The Radio Makes My Ears Bleed
There is a major problem these days in entertainment, and that is
there is such a lack of diversity in the music industry. Because of this
problem, fewer bands will have the opportunity to go big, or get signed to
a major record label. Small, local bands will never be able to get the
popularity they deserve because every band is compared to one another. The
same bands are played on the radio all the time, and instead of playing a
variety bands, the same songs are looped and played all day long. This
creates a problem because people, who think its only cool to listen to the
radio, only experience the same pop music from bands signed to major
labels. As a result of this, all the money stays in the corporate, record
labels.
I believe the main reasons are that people don't like change. It
should be easier for listeners to access music of different genres. Radio
stations are a major contributor to the problem of this lack of variety.
They are afraid that if they play music other than what is pop, they will
lose money and listeners, but in fact I believe that their listeners will
grow if they expand their genres.
There are several large, corporate record labels that basically
empower all of the radio airwaves and MTV. I think that bands are afraid to
try new styles also because once they get signed; they are controlled by
their label and are influence by all the money that is tossed around.
I think that some ways to fix all of these problems start with radio
stations. There needs to be a station that can be accessed from all over
that plays music from independent labels. I think that MTV needs to be
taken off the air because the shows that it plays are all reality TV, and
it no longer stands for what it was created to do, play music videos.
Finally I think that another way to get independent music spread around is
that have more tours like Warped Tour. I think there need to multi-stage,
multi-band concerts that travel the United States.
Clear Channel for example, is a company that owns of 1,200 radio
stations, 37 T.V. stations, and 240 more investments in radio stations
throughout the whole world. This is a great example of how all radio is the
same, and controlled by a large company. They are in 248 of the top 250
radio markets, and control over half of all rock music stations. When one
company owns more than half of our radio stations, you can understand why
-The American people were hungry for new music, so they accepted the independent stations of the majors.
In rock music its target audience is the youth. And by youth I am not referring to teenagers, but instead to the mentality of youth, the adults and teens still in the sociological stage between being a ‘kid’ and accepting the responsibilities of ‘adulthood’ [Weinstein pg6] These youth negotiate the genre and change it to their liking. For example both males and females have different subgenres of rock targeted specifically at them. Males are seen from a young age as being naughty and rowdy, not very responsible and thus given more freedom. While girls are seen as quiet and polite, with very low aggression. These traits have reflected in the genres that are targeted at the two genders. Males were targeted with Heavy Metal as it expressed the qualities the very qualities they will have to give up in order to become adults and how they will lose their freedom. While for females rock music is soft and romantic, females will typically grow up faster than males and leave youth behind in order to take up responsibilities. An example of how the music was negotiated to fit the two genders is seem in the 1960s when performers such as Carole king and James Taylor transformed themes of protest into sentimental commentaries, romance and illusions of youth. [Weinstein pg 12-13] While heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath sung about politicians and how disgusting they are for exploiting young people in the name of greed which is shown in the song Wicked World. This very characteristic of rock being created by the youth for the youth is still alive today, for example during the 2004 presidential election Green Day released American Idiot. The song was about how the media and political are brainwashing Americans to remove their individuality. The singer wanted to warn America of this and prevent them from turning into ‘idiots’ and
... to get a chance to be broadcasted while still having the “popular music” from American pop culture being played on our radios/Televisions.
The Boston radio scene has changed a great deal since WRBB’s inception in 1968. Amid all of the corporate turnover and company buyouts, college radio in Boston is often left out of the important radio history of the ninth-largest media market in the country.
...he essence of a grief-stricken generation, exhibited an unyielding emphasis on the importance of piercing passion over musical intricacy, and introduced the world to a vast array of gifted musicians who did not deem music as a tool to achieve recognition or financial stability. In turn, the decades that followed the rise of alternative rock have been inundated with so-called musicians whose main goal has been to get their faces plastered on magazine covers and achieve maximum public exposure, rather than devoting themselves to their craft. Consequently, the world has been left with nothing but an endless parade of shocking behavior, skimpy outfits, and mediocre music. Unfortunately, if the current state of affairs is any hint of what the future holds for music audiences, the magic generated by the nineties alternative rock will not be matched in years to come.
The main problem to be seen is that this music has become extremely popular to
The radio grew in popularity and was as successful as it was because it was able to reach all across the nation, helped the American people interpret the Great Depression, and was a universal place of communication and entertainment. Although the first radio-wave theorem was developed in 1864 by James Clerk Maxwell, it was not until the 1920s and 1930s that the device really gained popularity in the U.S. During the Great Depression, families, advertisers, and even politicians used the radio for purposes such as entertainment, news, and a forum to the American people.1
Imagine, if you will, a world where we are told what music to sing, what music to play, and even what we may listen to in the privacy of our own homes. That world already exists as a reality in more countries that you might imagine, and that very reality is knocking on our door: In the USA, lobbying groups have succeeded in keeping popular music off the concert stage, out of the media, and off of the shelves.
you have to realize they are a business capable of making many millions of dollars a year. As
...old their ground and allow self-expression. Instead of being forced to assimilate. “From rock to rap, country to hip-hop, the meaning behind the music has provoked both controversial songs to the voluntary labeling of lyrics; the actions against music have taken many forms.”(Patman) This is why censoring music is debatable.
...d of music heard by the public. The lyrics of modern songs indicate unruliness and anger among musicians. This indicates that the attitudes exist and it is possible that out of this overwhelming desire to resist authority, new songs will be written in new styles that may eventually lead to a new genre. The feeling that does not exist is the feeling that all citizens are the same and that they are conforming to societal standards. With increas-ing censorship of the Internet and privacy being infringed upon with new anti-terrorist laws, this feeling may begin to take hold of the nation. It is not within the foreseeable, however, because these issues do not affect most of the population. Music is a medium of expression for all people, so the people’s music must speak to the people. Smaller changes have been made to rock music in the last forty-five years. If this genre is so malleable, then change must come frequently. Once the elements are in place, music will undergo a change. Rock music evolved out of conditions in society. If these conditions exist again, another music revolution will occur. Many of the elements are already in place, it is only a matter of time before the change.
has to listen to any popular local radio station after 8 P.M. to hear strings of
...“Making the Band” and “American Idol” are nothing but a pathetic attempt at forcing a new pop star onto the American people. Some of us are disgusted at being forced to choose a new “idol” from the talent less pretty faces on the screen. We should be able to listen to whomever and whatever we choose. Everyone in this country should have an equal chance at fame. Their fame should be based on talent, not on looks or on the way they charm the audience or a select group of judges. Pop culture could ruin the prosperous future of American art and should be seriously looked at before we all become mindless lemmings and follow a predetermined path of false happiness.
With the music being the highly profitable, capitalist enterprise that it is today, it is no wonder that it is controlled and regulated by a few large conglomerates that exist is today’s world. It is important to make clear that although evidence is being presented of the positive aspects of globalization through music that there is overwhelming evidence that cultural imperialism is more than it seems on the outside. One must keep in mind that cultural imperialism, globalization and the creation of a global village is a business. People are profiting at other people’s loss of cultural identity, they are sold a culture and heritage. With the every growing N’Sync fan clubs and Britney clones, the world is turning into a stage for pop culture and its glamorous unattainable standards.
...le use to express themselves. To censor music means that young people's ideas and expression will be stifled, which stifles revolutions and individuality, which is what those in power want (to keep order and whatnot). Censorship of media can only be stopped when tolerance is fully reached, and that will be impossible for quite some time. One possible solution to the censorship and stifling of musical artists could only be: more efficient ways one giving the buyer a warning in what a certain album may contain, as with the parental advisory symbol. A nation-wide law against discrimination towards albums with a warning label would need to be put in place, otherwise the cycle of less-censorship-but-less-sales would continue. When efficient warnings for buyers/parents and anti-discrimination laws are in place, then censorship can nearly fully end towards musicians.