Top 40...

Alas, if only it still existed. In the days before fragmentation, Top 40 was actually the 40 most popular songs, almost regardless of genre, and stations in the format became cultural gathering places. I still remember when I was in fourth grade, in 1964, and the first really cool classmate brought his new transistor radio to school. We had it on 'KB at recess, and heard The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" back-to-back with Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody (Sometime)." 'KB played "Convoy" and Led Zep as late as 1975. Amazing by today's standards!

All bound together with a solid news department that worked all day, and jocks who'd come play basketball at your high school against the faculty. It was a great time to be a kid with a radio!

AMEN!!!!

 

[John C]

I know I beat 'KB to death on this board but what you guys did back then was a huge influence. Despite my age, I guess I'll always be fascinated with Top 40...

Alas, if only it still existed. In the days before fragmentation, Top 40 was actually the 40 most popular songs, almost regardless of genre, and stations in the format became cultural gathering places. I still remember when I was in fourth grade, in 1964, and the first really cool classmate brought his new transistor radio to school. We had it on 'KB at recess, and heard The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" back-to-back with Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody (Sometime)." 'KB played "Convoy" and Led Zep as late as 1975. Amazing by today's standards!

All bound together with a solid news department that worked all day, and jocks who'd come play basketball at your high school against the faculty. It was a great time to be a kid with a radio!

AMEN!!!!

Oh no, another KB thread out of the murkiness of today's pop music. ;D The "playing basketball at your high school" comment reminded me of when our school had Danny come and do a record hop, I think in 1977. It was a smash success of course. I had Danny send me a copy on cassette of his version of "My Way". His version was recorded after he was fired by the Braves and is a classic.

 

[umtrr-author]

I used to DX 'KB out of my house in Joisey-- and I was always fascinated at how you guys up in Western New York would so nonchalantly mention six to twelve inches of snow as part of the forecast, with nary a change in tone or inflection. Six to twelve inches of snow predicted meant much carrying on on the radio and team coverage on television, including Eyewitness News sending Milton Lewis out to the Highway Department to stand atop a salt pile.

But I digress...

If I think about the Top 40 stations I remember from Market #1, much of what Philip wrote was true there as well. I never saw a basketball game with the jocks from NYC (although I did go down to Trenton to see the WKXW people play softball once). However, one of the last WABC DJs, Marc Sommers, came to the Career Day at my high school. I never made it out of that room the rest of the afternoon. I'm pretty sure that WABC played "Convoy" too. Hey, it was a #1 single... somebody had to have bought it...

 

[Lee Rust]

Imagine a song like "Convoy" being released and played on radio today. Or Wierd Al Yankovic. Those fun things only happen on YouTube these days.

 

[TheBigA]

Depends on the format.

 

[umtrr-author]

I have heard "Convoy" played on Fickle 93.3 in the recent past. It seems to have fallen out of the rotation, however. (Getting more spins than I recall previously is Queen's "Radio Gaga". Hmm, I wonder why?)

I don't recall Fickle ever playing Weird Al, but I wouldn't put it past them.

Not to worry, Lee... most of the music I purchase from over-the-air hearing is from North Coast's playlists including what I hear on JazzTrax (although I do wish Art would talk a little less and play music a little more).

Among the acts that will never get umpteen million spins on YouTube but that I did hear on North Coast, I still wish I knew what happened to "The Jazzabels," a mostly-folk bit-jazzy and somewhat eclectic duo from Buffalo.

Meanwhile, "Friday" has passed 103 million spins on YouTube, and it's going to be covered on "Glee."

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Not to worry, Lee... most of the music I purchase from over-the-air hearing is from North Coast's playlists including what I hear on JazzTrax

(although I do wish Art would talk a little less and play music a little more).

Among the acts that will never get umpteen million spins on YouTube but that I did hear on North Coast, I still wish I knew what happened to "The Jazzabels," a mostly-folk bit-jazzy and somewhat eclectic duo from Buffalo.

On occasional trips to Rochester, I've listened to North Coast Jazz and enjoyed what I've heard, even though I don't consider myself a "jazz man." Yes, I know about Bird and Coltrain, Duke and Satchmo, but I can barely find middle C on a piano and know even less about open G cords.

I like reading the Train Man's posts (being from a three generation railroading family and having an affinity for Baldwin diesels, Tuscan Red PRR GG-1's and dual handle Lionel transformers.) He's not in radio. He listens and articulates how he feels about a medium he still likes and about which he writes. The quote in bold stopped me cold. I can't help but ask for an explanation. Not because I'm contesting the opinion, embarrass the host or trying to stir up the board, but because when an articulate, regular poster makes a comment like this, the reasoning behind it might benefit readers. Call it a 'teachable moment.' Thank you.

 

[chas108]

Meanwhile, "Friday" has passed 103 million spins on YouTube, and it's going to be covered on "Glee."

I just checked BDS Top 40 and HAC and it's nowhere to be seen. Sad...even if it is apparently the worst-testing song in Australia, but I'm not too surprised...because as noted previously, "those fun things only happen on YouTube nowadays."

Are pop music fans about to begin learning the same lesson Metallica fans began learning 25 years ago...the same lesson learned by 12-24 males about their favorite styles of rock? If I'm a CHR PD, do I want my listeners learning that lesson? Or do I go with my gut and give my listeners a taste of today's Weird Als, Convoys and whatever else they're buzzing about at the moment?

That said, I'm encouraged to find Adele crossing to Mainstream Top 40... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw

...and this gem making inroads at Hot AC! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6cBKE3WzQ

Not to worry, Lee... most of the music I purchase from over-the-air hearing is from North Coast's playlists including what I hear on JazzTrax

(although I do wish Art would talk a little less and play music a little more).

Among the acts that will never get umpteen million spins on YouTube but that I did hear on North Coast, I still wish I knew what happened to "The Jazzabels," a mostly-folk bit-jazzy and somewhat eclectic duo from Buffalo.

On occasional trips to Rochester, I've listened to North Coast Jazz and enjoyed what I've heard, even though I don't consider myself a "jazz man." Yes, I know about Bird and Coltrain, Duke and Satchmo, but I can barely find middle C on a piano and know even less about open G cords.

I like reading the Train Man's posts (being from a three generation railroading family and having an affinity for Baldwin diesels, Tuscan Red PRR GG-1's and dual handle Lionel transformers.) He's not in radio. He listens and articulates how he feels about a medium he still likes and about which he writes. The quote in bold stopped me cold. I can't help but ask for an explanation. Not because I'm contesting the opinion, embarrass the host or trying to stir up the board, but because when an articulate, regular poster makes a comment like this, the reasoning behind it might benefit readers. Call it a 'teachable moment.' Thank you.

I too will be very interested in this teachable moment. Is it just the length...I'm imagining it's more the content. As I read recently from someone I respect: "Length of time is not perceived until there's a lack of interesting content."

 

[Lee Rust]

Chas & Jim, the "Art" referred to here is Art Good, the host of JazzTrax, a syndicated music show we air on Saturdays on WJZR. He's quite chatty and spends a good portion of each program promoting the various jazz festivals he hosts each year. He's quite the impresario, and his events give 'smooth jazz' fans a chance to see their favorite artists in person. There aren't many performance venues for this type of music, since most jazz fests like the big one here in Rochester tend to emphasize the more traditional or 'serious' forms of jazz.

umtrr, I don't think the Jazzabels have recorded anything since the late '90's. Here's a YouTube link to what one of them has been up to lately: http://youtu.be/sspjcURWRtg