so as not hijack the other thread--music woes

[azimuth]

on another thread, the discussion of music and taste presented itself. I wonder if i'm just old or is there really a dearth of talent in the indusrty?

mikemover suggested that as musician having been through the ringer, he sees that he has to sift through the "garbage" to find the good stuff.

it seems to me that when i was younger the good stuff was so abundant it found me. what's up?

Originally Posted by azimuth

on another thread, the discussion of music and taste presented itself. I wonder if i'm just old or is there really a dearth of talent in the indusrty?

mikemover suggested that as musician having been through the ringer, he sees that he has to sift through the "garbage" to find the good stuff.

it seems to me that when i was younger the good stuff was so abundant it found me. what's up?

That's about it, I thought new bands sucks until I got XM and discovered many good bands. Wading through the commercials and BS on FM is painful at best on XM you can pick your genre and will discover groups that fall into that category.

[MTI]

It depends on how you're getting your "content." When dinosaurs walked the earth, there was a tribe of folks called "disc jockeys" that could select what they spun out to the other tribesmen, listening in on their 7 transistor Sony radios or in their parent's Oldsmobile VistaCruiser. Then came the "age of consolidation, playlists, and corporate programming" so that every station, whether in Mephis, TN or Seattle, WA sounded the same because they were all playing the same tunes by the artists that the record companies deemed worthy. Soon, every "Clear Channel" will be taken over . . .

[Veloce300DT]

There are many new musicians out there creating some amazing music- you name it, and its out there! Think of the most obscure combination of genres, or somthing that sounds as good as the classics from our history- wether it be rock n roll, jazz, contemporary, singer-songwriter, or a mix of all of these things and newer styles- electronic, ambient, etc...
theres somthing for everybody! But with the corperate programming as mentioned by MTI, most people never really hear any of it if they try to find it on the radio, where this stuff is overshadowed by more popular music..... the top 40 listings today are horrifying- chalked full of manufactured bands, musicians, and artists that miserably fail to represent the talent and uniqueness of other lesser known, or less publicised current music... alot of university radio stations are trying to address this by playing new, non-commercial music of all genres, and it has become a huge success.
KDVS 90.3 FM, based in my home town of Davis Ca., is an extension of UC Davis's public outreach program, and offers listeners many different programs- news, talk, and music, online. They play a good mix of newer independent artists, and older independent artists of varying genres from decades past.

Check out www.kdvs.org for more info.

In addition, NPR frequently features new independnet artists- offering interviews, sound clips, and more. Stanford university is another school that has a similar radio station to KDVS- KZSU 90.1 (www.kzsu.stanford.edu)

And lastly, another favorite of mine is WGBH out of Boston- they play many artists, mostly jazz. Also offer NPR news.
www.wgbh.org

[boneheaddoctor]

Originally Posted by Veloce300DT

There are many new musicians out there creating some amazing music- you name it, and its out there! Think of the most obscure combination of genres, or somthing that sounds as good as the classics from our history- wether it be rock n roll, jazz, contemporary, singer-songwriter, or a mix of all of these things and newer styles- electronic, ambient, etc...
theres somthing for everybody! But with the corperate programming as mentioned by MTI, most people never really hear any of it if they try to find it on the radio, where this stuff is overshadowed by more popular music..... the top 40 listings today are horrifying- chalked full of manufactured bands, musicians, and artists that miserably fail to represent the talent and uniqueness of other lesser known, or less publicised current music... alot of university radio stations are trying to address this by playing new, non-commercial music of all genres, and it has become a huge success.
KDVS 90.3 FM, based in my home town of Davis Ca., is an extension of UC Davis's public outreach program, and offers listeners many different programs- news, talk, and music, online. They play a good mix of newer independent artists, and older independent artists of varying genres from decades past.

Check out kdvs.org for more info.

In addition, NPR frequently features new independnet artists- offering interviews, sound clips, and more. Stanford university is another school that has a similar radio station to KDVS- KZSU 90.1 (www.kzsu.stanford.edu)

I refuse to listen to NPR for personal reasons that can no long be discussed.....however none of the local Public radio stations promoted the kind of music I enjoy listening to anyway.

[Veloce300DT]

HAHA! right as a clicked the submit post button I thought, uh oh, i mentioned NPR! Im gonna get BANNED! HAHA! Politics aside, npr can be used a source for all of you starving for some music other than the top 40.

[MTI]

Originally Posted by Veloce300DT

HAHA! right as a clicked the submit post button I thought, uh oh, i mentioned NPR! Im gonna get BANNED! HAHA! Politics aside, npr can be used a source for all of you starving for some music other than the top 40.

Nothing like going thru "All Songs Considered" or the music links on "The World" to freshen up the playlists.

http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/archives/lookahead05

http://www.theworld.org/globalhits/index.shtml

[boneheaddoctor]

Originally Posted by Veloce300DT

HAHA! right as a clicked the submit post button I thought, uh oh, i mentioned NPR! Im gonna get BANNED! HAHA! Politics aside, npr can be used a source for all of you starving for some music other than the top 40.

Not around here...............unless you are into Jazz or Classical...........

If you enjoy any flavor of rock and roll you won't find it on that unmentionible station.

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by Veloce300DT

HAHA! right as a clicked the submit post button I thought, uh oh, i mentioned NPR! Im gonna get BANNED! HAHA! Politics aside, npr can be used a source for all of you starving for some music other than the top 40.

Right after 9/11 my agency sent-out a notice that there was no expectation of privacy for computer usage and that anything could be read by the IT staff. Also, the talk about "Raptor" was going on. And then there's the "Echelon" system, a favorite of foil-hatters everywhere.

So my brother, who works for a security-conscious agency and I email each other ferquently and I mentioned this to him. He replied that they're probably searching for key words and phrases like, "Bomb, airplane, Allah Akbar!". I wrote back that his including that in an email might get us busted, especially if I included, "poison, TNT, household chemicals, President".

It was like playing chicken sending that lengthening note of increasingly incendiary words and phrases back and forth.

Nobody ever busted us, so either the system is lame, or they're watching me right now. And now they know about you. Better get your foil hat out quick!

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by azimuth

on another thread, the discussion of music and taste presented itself. I wonder if i'm just old or is there really a dearth of talent in the indusrty?

mikemover suggested that as musician having been through the ringer, he sees that he has to sift through the "garbage" to find the good stuff.

it seems to me that when i was younger the good stuff was so abundant it found me. what's up?

It's simple. You're old. Or do as MedMech, Suganami and I have done and discover XM. You'll here lots of great music on lots of channels. They even have a rock channel for new bands. I've heard some highly mediocre bands on there and a few pretty good ones. haven't heard Double Drive yet.

[azimuth]

Originally Posted by Botnst

It's simple. You're old......

damn....

[mikemover]

Originally Posted by Botnst

It's simple. You're old. Or do as MedMech, Suganami and I have done and discover XM. You'll here lots of great music on lots of channels. They even have a rock channel for new bands. I've heard some highly mediocre bands on there and a few pretty good ones. haven't heard Double Drive yet.

doubleDrive got a few spins on XM....We got more airtime on Sirius, including an extensive interview and acoustic set that we recorded at their NYC studio......I don't know if they broadcast "reruns" of that stuff or not.... The digital cable music and satellite TV music channels still give us a decent number of spins....enough to keep a small royalty check coming in the mail every now and then, anyway.

I agree that FM radio has gone to the dogs....I must admit that a lot of FM rock stations were very kind to my band for a few years. One of our songs reached #17 on the Billboard Magazine Rock Airplay Charts, and another made it as high as #14.....Both of those songs actually spent some time at #1 on a few stations! We did a lot of those super-big outdoor festival-type shows for quite a few stations, too. However, I'm still disappointed in most of what they have to offer in recent years. And once your record label stops pushing your music to them (or covertly paying them to play it, in many cases), then they forget all about you, and move on to the next victim.

The playlists are getting smaller and smaller on FM stations. More and more stations are becoming corporate-owned, and much of the playlist is dictated by the higher-ups in the parent company. Fewer and fewer slots are available for lesser-known bands. DJs have pretty much NO say in what gets spun. Try calling up a major rock radio station in your area and requesting a more obsure song--even one by a very popular band. If it's not on their playlist, it will almost always NOT get played, no matter how many times you call.

Very few things that I hear on FM inspire me any more....just a steady stream of cookie-cutter schlock. This trend is slowly "dumbing down" the audience, to the point that many very young listeners wouldn't recognize a good band or a great song, even if it fell on their heads!

But please, don't blame musicians as a whole.....For every terrible, unoriginal, cheesy band you hear on the radio, there are 50 great bands that you will never hear, because the industry never gives them a chance to be heard. Don't give up on great music.....it's still out there, even if you're "old and jaded", like me.....You just have to want to hear it bad enough to bother seeking it out.

Mike

[boneheaddoctor]

I think there have been pitiful few decent new acts in recent years....and none outstanding..................the fools trying to sue everybody under the sun for file sharing should spend 1/2 that effort in finding new tallent.....