LiveMusic Posted October 6, 2001 Share Posted October 6, 2001 As I'm working on this giant project of a play list, I constantly listen to radio. Back and forth between rock, country, oldies, classic country, hard rock, 80s-90s mellow rock. And steadily coming forth are the songs I've heard all of my life. But it makes me wonder how much music has never made it to radio. For whatever reason. I think this quote came from Neil (FantasticSound) and it pretty much sums up what I'm thinking... "It takes a huge amount of promotion to turn a song into a hit, even a GREAT song." This quote came from a thread about copyrighting. So, a few thoughts. How much really good music doesn't get on the airways? I'll bet there's lots! (Some of you would say NO good music is put out for radio, although I disagree... I do like some stuff that continues to come out.) As far as a playlist, who cares? If the public doesn't know the songs we play for them, are they disinterested? (Do people prefer to hear live acts that play music they are familiar with?) This question has been bugging me. And... any suggestions on how to find all this wonderful music that's out there? Have you had any success with any particular method? ------------------ Duke > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatoriJoe Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 Alot of good music doesn't get on the radio. Of course good is relative so what I may deem good may not be your cup of tea so you could say "I'm glad that band's on the radio". But I guess there are plenty of reasons for Radio to not play a band such as it not being able to fit into the rock, pop, country, rap category. Godspeed You Black Emperor! get decent press and have a good buzz but you will never hear this group on the radio because of no singer, cds aren't broken into tracks so no single, and the group is against it. Hmm...bad example. Radiohead are a big draw but I've only heard a song from their new cd, Amnesiac, on the radio once and that was college radio. There is this new crop of garage rock bands coming out getting great press such as The White Stripes and The Strokes. The Strokes have been compared to The Velvet Underground and Television. What's so weird about it is that they are doing real well across seas. The Strokes haven't released their cd here yet but in the U.K. I think I read their single cracked the top 20 and The White Stripes' 3rd album went top 50. I don't forsee that happening here and if it does I will be one happy camper. (Anyone like the new single by N`Sync? I like the chorus) England = land of good music. I can't find any cds of some of these overseas bands but they have written the most experimental, fun rock music I have heard in a long time. Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are so good I cannot believe they don't have better distribution in the States. I had to buy the SFA album for 30 bucks but it was worth it. It had touches of Beatles, Beach Boys, techno, broadway...it was just so good. They've had 14 top 20 hits in the U.K. but no one I've talked to have heard them. It's upsetting. But anyway. I'd recommend finding magazines like MOJO to find out about overseas albums and for other bands I always look at a 'mainstream' band I like and see who supports them. Like The Beta Band supported Radiohead. Also you can go to cdnow.com and type up a band and see what else people buy. JJoeye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 Most of it. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 Darn it Ted! That was supposed to be MY line! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Seriously, if you knew how much great music I've heard in Nashville, alone, in the past 8 years... you'd realize that even if everything that HAS made it to radio was wonderful, there would still be a huge backlog of music, and artists/bands that never received the celebrity they deserve for creating such fine music. ------------------ Neil Reality: A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 That is what boggles the mind, and keeps those of us who don't yearn for fame and fortune going...the belief that we're creating something worthy for someone somewhere to like...listen to on occasion. The really sad thing though is that the radio doesn't offer more good music, when so much is around. It would be like having only hamburgers to eat for the rest of your life...(just listening to the couple dozen "hits" that any given radio station has on its playlist). Never any Thai food, Chinese, etc...just hamburgers. Fast food for the ear. No imagination. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eh steve Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 ear candy. ty tabor owns. http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail36.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 ALL OF IT!!!! Commercial radio is a joke (or it would be if it wasn't so tragic). "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugo121 Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 Hey SatoriJoe,how ya doin? England = land of good music. I can't find any cds of some of these overseas bands but they have written the most experimental, fun rock music I have heard in a long time. Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are so good I cannot believe they don't have better distribution in the States. I had to buy the SFA album for 30 bucks but it was worth it. It had touches of Beatles, Beach Boys, techno, broadway...it was just so good. They've had 14 top 20 hits in the U.K. but no one I've talked to have heard them. It's upsetting. JJoeye[/b] Nice to see you picking out the Super Furries and Gorky's as an example,though may I correct you on grouping them as English as they are in fact Welsh,which is mainly the reason why people don't hear of these bands.They have no real desire to break into the US,hell I don't think they have any great desire to be huge in the U.K. either.(Hey! maybe that's the secret to get airplay) I've heard the Strokes and admit to getting a shiver down my spine,reminded me of the Stooges all over again,great stuff! If it wasn't for radio I wouldn't hear ANY new bands,so am surprised with Duke's admission of being bored with radio,I thought in the U.S. you would be spoiled for choice. Great thread guys and to SatoriJoe if your are looking for more UK bands try NME.com as a good starter. Hugo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 "I thought in the U.S. you would be spoiled for choice." That's a joke right? In the US ALL the commercial radio stations are owned by 3 or 4 large radio conglomerates. They are very tightly formatted (Soft Rock, Classic Rock, Adult Contemporary, Smooth Jazz, Hot Country, etc.) and stick to a playlists of 40 or so songs per station that are rotated over and over and over and over and over and over and over. . . New bands don't get played until AFTER they have sold a lot of records and only then if they fit into the tight formats. It has nothing to do with selling records and everything to do with selling advertizing. That's why it all sounds the same - like shit. Our equivalent of the BBC only does news and classical music. The only original stuff is on college radio stations. It's a musical nightmare. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingerstyle_Jim Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 In the past ten years I have tuned in to several University radio stations in Canada, most of them avoid playing anything that might be getting airtime on commercial radio. My own taste reports that about 60 or 70% of what I'm hearing is pretty darn good to great and often better than most of what goes on commercial radio. To keep up with it would be mind-boggling. Just off the top of my head, who here has heard of "Buffalo Tom", "WAH!", "Bran Van 2000" or "Swinghammer"? These are just a few of the acts I recall hearing very memorable music from in recent years, I have bought CD's by "Buffalo Tom" and "WAH!" as a result and really enjoyed them. It's sad but true, the acts with the money behind them rise to the top. Jim in Canada http://www.mp3.com/jimgraham My SoundClick Page My New Music Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrix Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 What makes things even more difficult is that, if you are not a name brand band, local crowds usually dont care to hear original stuff that they are unfamiliar with. They are also not likely to buy CD's of unfamiliar un-promoted bands. The net was supposed to help with this . To some extent it does- if you have infinite time to surf for tunes. I dont. I used to visit a site firefly.com. It had an algorythm that asked you what you liked and then correlated it with other peoples responses to predict other things you'd like. I believe they have this service for both movies and music. i have not been there in a while. It is a great use of the web to let everyone benefit from each others experiences. I assume/hope this is still in operation. On the positive side, the affordable recording technology now allows folks like me to produce nearly professional results. This creates even more great music ( not necessarily mine) that will never get to the masses.In the old days there was less ability to produce stuff - therefore less music in total- but a greater percentage of it got on the air. So, I think things are much improved today wouldnt you say? Check out some tunes here: http://www.garageband.com/artist/KenFava Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 Hey guys! I forgot to remind everyone of the success (?) of the "O' Brother, Where Art Thou?" movie soundtrack. It was the number one selling country album for 9 weeks straight. The Corporate Radio Bozos tried to force feed us the line that it was simply an oddity, driven by the movie's success. I loved the movie. It made plenty of money. Not enough money to send an album of Old Timey music to the top, for that long. Without airplay! Still, the program directors gave only a drop in the bucket of airtime to, "Man Of Constant Sorrow", and nothing else from it. What a bunch of morons! Tons of requests for songs from this album and they STILL wouldn't add other tunes from it to their playlists. Of the 3 or 4 strong country stations in the Nashville market, only ONE supported it. What a waste. Wake up programmers... We're telling you what we want and you're ignoring it because the only people answering your marketing phone calls are fanatics with no life beyond their favorite hunk or diva. There's more of us (regular listeners) than them. Stop pandering to a minority and you'll watch the next cycle of country resurgence begin. (I'm sure those of you with other tastes could make similar arguements about the stations that purport to play your genre of music.) Disgusted with radio. Constantly scanning for the one song worth listening to at any given minute of the day. ------------------ Neil Reality: A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suck knob Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 I think there are a lot of people into more traditional country music these days. I go to some bluegrass festivals in my area (Pennsylvania) and they are always pretty well attended, by some surprisingly young people. Tried to see Alison Krauss in my hometown and it sold out fast. But commercial country radio will always be driven by hunks/divas. Problem with Constant Sorrow was there was no name or face behind it. I actually saw people on message boards asking where they could get that new Goerge Clooney song. It would be great to hear stuff like Lucinda, Buddy Miller, BR549, Hank III, Mavericks, etc. on the radio, but there are few poster boys & girls in that crowd. Maybe Ryan Adams has some potential. Guess that's why it's called Alt Country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted October 8, 2001 Author Share Posted October 8, 2001 Originally posted by fantasticsound: Disgusted with radio. Constantly scanning for the one song worth listening to at any given minute of the day. Neil, I have really enjoyed listening to two "oldies" country stations in the past few months. I have found some gems. Much of what they play, I don't care for, as it is boring but I have found a lot of really great country tunes that I either had totally forgotten about or have never heard. One just came on... Dan Seals "One Friend." A real nice easygoing song that I haven't heard in many years. Another one I just found on there is "Blackberry Boogie" by Tennessee Ernie Ford. I just LOVE upbeat boogie woogie songs and this one is REAL catchy. I'd never heard it. Old as the hills... 1952. Another good thing about these two stations is I can call them and usually get the DJ and ask him what a song is that they played. I need to upgrade my computer so I can listen to online radio; I bet there is an answer there for people like us that tire of the radio conglomerates. The previous poster's comment about Firefly.com... that's interesting. ------------------ Duke This message has been edited by LiveMusic on 10-08-2001 at 12:00 PM > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oxford Posted October 8, 2001 Share Posted October 8, 2001 I'm witchya! The commercial radio scene at best is dismal. It's not so much that the music is bad. It's that the same songs are played over and over and over. Even the "classic's" stations seem to play the same playlists day after day. You can almost set your watch to which song is being played. The internet has opened a whole new door for me as far as music is concerned. I live in a culturally bland part of the country and our radio stations reflect that. In my eyes, this also makes a case for the music swapping sites like Napster, Audio Galaxy or whatever your favorite might be. I own a bunch of artists CDs that I would not own had I not been able to sample otherwise. It's getting a little better. We even have a Borders now. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Hey popmusic, thanks for the links. Can't wait to get home and check 'em out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted October 9, 2001 Share Posted October 9, 2001 Tennessee Ernie Ford?!?!? You were able to hear Tennessee Ernie Ford on the RADIO??? And it wasn't, "16 Tons" ??? Not in America... I don't believe it. 11 years ago, when Randy Travis was still big (in large part due to traditional country songs), my brother in law called the Chicago country radio station for Hank Williams Sr. They insisted they DIDN'T HAVE ANY HANK WILLIAMS SR.!!! (Oops! I'm shouting.. sorry.) Dan Seals is a great example. Love, "One Friend," and, "Everything that Glitters." But I hear England Dan & John Ford Coley on classic rock radio more than I hear Dan Seals on classic country radio. (Kevin Meaney voice http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif That's not riiiight!!! ------------------ Neil Reality: A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted October 9, 2001 Author Share Posted October 9, 2001 Originally posted by fantasticsound: 11 years ago, when Randy Travis was still big (in large part due to traditional country songs), my brother in law called the Chicago country radio station for Hank Williams Sr. They insisted they DIDN'T HAVE ANY HANK WILLIAMS SR.!!! (Oops! I'm shouting.. sorry.) Wow, you are kidding me. Man, that sums up radio right there. If a country music station doesn't have "Your Cheatin' Heart,"... man, what has the world come to? (Almighty dollar.) I like to hear that song every once in awhile just to see how much the genre has changed. Heck, that's sacreligious. I mean saccountrymusic. ------------------ Duke > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted October 9, 2001 Share Posted October 9, 2001 Switch over to AM.....classic country still can be found there. Sorta. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oxford Posted October 9, 2001 Share Posted October 9, 2001 I've got a good friend that does a country classics show with his wife. He plays an old SG thru an old Vox amp. I don't know a whole lot about it but he says he bought it used in '62. It's a really warm sweet sounding setup. Anyways, he doesn't draw big crowds. Don't think he wants to. But it's a blast to go see him play. Kinda takes you back to the old honky tonk scene. Once the audience gets warmed up a little, it turns into a big sing-a-long. It's amazing how many of those old songs are so familiar. It's hard to find music like that these days. Everything is so overproduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted October 9, 2001 Author Share Posted October 9, 2001 Originally posted by oxford: I've got a good friend that does a country classics show with his wife. He plays an old SG thru an old Vox amp. I don't know a whole lot about it but he says he bought it used in '62. It's a really warm sweet sounding setup. Anyways, he doesn't draw big crowds. Don't think he wants to. But it's a blast to go see him play. Kinda takes you back to the old honky tonk scene. Once the audience gets warmed up a little, it turns into a big sing-a-long. It's amazing how many of those old songs are so familiar. Oxford, welcome to the forum. Say, I would be interested in communicating with your friends, if at all possible. My email is listed in my profile. Click on the profile button to view. I have spent several months listening to music and gathering potential songs, so I'm sure I would have quite a bit to offer your friends. Bound to have lots of songs that they haven't considered. My list is HUGE. I'm interested in talking to him/her about their act and especially, their playlist. I am having a heckuva time figuring out a genre(s) to settle on for an act. If I had to nail it today, it would consist of heavy into country, lots of older country, rockabilly, some acoustic blues, some rock, some pop and likely, some funny songs. (Okay, most everything!) If I had to choose only one genre, today, it would be older country, even though I am a rocker from way back. I just think older country can encompass not only great ballads but a bunch of catchy, upbeat tunes. And funny stuff, as well. So, if your friends have interest, give them my email address and we'll go from there. ------------------ Duke > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oxford Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 Hey Live, Thanks for the welcome. The guy I know isn't online yet. His wife has talked about getting a computer, but I doubt he'd have much interest in it. He's kind of an old world guy. Makes some mean venison sausage! I've seen his set list. It's an old yellowed spiral notebook with the lyrics handwritten with the key he prefers to play in. All of the little riffs and diddies that give the songs identity are in his head. He does a lot of Hank Williams Sr, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubbs, and some "newer" classics by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and his personal favorite Johnny Cash. Most of this stuff you can find online through the tab archives. The trick is to put your own twist on it. I'm no marketing expert, but my experience tells me keep it simple, keep it fun. Good luck with your set list. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted October 10, 2001 Author Share Posted October 10, 2001 Okay, Pete, fair enough. I'm more into sassier stuff those those artists, anyway. I definitely am learning some "classic" country like Hank Snow would do but since those are a dime a dozen, the bulk of it, I'm seeking what I call "sassy" songs and "catchy" songs. Those that have a little edge to them and tend to make people smile. Goodness knows, country has plenty to make them sad about. I just found a song that shows what I'm talking about. I think the title is "Give Me One More Chance." I don't know who it is... a harmony group like Shenandoah or somebody... anyway, I've found a couple of songs like this in the past day or so on country classic radio. This tune is so upbeat, it's almost bound to get anyone to toe tapping. Kinda fast gospel-like. The other one is "She Used To Be Somebody's Baby" by Gatlin Brothers. Also very fast and gospel-like. The reason I am in such a strong search for the uptempo tunes is because I guess most of the songs in a setlist need to be upbeat. Seems like a few months ago I asked about this and most replies said 80/20 or 90/10 fast/slow. Of course, it depends on if people are there to dance or listen. But even if it's a small gig where people are just listening, I think uptempo songs should prevail. Heck, if it was three hours of sad songs, somebody'd get beat up before the night was over. Some barhuggin' cowboy would get even more depressed than he already is. ------------------ Duke > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted October 10, 2001 Share Posted October 10, 2001 There are some great examples on the MPER comp CD of a lot of good music that will never make it to the radio. D Gauss' song is one of 'em. A rockabilly romp...might have made it to the radio in the 50s...but not in these overproduced n'stink times. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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