A song you hear often on the radio.
Ah the wireless, the amazing piece of metal and plastic which manages to project voice and music from the ether.
When I was young there was nothing better than a Sunday night trying to record the Top 40 on cassette. Pausing the button to miss any voiceover, stopping at exactly the right point to capture the end of a song. It was an innocent and fabulous time, albeit what the industry calls piracy but since our main man Sean Parker the possibilities for this have become endless.
Even some musicians admit that unpaid downloaded music is something they need to embrace, rather than fight against. In a recent magazine a new band The Defiled http://www.myspace.com/thedefiled talked about why they had placed their debut album on the front of the magazine. "To be honest", they began, "We could have easily put the album into stores and reached a population of listeners but placing the CD free on a magazine reaches a much wider audience". They continued to discuss that CD's are no longer the mainstay for a bands earnings and ticket sales for concerts, the merchandise offerings are the big ticket. One member of the band even admitted how hypocritical it would be to charge for some of their music when they themselves had a collection of non paid for downloads.
I'm not going to defend illegal downloading but I enjoyed the viewpoint from a bands perspective, if only Lars had been so open to new possibilities. I still believe in supporting bands and will regularly plug a friend's band whose album is out on both iTunes & Amazon http://www.myspace.com/ihateyoumoremusic, they deserve a break like so many new bands. But there is a flipside which is certainly prevalent in the film industry.
On a recent podcast for Radio 5 where I enjoy the ramblings of Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo, Mark discussed a film called "Heartless" which had been released in cinemas on a Friday as per the norm. What was interesting about the friday release date was that the film was then released on the immediate Monday after on DVD and Blu-ray. Mark's view was simple. Offer the public the choice, cinema, DVD, Blu-ray or download on the same day and watch the piracy begin to diminish. Perhaps there is a way to simplify this for music. Certainly the insistence to charge significantly more in the UK on iTunes as an example than France, Germany or other iTunes stores means that purchases here are more fought against than embraced. After all, the MP3 file will be the same wherever it is downloaded?
So back the wireless. I have been an avid listener to the radio since those early days of Top 40 recordings followed by Pete Tong "Welcome to the Weekend" dance mixes.
My main jobs have involved a lot of driving and the radio has kept me company through many hours of traffic. I still miss Mark & Lard on Radio 1 and the addiction to the 'Red Button' whilst Chris & Dave attempted the 52 hour show rekindled my enjoyment of the radio.
I have moved my allegiance to Radio 2 in the main, probably age, and I have noticed that the playlist on this station is not very different to Radio 1. There is certainly a wider variety of Radio 2 and a much, much less repetitive playlist. However, there are those songs which just keep getting played and played. Many of which become so catchy it's untrue.
The return of Dr Dre, which I find exciting, proves this no end when I cannot help singing 'I need a Doctor" over and over again. Try it and see if it doesn't happen to you http://youtu.be/VA770wpLX-Q - I love the video too. Couldn't help thinking of The Rock "You just f'd up your Ferrari" - "It's not mine!"
But one song which has caught my attention recently is by a band I have heard of but had never heard. It has been played on Radio 1, Radio 2, Kerrang - I have seen it on the T.V.
It's also very catchy, once you've worked out what is being spelt; so today's choice is http://youtu.be/Y8XuMDi-wIk
No comments:
Post a Comment