Eagles Rocker Rues State of Radio

wired news ^ | 1/31/03 | Associated Press

[freepatriot32]

WASHINGTON -- To Don Henley's ears, the FM dial has been transformed from a bazaar of choices to a place where "everybody gets the same McDonald's hamburger."

Taking issue with the musician on Capitol Hill Thursday, the chairman of a company that operates 1,200 stations said it makes a point of offering a variety of formats, from talk to country to rock to Spanish language.

[freepatriot32]

is'nt clearchannel the one that distributes the rush limbaugh show ? maybe thats the real reason why john mccain is against them

[dirtboy]

Clear Channel stations suck big-time. I can always tell one - they have some stupid cutsey name, have a stale, repetitive playlist and draw viewers through promotions instead of music.

[dfwgator]

In a few years Satellite Radio will make Clear Channel irrelevant.

[Mr. Mojo]

Yeah, FM radio is a joke now, but it's not the fault of either anyone in the radio biz or in government. The fault lies with the fact that the state of popular music today is the worst it's ever been, by far.

[dirtboy]

The fault lies with the fact that the state of popular music today is the worst it's ever been, by far.

I disagree. I hear plenty of good music on my long commute, but only on non-commercial channels. WXPN in Philly isn't bad, although they have gone downhill a bit over the years, but I've figured out the college radio stations along my drive and they play some more interesting stuff. You just gotta change the channel when the dimwit college DJ comes on and shares how interesting his/her life is with the radio audience.

[EggsAckley]

You, Mr.Mojo, are eggsackley right! Current music is just awful, and boring. Besides, talk radio is taking over anyway.

I am probably not alone in the fact that I NEVER tune in music stations. I want news, conversations, debates, etc.

[Lee Heggy]

Just a bunch of suits that have practically ruined the medium of radio with their beige, lackluster approach. Find a nich, be innovative and get popular and these guys move in like mafia. Rush somehow has maintained his style under their thumb but others like Art Bell just couldn't stand the constant tinkering and interferance and bailed with a nice chunk of cash and an no compete clause to be replaced by semi-clones that play the game the suits want. Clear Channel sucks.

[Bikers4Bush]

Clear Channel is evil.

[jimt]

Clear Channel stations suck big-time. I can always tell one - they have some stupid cutsey name, have a stale, repetitive playlist and draw viewers through promotions instead of music.

Bingo!

[dead]

On the plus side, at least nobody’s playing Don Henley’s lame-ass crap anymore.

[jimt]

Has anybody noticed that the Clear Channel stations have largely stopped identifying themselves as such ? It used to be part of the channel ID here normally, and now I hear it only rarely.

People might notice who was spewing the garbage, methinks.

Clear Channel sucks.

[Malcolm]

I can't remember the exact details, but there was a polling service that told radio stations what the majority wanted to hear, a system that was phased out, replaced by individual DJ choices or that of the station itself. This was done in 1981. I'm a musician, so I like most music, but I bet if the polling system was reinstituted, you would have more mainstream music. I don't know that ownership of mulitple stations makes the problem worse or better, but any change would be an improvement.

There seems to always be a tendency, whether in music, politics, or any other area, to amplify the "circus freak" elements and damp down the mainstream influences. For example, check out VH1. That channel was began to meet the needs of mainstream audiences, and now you can hardly tell it from MTV, the mother of all freak shows.....

[Protagoras]

and draw viewers through promotions instead of music.

It must get boring viewing that radio dial for hours on end. ;^}

[dirtboy]

On the plus side, at least nobody’s playing Don Henley’s lame-ass crap anymore.

Actually, the Clear Channel rock station in Harrisburg plays him all the time.

[dirtboy]

It must get boring viewing that radio dial for hours on end. ;^}

I was wondering when someone was gonna notice that. Trust me, as bad is radio is nowadays, watching it instead of listening to it is a distinct improvement.

[dead]

Note to self: Play a CD while driving near Harrisburg.

[Protagoras]

LOL, and I'm showing my age by refering to it as a dial in this day and age. :^}

[dirtboy]

Note to self: Play a CD while driving near Harrisburg.

WXPN has a relay station in Harrisburg, 88.1. And Dickinson College plays some good stuff in the Carlisle area on 88.3. Monday night, they were playing two hours of ska music and ran one song of ska bagpipe. Now I've heard everything.

[Paul Atreides]

MTV and VH1 have just picked up on indoctrinating kids once the schoolbell rings. Like you say, MTV is a non-stop leftist freakshow and VH1 is its younger sibling.

[Protagoras]

We have a few good stations here in the Chicago area, but not as many as there used to be. I'm looking forward to Satellite radio to see if it will be an improvement.