Fave Rock Groups Whose Songs Are Worn Out by FM Radio

[ch willie]

Our local radio station plays the same four AC/DC songs so much that nearly everyone I talk to detests AC/DC. When "Back in Black" or "Highway to Hell" come on, I tune them out, or I switch stations.

But this morning, I was listening to an LA station online. They played "Dirty Deeds," and I listened closely. What a great fucking song. What a great group.

Sure, a lot of their music is same-y. But man, they do what they do so well.

I'll probably go back to listen to the old albums again. I'm going to skip over "Shook Me All Night Long." Damn right I am.


However, I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to CCR, and I used to love them. Same for some of The Doors, Hendrix, and others. FM radio is so sad. I only ever listen to it for live DJs, just for a bit of entertainment. Sadly, most DJs--and I listen to a lot of different brick and mortar stations who also broadcast online--are not clever or funny or personable. Back when I was a lad, DJs were colorful. As the corporations took over radio, that disappeared.

I still say Tom Petty's Last DJ album is one of his best, and it's an important part of the discussion of the current state of radio and music.

[S. Cane]

When you hear a good song over and over again you get tired of it, at least momentarily...

Radio stations do that. That's why I prefer the ones that vary the programs.

As for ACDC being repetitive, well... Ever heard of two fellows named Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach?

You can rock for centuries with a set of 6 chords and some imagination... That's what's cool about rock and roll.

[melody]

Gee this seems familiar...Any Beatles tune...

[Don]

I was just listening to Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominoes.
What a great album, but I don't think I can listen to Layla (or Bell Bottom Blues) one more time!

[Bill Moore]

We recently got another FM station, (they call themselves Progressive Community Radio, and so far their ads are for the food co-op, and sundry arts "studios" that have cropped up since our town became a retirement hub. Eclectic is the proper word for their programing. Mexican talk radio, the news from the far left perspective, and numerous "save the earth" programs.
The one great program I enjoy comes on from 2 to 4 in the afternoon. They have a DJ, who has been around as long as I can remember, who knows every musical factoid, (or so it seems), and he plays anything except what has been beat to death on most stations. My only complaint is he is a Dillon fan, and gives him too much airplay, IMO. I try to tune it in when I can!

[Old Ranger]

I remember FM radio from the 60's of course, but on the rez in the 50's we had a couple AM stations that we could get and they were mostly country in nature (S. Dakota was not the birthplace of rock and roll). We did get to hear some Buddy Holly stuff and that became kinda old after awhile. They wore him and some others out.

Radio today in my area (Piney Woods of E. Texas) is mostly country (the new kind that ain't like the old stuff) and hip-hop and rap crap. I haven't switched on a radio (other than my weather radio) for over a decade. If I want to hear a tune, I'll dig out the record and fire up my old Kenwood system and give it a spin. Or maybe a little more advanced and play the cassette or 8 track.

[Bill Moore]

Ranger, in the mid 60s I was with my friend visiting his dad, (he had a ranch close to the Rosebud), and the only station I remember was KOMA, at night! Ironically, thats the only station we listened to here in Silver City, also at night.

[ch willie]

To put this in perspective, I was born in 1960. I grew up on, what's now referred to as, "Classic Rock". However, even back then, I was more of a fan of bands like Yes, ELP, U.K., Kansas, Boston, etc. I know that most of the members here, (in my age range), and at the LPF, as well as other guitar forums, are "blues" crazy, and I don't dislike blues, but it really isn't my thing.

Kenny

i was born in 62, and I also love the prog rock of the 60s-70s. I'm a bigger Beatles / Stones / Clapton / Floyd / Zeppelin freak. But I love so many others from the mid-60s on, including contemporary acts.

With a band like AC/DC, it's easy to think of them according to what they play on the radio. Of course they play dirty deeds, but I had tuned out AC/DC and their top 4 hits. I listed to Dirty Deeds with fresh ears, and it was a hell of a lot of fun.

[phantomman]

They sure beat Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" to death.

John Mellencougar's "Hurts So Good" is nearly in the same boat.

[smitty_p]

Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" has been very worn out. When our band was forming, we actually had a waitress advise us to never play that song. She said every band that comes through plays it.

Plus, the radio stations beat it to death, too.

[phantomman]

+1, Smitty.

Yeah, REO's "Keep On Lovin' You" is another one.

I said ixnay when the guys decided to add a Journey tune to our playlist. So we did "Lights" instead. It's a prettier melody and we needed more slow songs anyway.

[dirtdog]

Local AOR FM station I listened to heavily growing up ('80s) had two DJs who were MAJOR Steely Dan fans and played their tunes every chance the playlist would let them. I still can't listen to Kid Charlemagne and not think of driving to school in my beat up pickup!

That was on top of the Zep, Stones, etc. I think AC/DC was still too hard rock for that station back in the day, but it's all they play now.

Another weird thing in Canada is we had (have?) CanCon - basically 30% of a station's playlist must be of Canadian origin. Therefore Bryan Adams, Rush and Max Webster were also on heavy rotation.

[ch willie]

Now that I think about it... I love bands like The Guess Who, The Moody Blues and a host of others... There was just so much good stuff then...

The one thing all of them had in common was the integrity of the song, the realization of the LP as an art form.

I'm playing a lot of contemporary rock in my current band. Some of the songs are well written. But I'm not hearing a lot of innovation, nor any exploration of what the song and the album can be.

At the height of grunge, Camille Paglia wrote an essay in which she asked, "Where are the songs that are as accomplished as those of The Beatles, Stones, etc." You have to remember that a lot of grunge was so incestuous and same-ish. Bless her that she didn't recognize some of the great songs from that era, but she made a point. A lot of that stuff was just turgid and noisy.
There are still mainstream artists exploring music. But as in all times, mass market music wins and buys attention; it continues to be cliched, superficial, and so well produced that people eat it up.

[ch willie]

Doing covers in this band is not by choice, but it is what it is. I may be moving on to do my own stuff. Kenny, I'm like you. I've done covers for a long time.

Another group like that is ZZ Top. I never want to hear Sharp Dressed Man or Legs ever again. And I really love them and listen to anything but that and the other three songs radio plays to death.

I will continue to listen to radio. I like the local flavor stuff that comes from radio. They just play the same old shit now.

[chuckocaster]

It seems like the local station plays the same 40 songs, just in a different order, every damn day! I only listen to the radio at work, and that's because the other guys want to listen to it. So I just tune it out as best I can. I'm a young man, 33, so when I was growing up it was grunge rock music on the radio. I don't subscribe to this whole "music now days SUCKS!" bullshit, because you know what? No matter what generation you're from, it's an idiom that has always been used. "The death of rock music" has been touted since its inception. Trends come and go, tides ebb and flow, the world keeps spinning...

So with that said, I make conscience decision to what music I listen to. I am actively involved and engaged when I do so. I do not have it on for background noise or to fill dead space. Seems like you guys feel sort of the same way.

[phantomman]

So with that said, I make conscience decision to what music I listen to. I am actively involved and engaged when I do so. I do not have it on for background noise or to fill dead space. Seems like you guys feel sort of the same way.

+1

For a typical afternoon -- say, when I've got an amp or guitar on the bench for maintenance -- I might choose Phil Keaggy, Spirit, Nils Lofgren, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. I doubt there are more than a few "classic rock" radio stations that even bother with such esoteric artists.

Their loss, not mine.

[Rickenjangle]

You pickin' the electric Keaggy (like Crimson & Blue, 220, or Revelator) or the acoustic Keaggy, or the Classical/70's folk Keaggy (the Master & the Musician) or the new age-y Keaggy (The Wind in the Wheat)? There are so many different phases of his career (even Beatlesque with the Keaggy/Stonehill Band's "Sunday's Child").

[phantomman]

I prefer Keaggy's electric work and "Crimson and Blue" really seems to epitomize that era.

[Volumeknob]

Well around here----seriously I think Free Bird should be retired .......and its not like its a little 3 min quickie or something.....and locally the DJ's play it at least 3 times a day......that is like 30 total MINUTES of FREE BIRD every day.....for the LOVE OF GOD PLEASE STOP!

Sorry-----I'll shut up now

[Don]

So with that said, I make conscience decision to what music I listen to. I am actively involved and engaged when I do so. I do not have it on for background noise or to fill dead space. Seems like you guys feel sort of the same way.

Believe it or not, sometimes I actually envy people who can passively listen to music!
Has there been research showing brain activity comparing musicians and non-musicians listening to music?

[Volumeknob]

WHo said anything about passively.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LtUIl42aPk

[chuckocaster]

Yeah, IDK Don. In the past I would listen to things passively in the background. But now, I choose what I am going to listen to. Maybe that's not always the best thing as I might miss something new. I would just rather enjoy the experience as opposed to hearing the same "radio hits" day in and day out. I usually make mix CD's on iTunes, or listen to albums. Either way, I'm guaranteed NOT to have to listen to Freebird or other mularky.

[phantomman]

Hell Chuck, let's start a sing-a-long......

♫"OOKA CHUKKA CHUKKA CHUKKA, OOKA CHUKKA CHUKKA CHUKKA......"♫

[Gravity Jim]

I stopped listening to rock radio for years for these reasons. But there's some great radio in the North Bay, with diverse playlists that cover a broad swath of genres. I started using my car radio again.