Alternative Radio - 2008 vs. 2012
Dec 2, 2012 4:20:25 GMT -5
Post by Billy Uranus on Dec 2, 2012 4:20:25 GMT -5
As most people here know, Alternative radio is very different than it was four years ago. A lot of people would say that with its new-found love for all things indie, it finally lives up to its name. I'm going to go in the opposite direction and tell you why this format was a whole lot more "alternative" four years ago. Before I go any further, let's look at the year-end top 10 from 2008:
1) Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
2) Seether - Fake It
3) The Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far, Kid
4) Weezer - Pork And Beans
5) Foo Fighters - Let It Die
6) Linkin Park - Shadow Of The Day
7) Apocalyptica w/Adam Gontier - I Don't Care
8) Seether - Rise Above This
9) Weezer - Troublemaker
10) Foo Fighters- Long Road To Ruin
You can find the full chart here. It is based on chart runs, not plays. If your're curious, the one based on plays is here. Either way, they're pretty similar.
As it stands, this is the current top 10 of the year for 2012:
1) Gotye f/Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know
2) Grouplove - Tongue Tied
3) Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks
4) Imagine Dragons - It's Time
5) Black Keys - Gold On The Ceiling
6) Fun - We Are Young
7) Linkin Park - Burn It Down
8) Fun - Some Nights
9) Alex Clare - Too Close
10) M83 - Midnight City
The full chart can be seen here.
Back in 2008, programmers remembered that Alternative is a ROCK format, and thus your year-end chart was full of ROCK songs. While even I can admit that "Psycho" hitting #1 was very questionable, it's more reasonable than what you have going on now. One cock rock song reaching #1 is better than a year-end chart full of pop songs.
While the musical snobs of today like to point out that bands like Seether are not "alternative," they are actually wrong. Post-grunge is a sub-genre of alternative rock, with plenty of influence taken from legendary grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Foo Fighters are often classified as post-grunge, yet remain welcome on Alt radio even in 2012. What gives them a free pass? All in all, this format makes no sense to me anymore. I get that it's what the audience wants, but it's an audience that I'm no longer a part of.
1) Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
2) Seether - Fake It
3) The Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far, Kid
4) Weezer - Pork And Beans
5) Foo Fighters - Let It Die
6) Linkin Park - Shadow Of The Day
7) Apocalyptica w/Adam Gontier - I Don't Care
8) Seether - Rise Above This
9) Weezer - Troublemaker
10) Foo Fighters- Long Road To Ruin
You can find the full chart here. It is based on chart runs, not plays. If your're curious, the one based on plays is here. Either way, they're pretty similar.
As it stands, this is the current top 10 of the year for 2012:
1) Gotye f/Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know
2) Grouplove - Tongue Tied
3) Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks
4) Imagine Dragons - It's Time
5) Black Keys - Gold On The Ceiling
6) Fun - We Are Young
7) Linkin Park - Burn It Down
8) Fun - Some Nights
9) Alex Clare - Too Close
10) M83 - Midnight City
The full chart can be seen here.
Back in 2008, programmers remembered that Alternative is a ROCK format, and thus your year-end chart was full of ROCK songs. While even I can admit that "Psycho" hitting #1 was very questionable, it's more reasonable than what you have going on now. One cock rock song reaching #1 is better than a year-end chart full of pop songs.
While the musical snobs of today like to point out that bands like Seether are not "alternative," they are actually wrong. Post-grunge is a sub-genre of alternative rock, with plenty of influence taken from legendary grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Foo Fighters are often classified as post-grunge, yet remain welcome on Alt radio even in 2012. What gives them a free pass? All in all, this format makes no sense to me anymore. I get that it's what the audience wants, but it's an audience that I'm no longer a part of.