Dark Star is fed up with the radio. I’m so far past that point, I forgot what it looked like. I haven’t listened to broadcast radio in years. Not on a regular basis, at least. When I did, I only listened to WIP, the sports station in Philly. Music on the radio? Not so much. I can probably list the albums I’ve bought because I heard one of the songs on the radio. They are: 1. Love Jones Soundtrack (the Dionne Farris song, Hopeless), 2. The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (Change The Game), and All In the Family by MFSB. That last one is a slight aberration because I had BEEN knew that I liked the song that I bought it for, TSOP, I just never knew the name of the song or the group.
In a way, though, that last example is probably the most typical use of the radio for me these days. At this point, all the radio can really do for me is point me in the direction of stuff I already know I like but don’t have the information about. Only thing is, the radio generally doesn’t play the stuff I like. Being that I’m much more into the b-sides and the album cuts, I know better than to think that anybody besides me is gonna program something I’d like. Now I ain’t gon’ lie, every once in a while, I’ll be between CDs in the car and they’ll throw on a song or two that slows me down, but my musical tastes vary a little too much from the traditional for me to be a fan of broadcast radio.
As an example, on the adult urban station, which I suppose is the demographic I fit into now, they’re good for playing Before I Let Go by Frankie Beverly & Maze. I hate that song. I know it’s really popular and everybody loves to sing along with it, but I cannot stand it. Like, if I was listening to the radio, I’d change the station if it came on. Or to use a positive instance, if they were to play some Al Green, there’s a 75% chance it would either be Let’s Stay Together or Love and Happiness. Can’t Get Next To You? Simply Beautiful? What? Al Green recorded those songs? And again, I know that Let’s Stay Together and Love and Happiness were big hits for Al, but they’re not his only good songs. I mean, for real-for real, I’d probably take Simply Beautiful over 2/3 of his catalog. But that’s just me. Which is why I couldn’t be a DJ.
The bigger problem, I think, is that my generation isn’t even being considered as a radio market. Most adult stations are targeted towards people who were adults when I was in high school. I mean, I like Stevie and Marv and Al and all, but why aren’t there stations that focus on classic hip-hop? By listening to the radio, you’d never know that EPMD had ever existed. Let alone Rebel Without A Pause. I find it hard to believe that there’s not a market - or that a market couldn’t be generated fairly quickly. But with the emphasis being on getting that quick cash quick fast, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
