Why, WRIF, Why

First of let me apologize for not posting in so long. My computer crashed and I don't know. Life was pretty wild.

Now that that's out of the way. Time for me to go on a little rant and tell an anecdote.

Once there was a kid. This kid normally got decent grades but when he was about twelve he didn't do so hot on his report card. He took the TV, out of his room as a commitment to show his parents he was going to try harder, but he left the radio in his room.

And good times were had as while working on algebra he heard awesome music on the dial. After 10 pm there was an awesome 2 hour commercial free rock block on the local hard rock station. He heard a lot of his favorite bands, The White Stripes, Disturbed,Nine Inch Nails, Evanescence, Drowning Pool, and Rage against the Machine for the first time on that station.




WRIF, what the hell happened? Nearly every song now a days is at least 10 years old. There is no new stuff. I can name at least 5 bands that qualify as hard rock off the top of my head who came out with new albums this year. What happened to the commercial free rock block. Why do everytime I turn on the dial I get either commercials, talk, or old stuff that I have mp3s of already. If I want to listen to music 10 years old I can go to the classic rock station down the dial or better yet just go to my own collection.

Maybe it's falling revenues. I'm an old fashioned guy who believes in competition in the free market (to a point). The internet is kicking your asses but there are some things a DJ is better at than Pandora, and there some things satellite can't do either.

Hosting a live party at the local club. Covering a concert at the local club or bar. Broadcasting local news, both hard and music related. Making relevant wisecracks. Call in shows and request hours. Interviewing local bands to have you finger on the pulse of the local music scene. These are things you can do better than your competition if only you would try.

You guys have a job. I subscribe to Rhapsody so I can get almost every song I want so why do I want you guys to succeed. Most of the bands on MTV and the non hard rock stations aren't my style. A few years ago I thought hard rock was dying. Then I started looking for myself its not. It just looks that way because my contemporary rock stations aren't doing their jobs.

Do I like Nirvana? Hell Yeah. Do I like Metallica? Sure. But if I hear "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or "Unforgiven" one more time, POW ZIP RIGHT TO THE MOON.

I can hear those songs whenever I want. Hell I can sing along, if I want. I want songs I can't get whenever I want on the radio. Those rare tracks from older bands. Like Pearl Jam's cover of I got a feeling. Or brand new bands I haven't heard. I'm tired of feeling like a 22-year old, 40-year-old guy who's nostalgic for old bands when there are plenty of new ones I just haven't heard because the DJs aren't doing their jobs.

I like the institution of radio. Almost every artist, I hear talk in interviews, says something about the first time they heard their song on the radio. Sure pod-casting can come close but the good old radio performs or is suppose to perform a valuable function in society. It exposes people to artists they may not have considered and brings together a geographic music scene.