Radio On The TV

Song of the Day: “Radio”  The Members

Great forgotten song from 1982

"I listen to the radio, it's better than the stereo"

What’s occurred to me recently, although it’s been going on for quite a while, is the practice of television breaking bands.  It just seems to be much more blatant now. 

Back in the day, we listened to the RADIO for new music.

A good example of this phenomenon is “Dawson’s Creek” Two artist appear on the show that previously were not well known.  Paula Cole’s,  “I Don’t Wanna Wait” served as the theme song and Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” appeared in an episode.  Paula went on to win a Grammy, and Edwin still has a career. 

And then there is the band that did the the theme song for “Friends”, “I’ll Be There For You. Suddenly, The Rembrantds became household name, although who can remember any other songs they did?  I guess that’s just the way it is, baby.

And I guess things have really really changed. 

At the end of “Gossip Girl”...several songs and artists are mentioned in the ending voice over with instructions to go to the CW website for more information.

The thing is, I don’t even remember hearing the songs in the episode. Apparently just a tinge of a tune is all you need to get the blatant Verizon cross promotion wheels going.

So that was perplexing, until I came across something quite opposite.

On “Dirty Sexy Money”, the band “The Weepies” was mentioned, many many times in the span of a few minutes. My interest was sufficiently piqued, cute name…I would make a note of it and check them out.

But much to my amazement, the band suddenly appears on the show in the most convoluted way possible.  I was stunned by the sheer boldness of this brazen move.  Of course, now I really have to look up this seemingly simple looking band and lo and behold on their My Space page they write,

"THE WEEPIES’…Music appeared in more than a dozen TV shows, as well as several major motion pictures …JCPenney and Old Navy used their tunes as the theme songs…"

There’s more, it goes on and on, but here’s my point.  Not once do they mention RADIO in their bio. They appeared on TV shoes and COMMERCIALS.  This is a band that’s not afraid of selling out at all.

Back in my day, it was the “job” of radio, more like the expectation I guess, to break the bands, play the new music.  I could tell you story after story, about the bands I helped make it, the songs I played first in a market.  I just don’t think radio is like that anymore.

But here’s the kicker. The sad thing is I’m not really sure how it really works any more.  How the new bands get noticed.   I hardly listen to the radio anymore. I did in New York sometimes, I do when I go to Detroit, but I hardly ever do in Seattle.

At first, I think it was because I just didn’t want to listen to something I wasn’t a part of it anymore.  Now, the truth is we can’t get any radio reception in our area, just a few NPR and college stations.

So I get my new music fix the NEW-fashioned way, XM radio new music channel, XMU, I-Tunes, reading about it in magazines and various music websites.

Oh, and yes, television-TV shows and commercials.