I hate Classic Rock. Just to be clear, I do not hate the music that they play on classic rock stations; I just hate the category. The realization of this new found hatred came to be today when I was driving in my car and tuned in to the areas largest "classic rock" station. They were doing their typical "ROCK BLOCK WEEKEND" thing, or what ever they call it and just finished up a set of Aerosmith songs. The usual; Back in the Saddle, Dream On but they finished with their live version of Train Kept a Rolllin', which was a nice change of pace. So far so good. Then they launched into a David Bowie set starting with Fame and finishing up with Rebel Rebel. That's when I knew that the Classic Rock format is killing Rock and Roll and I hated it.
David Bowie has just passed away, but right before he went he left us with a new album. Now, I have to say, I have not heard the album all the way through and really only just heard the one song that was making so many waves. (Lazarus) But it got me thinking that there really wasn't any chance that anything from the new Bowie album was going to make it onto this radio station that has been making use of all of his old catalog for decades. Where are we supposed to hear the new Bowie record? If not on the Classic Rock station, then maybe the Alt Rock station, but really? Isn't there a more adult alternative than "Alternative?"
So, I am not worried too much about other artists of Bowie's stature. We will find there music on Spotify and YouTube, but things used to be so much better. Back in the 70s and 80s we had a format called AOR, or Album Oriented Rock. Anything that was 20 or 30 years old got relegated to the oldies station. But the core of today's Classic Rock rotation came from that time period and DJs were taking chances on bands all the time. This was where we heard ZZ Top, AC/DC, and Van Halen, when they were brand new. They were still playing the Beatles and the Stones too, but the Eagles and Steely Dan were in the mix as well. When Billy Joel would put out a new record they'd be sure to get the first single in heavy rotation quick and make us like it.
Sure, out in the Pacific Northwest we didn't hear a lot of Velvet Underground or The Jam, but KZEL in Eugene put the Jim Carrol Band's People Who Died in heavy rotation right along side all the Journey and Fleetwood Mac we could handle. And we continued to hear a lot of diverse musical choices until MTV came along. But even then our choices, though limited to what was being played a lot on the music video channel, broadened to include more than just Butt Rock and Heavy Metal. We started hearing music from weird bands like U2, and The Police.
Today when I listen to my Spotify mixes and I hear songs from bands like The Eagles of Death Metal or Sebadoh I think, there is no reason why these songs would not fit into the "Classic Rock" format. Or Queens of the Stone Age for that matter. But they just aren't old enough to make the cut I guess. Nirvana is making the cut now, and some of the older REM, but even those are few and far between and not the deepest cuts. There is a wealth of music classified as Rock and Roll that the programmers of "Classic Rock" feel are off limits and I think it's killing Rock and Roll. Old guys don't want to lose their Led Zep and CCR, but I bet if you mixed in some J.D McPherson and Gary Clark Jr. they would play along nicely.
I miss AOR radio. Somebody needs to bring it back.
