SHARPS & FLATS : CAUGHT BETWEEN RADIO'S SOFT ROCK AND HARD PLACE.Byline: Fred Shuster Most Americans who came of age in the '60s recall radio that played a free-form mix of pop, rock and soul - stations that weren't afraid to let the disc jockey disc jockey (DJ) Person who plays recorded music on radio or television or at a nightclub or other live venue. Disc jockey programs became the economic base of many radio stations in the U.S. after World War II. choose the records. So why has music radio become so unimaginative and one-dimensional? ``I'm not going to pretend there's a huge glut of people desperate to listen to experimental radio, but there are people who want to hear something a little more stimulating than the next soft rock station,'' said cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with Social Criticism and Social Philosophers Terminology Susan J. Douglas, author of ``Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination'' (Times Books; $27.50). The book gives a history of radio from a listener's perspective, from Wolfman Jack
Robert Weston (Bob) Smith (21 January 1938 – 1 July 1995) was a gravelly-voiced disc jockey who became world famous in the 1960s and 1970s under the stage to Howard Stern. A resident of Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as , Mich., Douglas says her town has music stations that offer the usual tightly formatted playlists. ``One station out of Canada has renamed itself `soft rock' and I hate soft rock, but they think I'm their demographic,'' said Douglas, who is in her late 30s. ``I do think all this has cultural consequences. Radio stations advertise themselves in coded ways by saying things like, `no rap any of the time.' That says you won't have to hear any African-American voices except maybe Lionel Richie.'' Douglas believes some teens today listen to less radio than ever while preteens flock to Radio Disney's influential mix of teen-pop and oldies Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Oldies are typically from R&B, pop and rock music genres. . ``Kids listen to radio to the age of 14 then move on to CDs,'' she said. ``That's because when they reach a certain age, they don't find the stations that play music which appeals to them.'' Douglas said if she could program her own station, it would feature new, young acts as well as Latin and hip-hop music. ``I want to hear what young people are doing,'' she said. ``Instead, radio stations try and serve one strict demographic. What I hope is some station might start programming to those of us who want to listen across age, gender and race divides.'' Fresh pressed Tuesday's album releases include discs from Santana, Mase, Heavy D, ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and a live effort from Sarah McLachlan. Santana's ``Supernatural'' (Arista arista (ä·riˑ·st ) features cameos by Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews
David John Matthews (born January 9 1967) is a South African, now naturalized American, Grammy-winning lead vocalist and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. , Everlast and more. Mase unleashes ``Double Up'' (Bad Boy/Arista), while Heavy D offers ``Heavy'' (Universal). Halliwell puts forth ``Schizophonic'' (Capitol). Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and traveling music festival, founded by musician Sarah McLachlan, that consisted solely of female solo artists and female-led bands; it ran from 1997 to 1999. founder McLachlan's latest is ``Mirror Ball'' (Arista). CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Wolfman Jack is one of the disc jockeys profiled in ``Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination,'' by Susan J. Douglas. |
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