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Alpha and Omega. Christopher Walken. Classic.Check this movie out...Lords of Dogtown. I watched it the other day and enjoyed the splenda of Heath Ledger's performance.FOTC Hmm…Just a show about 2 dudes in a folk band from New Zealand…WRONG! This show is slept on like a beautyrest. Don't be lame, check this out!This one two!
Whats going on with radio today? If it was just me thinking that, Id say I was losing touch with music, but I hear it more and more. Its gotten to the point where Id rather drive in silence than listen to the radio. Im hearing great things about XM, but what happened to hip hop, the music I grew up with? Not only hip hop, but across the board, free radio is poisoning the airwaves. The line is being drawn between pay radio and free radio. Free radio does not equal freedom of choice. You shouldnt have to pay to hear good music.I was going through some papers and I came across a Xerox copy of an article written by Chuck D, esteemed writer, lyricist, and lead of one of the most influential groups in hip hop history, Public Enemy. Ive reprinted in it entirety and anyone who used to enjoy listening to the radio needs to read it. Although its points relate to hip hop, you can see how it stretches out beyond that. All radio is guilty of the principles mentioned. See you at the end********************************************************* **CHUCKS Ds 5 REASONS WHY RADIO SUCKS MORE THAN EVERBy Chuck DTHE FORMATION OF WHITE-OWNED BLACK RADIO STATIONSRadio-suckers never play me is a line Im known for from one of my records, Rebel Without A Pause, from 1987. This lyric depicted Black radios rap blackout at that time. Actually, I was speaking for the whole genre of hip hop/rap which was then being stereotyped by many as this jail music outta New York.Large amounts of rap were being released from major and independent companies (mostly from New York) at the time. Black-owned station WBLS-which broke the first rap joint, Rappers Delight, via program director Frankie Crocker in 1979-had a chance to establish a lock on maintaining hip hop within its playlists. It didnt happen because WBLS claimed it didnt want to scare off its older audience or sponsors. So as Black music became more popular to other demographics, thus came the formation of the urban station-in other words, white owned Black radio.RESTRICTED FORMATSIn 1999, rap music has infiltrated the realm of pop radio and this creates a problem for traditional Top 40 stations. The more young, white kids are exposed to Black culture, the more theyll seek the more authentic stuff. The downside is that white-owned Black radio has co-opted only those elements of rap music digestible for listeners comfortable with the R&B format, thus closing the door on the diversity of the genre. These radio-ized versions have created an illusionary vault of financial reward that focuses artists attention on the green brick road of riches. White-owned Black radio has masqueraded these versions as being the rule of the game while other aspects from the artform remain the exception.PAYOLA, PLAYOLA & CRAYOLA (COLORED RADIO PAY)White-owned Black radio makes its selections based on the money it receives, creating the puppet strings that control the audience. Black folks are religious to their radio stations, almost never moving the dial to any place other than where Black music is aired. Thus anyone can get behind the boards and dictate the flow of an entire regional population. Reflect a little, dictate a lot, and thus direct the flow of though, style, spending and action of a community.WACK ON-AIR PERSONALITIESWhite-owned Black radio sucks in 99 because the masters that own it endorse the policy of more music, less talk. This policy further limits the information delivered to the people via the creation of the transparent DJ-colorless, individuals unable to interpret the sounds theyre playing for their audience. Mix and college hip hop jocks are the closest thing we have today to the Black personality jocks of the 1950s and 60s-DJs who the people relied on for everything in the hood, from local business support to various community activities. But corporations consider air time that could be devoted to such services to be sponsor time and not DJ time. That way it doesnt take much talent to be a radio jock these days.NO SENSE OF HISTORYThe selection of music is so limited on these stations that instead of supporting the legacy of past Black music and how it sows a path to todays sound, a station would rather play the current, paid-for music until its support funds run out. White-owned Black radio is the major cause in keeping the Black community behind and dumb. Isnt it strange that while more and more folk are into rap music more than ever, theres just as many people clueless of its origins, legacy, individual contributions, etc.? Why, then, should we wonder when current styles tend to evaporate into the air like steam? Dont get me wrong, todays music is great. Its just that the jocks and stations are wack. ***********************************************************I t was written back in 1999, but his words have never been truer. To throw a name out, Clear Channel is guilty of everything listed in this article. Choose any of their stations and the evidence is overwhelming. From cookie-cutter formats, payola bloated playlists, and drab untalented on-air talent, you could teach a class on the death of radio using Clear Channel as a prime example. I challenge anyone who works for a radio station to counter any of these charges. No one would ever accept that for a number of reasons. First, they lose their jobs. The corporate powers want the listening audience to ignore the shouts of, Radio sucks. They argue that, Oh everyone says that. But have you seen the numbers? Our ratings say otherwise. Etc., etc... They do not want anyone from their side to draw attention to the fact of its own frailty. Ignore the problem and focus on the $$$. Ignore those who point out the truth and make their accusations into punch lines. Second, the audience has been fed the same old routine that it has become accepted that radio is dying. Our demand for quality is gone. How many times have you liked a song, heard the song on the radio, then been forced fed the same song over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again? Then you hate the song, cant stand hearing it and find another song you like. Rinse and repeat. It becomes a joke. Everyone knows what Im talking about, but has anything ever been done about it? Look up a playlist for your favorite station and look at the number one song. How many spins does it get in a week? Some average 8-10 a day, and thats at one station. Radio will say, Well, we play what people want to hear, and, Those are the most popular songs! But I refer to my ice cream store that only serves 3 flavors analogy. No matter what, those three flavors will be your top 3 flavors. Choice is an illusion. Selection is a façade. I know for a fact that when someone calls a station to request a song, its meaningless. Those playlists are decided long before you call in. Third, no one will answer this challenge because the bottom-line is they have no argument. Its no secret. Free radio fails its audience on so many levels. When was the last time a radio station broke a new star? Not someone created by marketing hype, but really introduced a new entity into the music conscious. Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Nas, Cypress Hill, The Beatnuts, Wu-Tang Clan, CamRon, Mase, Fugees, and Big Pun all got their by appearing on a radio show back in the day and the audience responded. You dont see that anymore. Now you have to have a marketing crew to approve your every move. The game has changed and not for the better. They can play smoke-and-mirrors but the problems Chuck D wrote about in 1999 are still alive and well today in 2007.
The Lookout, Little Miss Sunshine, American Gangster, Wet Hot American Summer, Bottle Rocket, The Godfather, Heat, Casino, Goodfellas, Carlito's Way, Shooter, Four Brothers, Miracle, The Natural, Rocky, Commando, Die Hard, and the list goes on and on and on...
American Gladiators, Celeb Apprentice, Arrested Development (RIP), Rome (RIP), Sopranos (RIP), Greg the Bunny (RIP), The Office, Conan, Deadwood (RIP), Extras (RIP), Heroes, Freaks and Geeks (RIP), Entourage, and the list goes on and one and on...
Go to a library. Pick a book. I either own it, read it, or have heard of it. C'mon, I used to manage a bookstore in DC!