In 1979 The Buggles lamented "The Video Killed the Radio Star". So there was the advent of television and music channels. MTV, Vh1 and other what-have-yous, and people watched videos and concert footages. However, after an initial fall out as per the song's predictions, radio has again become the primary source of new music for most people. The reason for this is simple.
Videos need you to pay attention to them, whereas the feed from the radio just blends into the background. Plus, the fact that most people don't actually go out of their way to listen to mood based song listings unless its readily featured (Cf: playlists on audio file managers on computers or iPods) the automatic programming of any radio show sits well with most. New songs/ singles get played as soon as they hit the chart. And like the icing of the cake, they have request shows, chart toppers being repeated and all that promotional jazz.
But wait a second... i can't be writing an article on this portal and actually praise modern day radio. Frankly, i can't find one good reason to refrain from spilling out my angst. The list of grievances i have with them is extensive, so without further adieu i will just start narrating the five that top the list for me:
1. Talk of over-kill
Everybody has already heard that song, you insist on playing as the new single. I mean once in a day is fine, but once every hour! Well, there are other music contents out there. So my question is, why are we being fed incessant air-time of the same song (which by now would have turned into a point of sore irritation), over and over and over (get the point ?) again? There's new music, unheard music everywhere, being released all the time. Why can't we have more intelligent audio sequencing?
2. Talk of bad RJs.
People die and they shut up. Never to be heard again... ever! However, lately i have a sinking feeling, that no matter what happens to Rjs, they would not hold their tongue. They get paid to talk... and they unleash their utterly mindless chatter unto innocent, unsuspecting ears. Here, i would make a specific mention of the fact, that all FM radio stations in this country, come with an in-built "The-RJ-boredom death-trap" which guarantees that you shall never hear music the way you know it. From manicure tips to shopping spree, to "oh-my-god did you check out the new hair style of that girl/guy". In short everything and anything that has nothing to do with the song or music featured would be discussed before and after songs.
3. The crib sheet
This is getting more funny by the minute. This is in continuation with the last check. Here our chatter boxes (read RJs) tell us something about the song. Hold on, not so fast, check out what they are saying. Some general introduction, "this is a song by artist X from a her debut/ chart topping album Y". Some more hee-hawing. Some more sniggers and how much our host "looooves" the song. It gets sill more vague. If you are the unlucky audience you might even hear that horrid torturer talking about the meaning and grrrh the complex emotions portrayed in the song. And to make it all the more worse, she might be simply referring to Britney Spears.
4. the contents or the lack there of
Take for instance India's international music channels (read only English releases). Alright may be i would have let the language predilections pass at that, if they at the very least bothered to cover all the genres out there.
Switch on the channel (any channel for that matter), all you get is a bombarding disarray of nothing but, boyband songs/ hip-hop/ some insane rap/ ah there the almost absent alternative and indie rock (thrown in just in case someone was about to get their shot-guns to shot themselves after listening to the shit preceding it ) followed by some more boyband, rap, reggae... grrh.. you get the basic drill.
There's no rock music (unless you consider Linkin Park to be the epitome of all that is rock/metal/core), no real jazz (heh... Miles Davis has been condemned perpetually to some smoke room), no avant-garde (cough "what's that?" cough) or even simple swing, blues and the likes.
Metal-heads sleep at nights too. So why have only one program dedicated to (sub-standard) metal acts in a week, somewhere in the middle of the night? Do people liking jazz, suddenly wake up one Sunday evening to be sucked into the groove and then do a Rip Van-winkle act after that? And if people are expected to be partying on a Saturday night, why the hell does radio insist on playing party-music (yea, yea, they come out with meta-genres at the drop of a hat)? Aren't those people already out and having a good time? So by natural extension aren't the ones tuning in, are people who absolutely detest that sort of music?
5. Hypocrisy
"Images and Words" has been recommended as a beg/borrow/steal album in the website of one such radio station. I am still to hear a single song being played out of it, till this day. Portentous are the ways of these channels, who would not project themselves to the people who just happen to give a cursory glance at their websites, as a network that only gag their feature content with trash. Come on, if you are so sure about the fact that what you are playing is "good" music, then stand up for it. Otherwise just accept the fact of being the ridiculously over-rated medium of mass music delivery that your stations have come to become.
Now someone just play that freaking "Wisconsin Death Trip" album for me, cause i need to smash that damned radio off.
Radio news is bearable. This is due to the fact that while news is being broadcast, the disk jockey is not allowed to talk.
Videos need you to pay attention to them, whereas the feed from the radio just blends into the background. Plus, the fact that most people don't actually go out of their way to listen to mood based song listings unless its readily featured (Cf: playlists on audio file managers on computers or iPods) the automatic programming of any radio show sits well with most. New songs/ singles get played as soon as they hit the chart. And like the icing of the cake, they have request shows, chart toppers being repeated and all that promotional jazz.
But wait a second... i can't be writing an article on this portal and actually praise modern day radio. Frankly, i can't find one good reason to refrain from spilling out my angst. The list of grievances i have with them is extensive, so without further adieu i will just start narrating the five that top the list for me:
1. Talk of over-kill
Everybody has already heard that song, you insist on playing as the new single. I mean once in a day is fine, but once every hour! Well, there are other music contents out there. So my question is, why are we being fed incessant air-time of the same song (which by now would have turned into a point of sore irritation), over and over and over (get the point ?) again? There's new music, unheard music everywhere, being released all the time. Why can't we have more intelligent audio sequencing?
2. Talk of bad RJs.
People die and they shut up. Never to be heard again... ever! However, lately i have a sinking feeling, that no matter what happens to Rjs, they would not hold their tongue. They get paid to talk... and they unleash their utterly mindless chatter unto innocent, unsuspecting ears. Here, i would make a specific mention of the fact, that all FM radio stations in this country, come with an in-built "The-RJ-boredom death-trap" which guarantees that you shall never hear music the way you know it. From manicure tips to shopping spree, to "oh-my-god did you check out the new hair style of that girl/guy". In short everything and anything that has nothing to do with the song or music featured would be discussed before and after songs.
3. The crib sheet
This is getting more funny by the minute. This is in continuation with the last check. Here our chatter boxes (read RJs) tell us something about the song. Hold on, not so fast, check out what they are saying. Some general introduction, "this is a song by artist X from a her debut/ chart topping album Y". Some more hee-hawing. Some more sniggers and how much our host "looooves" the song. It gets sill more vague. If you are the unlucky audience you might even hear that horrid torturer talking about the meaning and grrrh the complex emotions portrayed in the song. And to make it all the more worse, she might be simply referring to Britney Spears.
4. the contents or the lack there of
Take for instance India's international music channels (read only English releases). Alright may be i would have let the language predilections pass at that, if they at the very least bothered to cover all the genres out there.Switch on the channel (any channel for that matter), all you get is a bombarding disarray of nothing but, boyband songs/ hip-hop/ some insane rap/ ah there the almost absent alternative and indie rock (thrown in just in case someone was about to get their shot-guns to shot themselves after listening to the shit preceding it ) followed by some more boyband, rap, reggae... grrh.. you get the basic drill.
There's no rock music (unless you consider Linkin Park to be the epitome of all that is rock/metal/core), no real jazz (heh... Miles Davis has been condemned perpetually to some smoke room), no avant-garde (cough "what's that?" cough) or even simple swing, blues and the likes.
Metal-heads sleep at nights too. So why have only one program dedicated to (sub-standard) metal acts in a week, somewhere in the middle of the night? Do people liking jazz, suddenly wake up one Sunday evening to be sucked into the groove and then do a Rip Van-winkle act after that? And if people are expected to be partying on a Saturday night, why the hell does radio insist on playing party-music (yea, yea, they come out with meta-genres at the drop of a hat)? Aren't those people already out and having a good time? So by natural extension aren't the ones tuning in, are people who absolutely detest that sort of music?
5. Hypocrisy
"Images and Words" has been recommended as a beg/borrow/steal album in the website of one such radio station. I am still to hear a single song being played out of it, till this day. Portentous are the ways of these channels, who would not project themselves to the people who just happen to give a cursory glance at their websites, as a network that only gag their feature content with trash. Come on, if you are so sure about the fact that what you are playing is "good" music, then stand up for it. Otherwise just accept the fact of being the ridiculously over-rated medium of mass music delivery that your stations have come to become.
Now someone just play that freaking "Wisconsin Death Trip" album for me, cause i need to smash that damned radio off.
Radio news is bearable. This is due to the fact that while news is being broadcast, the disk jockey is not allowed to talk.
