Sunday, March 14, 2010
Is Radio Really This Bad?
I know it's not exactly news that regular radio sucks, but it's really getting ridiculous.
I have 5 music stations programmed on my car radio - all rock-oriented, if you count the pop-rock-oldies-mishmash of JACK-FM. I only listen to/from work (about 30min each way) , to/from the gym (about 10min) and out to lunch a few times a week (maybe 10 minutes total) . Even then my morning listening is mostly talk-radio and I often listen to my iPod on the way home from work. Still, even with these limited listening times, it's incredibly apparent that the playlists on these stations are absurdly small.
My new theory is that I can't make a single trip in my car - at any time of the day or night - without hearing at least one of these 5 bands:
Led Zeppelin
AC/DC
Tom Petty
The Who
U2
I can pretty much guarantee that if the radio is on for more than 10 minutes I can find at least one of these bands on the 5-preset music stations in my car. There are other bands that pop-up a lot (I'm looking at you, Aerosmith) , but these seem to be the most pervasive.
So I'm going to conduct an experiment where I try to write down every time I hear one of these bands on the radio. I'm not going to get too detailed re: stations, times, etc. After all, I'm lazy and I'm driving. But I'll try to make a note of how long I was in the car and what songs I heard.
So starting Friday 3/12 : On the drive home from work (about 30min) I heard parts of:
AC/DC - "Back In Black"
U2 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
U2 - "Desire"
Led Zeppelin - "Dancin' Days"
Today - 3/14 - On the way to the gym (10 min) I heard:
Led Zeppelin - "Communication Breakdown"
and on the way home (10 min):
The Who - "Who Are You"
AC/DC - "Thunderstruck"
So far my theory is holding up quite well. We'll see how it goes.
Don't get me wrong - I love all of these bands. I just think it's sad that after 50+ years of rock music, we can't go 15 minutes without hearing these 5 bands.
Long Live Rock.
I have 5 music stations programmed on my car radio - all rock-oriented, if you count the pop-rock-oldies-mishmash of JACK-FM. I only listen to/from work (about 30min each way) , to/from the gym (about 10min) and out to lunch a few times a week (maybe 10 minutes total) . Even then my morning listening is mostly talk-radio and I often listen to my iPod on the way home from work. Still, even with these limited listening times, it's incredibly apparent that the playlists on these stations are absurdly small.
My new theory is that I can't make a single trip in my car - at any time of the day or night - without hearing at least one of these 5 bands:
Led Zeppelin
AC/DC
Tom Petty
The Who
U2
I can pretty much guarantee that if the radio is on for more than 10 minutes I can find at least one of these bands on the 5-preset music stations in my car. There are other bands that pop-up a lot (I'm looking at you, Aerosmith) , but these seem to be the most pervasive.
So I'm going to conduct an experiment where I try to write down every time I hear one of these bands on the radio. I'm not going to get too detailed re: stations, times, etc. After all, I'm lazy and I'm driving. But I'll try to make a note of how long I was in the car and what songs I heard.
So starting Friday 3/12 : On the drive home from work (about 30min) I heard parts of:
AC/DC - "Back In Black"
U2 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
U2 - "Desire"
Led Zeppelin - "Dancin' Days"
Today - 3/14 - On the way to the gym (10 min) I heard:
Led Zeppelin - "Communication Breakdown"
and on the way home (10 min):
The Who - "Who Are You"
AC/DC - "Thunderstruck"
So far my theory is holding up quite well. We'll see how it goes.
Don't get me wrong - I love all of these bands. I just think it's sad that after 50+ years of rock music, we can't go 15 minutes without hearing these 5 bands.
Long Live Rock.
