Posted on 09/08/2005 11:44:53 AM PDT by raccoonradio
It’s not easy being the world’s greatest rock and roll band. The Rolling Stones, currently on tour and selling tickets for $450 a pop, are having so much trouble getting their new single played on the radio that they’ve even hired a specialist to help them.
“Rough Justice,” a song with just enough salacious bite in the lyrics to get someone’s attention, would have benefited from being banned. Unfortunately, its double entendres haven’t sparked enough interest one way or another. The result is an uphill battle to get played on stations that are crowded with younger acts — many of whom owe their existence to the Stones.
As of last week, “Rough Justice” did not register on the mainstream airplay charts on the Billboard Radio Monitor at all. On that chart, the No. 1 single, “Listen to Your Heart,” a sterile remake of a pretty bad 1989 Roxette single, had 7,666 “spins” or plays. The No. 2 single, Mariah Carey’s blockbuster “We Belong Together,” was not far behind with 7,507.
By contrast, “Rough Justice” had been played a total of 407 times at all the stations that were playing it all. And that number wasn’t very high. The upside is that it’s 33 times more than the week before, but that isn’t saying much. “Rough Justice” is also having trouble picking up radio markets. So far only one station in New York, WAXQ 104.3, has it. There’s also one station each in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta. After that, the list gets a little dire: all the cities are secondary markets, like Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Albany and Toledo. All told, “Rough Justice” could only be found on 32 radio stations across the United States. WHJY in Providence currently holds the cumulative record, having spun the Stones single 192 times in total
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
>>Of course, the Stones’ radio problems do stem from their age and where exactly to put them.
The Gall Stones
I just heard "Sweet Neo-Con" on the radio for the first time last night, about 1:30 a.m. actually. Sounded very Stonesy, but the lyrics were just a list of cliches that the Left has been using for years. Very unoriginal.
I've seen 'em all. Gimme Aerosmith, AC/DC, or KISS, but I'll still die a happy man if I never see the Stones again. (this coming from a 20-year-old!) If only Led Zeppelin would get back together... =P
Same here. Mick and Keith really disappointed me with this song. I've seen all these bands in their prime so I am a looong way from 20, though. =)
This has very little to do with "Sweet NeoCon" and more to do with the fact that The Stones are only on Classic Rock stations who by their definition don't play new songs. How is it that some bands, Aerosmith comes immediately to mind, get played on rock, classic rock and top 40 stations and others do not?
Some classic rock stations do play new songs by older artists. WZLX in Boston has been known to say "it doesn't have to be old to be a classic" and some stations have shows that play newer cuts by old standby artists.
Aerosmith manages to attract newer, younger fans be constnatly reinventing itself. Bands like the stones are doomed to classic rock stations because 1) they appeal mainly to the older crowd and 2) they haven't written a good song in over 2 decades.
Aerosmith isn't the teeny bopper's first choice, but they have the ability to write good songs that even teenagers can appreciate in one way or another. They hear "don't want to miss a thing" on the radio and they'll keep it tuned to that station. A new stones song comes on and they (and every else) turn the dial.
Sweet Mother of Pearl! Are there really people who will pay that kind of money to see these old 1960's relics in concert?!
Heck,yah! I'd pay just about anything to watch Keith soil his Depends or to watch Sir Mick accidentally propel his uppers into the third row.
Say it ain't so Mick!
Well here in Houston, there are 2 "new music" stations that will even touch "rock" and the Stones don't fit into either of their formats (one is dance pop with hip hop, the other is the retrogrunge numetal emo boy station playing 10 year old songs as "leading edge").
Then there are the "classic rock" stations for 50s-70s, 80s, 60s-80s, and 70-90s.
Doesn't matter that the Stones have a new ablum out. If it were on a "greatest hits" compiliation they might play it.
Any station that would choose "Neo-Con" as the "hit" has a Bush bashing agenda to push.
bump
I agree with the main issue here being that there just doesn't seem to be a format for new music from classic rock artists. I haven't heard anything from Robert Plant's new album on regular radio either - only on XM radio.
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