Radio waves

["Gary M. Gillman" <garyg@inforamp.net>]

Interesting discussion about the repetitive playing of certain bands on
"Classic Rock" and similar formats. I don`t doubt that the playlists reflect
demographics backed up by polls, etc., but there is also a chicken-and-egg
problem here - if you don`t give listeners a real choice they will react
only to what`s safe or familiar...  Yet, the Seattle and Gilman Street
sounds finally succeeded in reaching wide audiences. IMO, quality will
always "out" although the extent of one`s success will depend on many
factors other than musical quality as such as the state of radio in a
country or area, a band`s management, and so forth. It took The Who years to
make it big and they had plenty of obstacles to overcome in the early days.
The BBC wouldn`t play much rock (hence the growth of the pirate stations
memorialized in The Who Sell Out). Also, PT`s narrative inventiveness and
early use of song cycles, as well as  the band`s then Armageddon-like sound,
were misunderstood - until everyone started to imitate The Who! In the end,
bad radio can`t stop good rock, is my point. Also, we have to distiguish
between the different regional markets in a country. Eg. I`ve noticed in
Canada that FM rock radio is always worst in the smaller cities and rural
areas where it`s totally bland, take no chances stuff such as has been
mentioned on this list. But there is always more choice in the major urban
centres - the other day one of Toronto`s classic rock stations played the
first take of Yesterday, from Anthology 2 (the one released commercially was
the second take). I doubt this would happen in Winnipeg or Ottawa, where the
announcers play it fairly safe and indeed probably lack as a general rule
the musical savvy found in the big cities. BTW, the Who`s influence on the
Beatles - subject of some hotly contested exchanges on the list a while back
- is evident from a number of songs on said Anthology, where the Beatles
really stretched  on some of the cuts. (This influence is obscured by
Martin`s editing or mixing of the final takes). Listen to that fabulous take
of Good Morning, Good Morning on the new Anthology - Starr sounds like Moon
and the whole song is a Who-type heavy metal workout......Gary M.