On more than one occasion of late, I
have heard discussions, or read them online, about the dismal state
of the local “modern” rock station here in Pittsburgh. From the
lack of actual music being played on the station to the restrictive
playlist of mediocrity when they do play music.
The last time I voluntarily tuned into
the station had to have been about ten years ago. I had a loaner car
from a dealership while my car was getting worked on and FM radio was
my only listening option. I dialed in only to hear some guy
screaming at me about some sort of sport. It had been a while since
I listened to the station so I thought they changed format to a
sports station. I immediately went back to the left of the dial in a
futile effort to tune in one of the local college stations. Static
was all I could find so the only thing I had to listen to was the
constant ringing in my ears.
I have always had a hate/hate
relationship with the station ever since 1996 or so when their parent
company, Clear Channel, bought up a competing station with a similar
format and changed it to “smooth jazz.” Whatever that is. They
couldn't beat the other station in the ratings so they bought them. Clear Channel now goes by the name of iHeart Radio and is, not
surprisingly, a subsidiary of Bain Capital.
I used to lug gear for one of the DJs
on the oldies station that was also owned by Clear Channel. They pay
so well that he had to take up side gigs playing music at car shows
and weddings just to make ends meet. During the drives to and from
whatever event that neither of us cared about, he would clue me in to
how Clear Channel worked.
Songs that were stored on the hard
drive at the station would be played a few beats per second faster
than they should have been. The strategy behind speeding up the
music was so there would be extra time for another commercial to be
squeezed in during the hour. This is why he always dragged around a
couple of gym bags filled with CDs. And as much as it was a pain in
the ass for him to drag those bags around, he always refused to put
his CDs on the hard drive. He hosted a specialty show on Sunday
nights and figured if he put his music on their hard drive, the
station wouldn't need him anymore.
He also explained to me what he called
the Clear Channel “cradle to the grave” formatting strategy. Clear Channel wanted to own a broadcast frequency with every viable
format, in every market. Top 40, Classic Rock, Modern Rock, Oldies,
Country, Conservative Talk and sports. This spread of formats was to
ensure that they had listeners covered across every stage of their
lives. It wasn't about the quality of the content as much as the
quantity of the content. They wanted to tell you what you liked and
when you will like it. Given the proliferation of country music
stations in Pittsburgh, I think this strategy may have been
abandoned.
The restrictive nature of the playlist
is my biggest issue with the “modern” rock station. It seems
like their playlist has a framework of the same fifty songs
throughout the day. Allowing the DJ to stray from it only a few
times during their shift in order to personalize their show a minimal
amount.
Add to that the fact that some of
these bands are indistinguishable from one another. I don't think I
could tell the difference between Godsmack, Nickelback, Creed or
Disturbed if my life depended on it. And they've been playing some
of these songs for nearly twenty years. Dead horse syndrome has to
kick in at some point.
They do have a “prehistoric”
specialty show on Sunday mornings, where they get into older punk and
new wave but I can't figure out why the regular playlist isn't
expanded to include this music. Why would I set my alarm to get up
early on a Sunday to listen to music that is played at the wrong
speed when I can put those records on any time I want to? It doesn't
make sense to relegate the good music to a low rating, time slot
ghetto.
And that's because it's never been
about music for Clear Channel or whatever they're calling themselves
this week. They only care about ad dollars and media buys. The
format of the station is only a vehicle to get the advertisements
into your ears. That's why they also have a billboard division in
some cities. Getting ads into your ears wasn't enough, they also
have to put them in your face while you're stuck in traffic.
Clear Channel has bought up a large
chunk of the outdoor music venues and also owns TicketBastard. They
have found a way to capitalize on almost every part of being a fan of
music. That's why I'm glad I only tend to go to small club shows and
try to find a way around paying the exorbitant fees they put on
tickets. The last time I bought a ticket through TicketBastard, the
base price of the ticket was $25. The final cost of the ticket was
$40. I can't figure out how there were $15 of “convenience” fees
added to the cost of the ticket. I can understand a fee to process
the credit card transaction and to drop the ticket in the mail but
that sure as shit doesn't cost $15.
My self imposed boycott of this
heaping pile of bullshit isn't all that hard to keep up. I hate
outdoor shows and other larger venues (Stage AE, I'm aiming my middle
finger at you.) Unless a band is on the shortlist in my head, I'll
skip the show on principle. I've got a house full of records and a
hard drive with several terabytes of music on it so I don't need
their radio stations either. I can go from Nick Cave & The Bad
Seeds to High On Fire to Minor Threat without being rudely
interrupted by Dave Matthews or a sports call-in show.
I know that there is the local NPR
affiliate that most people would point to for being an alternative to
the Alternative Rock station but they seem to be stuck in their own
rut of mid-tempo singer/songwriters. You've got to wait until the
graveyard shift to hear something without an acoustic guitar or a
flute in it.
Nothing on the airwaves in Pittsburgh
seems to be aimed at me so I think I'll be just fine without them. My iPod is my friend and all hail the mighty turntable.
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