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The Passion Of El Diablo
= Cult of Ray =
258 Posts |
 Posted - 03/25/2004 : 15:21:26
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| On June 4, Chazz Thompson's revivalist mentor Bobby Conn will play the worst-sounding venue in our fair town. With Trans Am, to boot. I encourage all to go and to have several eight-dollar beers. |
Edited by - The Passion Of El Diablo on 03/26/2004 09:32:26 |
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roomloo
= Cult of Ray =
USA
710 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2004 : 15:23:56
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Don't forget that 400 Bar, like Fine Line, is booked by Clear Channel, which should make everyone even more excited, if you are a true American*.
* or Canadian |
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The Passion Of El Diablo
= Cult of Ray =
258 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2004 : 09:29:10
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Anyone,
Please remind me again why we hate Clear Channel. I don't see the reason. |
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BLT
> Teenager of the Year <
South Sandwich Islands
4204 Posts |
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ShaunWestphal
- FB Fan -
221 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2004 : 12:32:33
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quote:
Originally posted by BLT
Ha! I was just searching for a site to explain it. As if I didn't have enough reasons to dislike ClearChannel, I just found this:
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2003/02/10/newscolumn4.html
Here are some other pages:
http://www.boycott-clearchannel.com/why.php
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/10752
I read a bunch of these articles and I guess I can kind of understand why some would dislike Clear Channel. I don't really understand how whether or not they book this show would affect it though. I think Don Henley's plea to the govt. for more radio diversity, or two radio stations' battle over rights to Blink 182 promotion is on a much bigger, and much more meaningless scale than an indie rock show at the 400 Bar. The sound at the 400 Bar will still suck, the beer will still be 8 bucks, and Trans Am and Bobby Conn will still totally rawk. |
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porkbone1
= Cult of Ray =
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2004 : 17:35:39
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Suppose you tune in to a radio station for an hour in the morning on the way to work, and an hour in the afternoon on the way home, and you hear mostly the exact same songs... if that bothers you then you have a reason to hate ClearChannel. They, just like every corporate radio giant have program directors that adhere to very strict playlists. They won't play a song unless it is guaranteed to keep the advertisers happy. This means they will never take a risk and play an "unproven" or "not-popular-yet" song.
A friend of mine was a DJ at a ClearChannel station in Denver, and corporate policy stated that if you played a song that was not on the playlist, you were fired. Even worse, if you played the songs in the wrong order, you could be fired also (advertisers want to make sure the last song before the commercial break is a good one... you don't want people switching radio stations right before the commercials!). They eventually went to all hard-disk based DJ format, so that the DJs couldn't mess up the song order.
Now, the DJs aren't even talking live most of the time. My friend did all the between-song chat in a couple hours and it was all pre-programmed on hard disk. He even was the DJ in 3 different cities all at the same time. People up in the ski towns thought they had a local DJ because he would say, "You're listening to the rock station of (whatever) county!" and take calls from "local" callers... but in reality he never left Denver.
The days when you would listen to the radio for a variety of music are gone. Now you listen to the radio and hear the same 30 songs on a rotating playlist. If you don't believe me, go on a roadtrip and listen to the radio stations you hear in every city. They are mostly the same. If it seems different, I'm sure if you stayed a week you would be sick of those 30 songs by the time you left.
_______________________
The joke has come upon me |
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mattb
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
474 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2004 : 19:25:08
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I live in Canada and know the bullshit that clear channel is. I can't believe that people who are in th U.S. and listen to any kind of non-mainstream music don't know.
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http://www.geocities.com/kittridge1/ |
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prozacrat
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1186 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2004 : 20:19:11
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It sounds a lot like the college radio station here in Brookings. We have the strongest college radio station in South Dakota, and we used to play a good variety of music, catering to any kind of tastes you had, as long as it wasn't mainstream. Then this new guy came along and insisted on competing with the other stations. Here's the most recent top 30 for our "college" station.
1. Maroon 5 - This Love
2. Lucky Boys Confusion - Atari
3. Borialis - Don't Mean a Thing
4. Incubus - Megalomaniac
5. Trapt - Echo
6. Evanescence - Everybody's Fool
7. Just Jack - Snowflakes (temple of jay remix)
8. Godsmack - Running Blind
9. Smile Empty Soul - Silhouettes
10. Muse - Time is Running Out
11. Linkin Park - Lying From You
12. The Vines - Ride
13. Eve 6 - Girlfriend
14. The Living End - Who's Gonna Save Us?
15. Epic Hero - Hello, Hello
16. Agents of the Sun - Come Together
17. The Strokes - Reptilia
18. Sugarcult - Memory
19. Lo-Pro - Sunday
20. Blink 182 - I Miss You
21. A Perfect Circle - The Outsider
22. Lost Prophets - Last Train Home
23. Thousand Foot Krutch - Rawkfist
24. Josh Todd - Shine
25. Simple Plan - Don't Wanna Think About You
26. Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades
27. Yellowcard - Ocean Ave.
28. Fountains of Wayne - Mexican Wine
29. Shinedown - 45
30. Apartment 26 - Give Me More
If I could throw up I would. I know how you feel about Clear Channel. I had to look through their web site and make sure they weren't controlled by it.
"And her head has no room." |
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ShaunWestphal
- FB Fan -
221 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2004 : 07:28:28
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I always thought, "why the fuck do I care about Clear Channel, I don't listen to the radio." Usually, the only radio I hear in my car is in between CDs. I used to think I was not a radio fan because I grew up and went to college in SD where there were no radio stations that ever played anything I liked. (Aberdeen-Prozacrat-they don't even attempt a college station) Maybe now I know the reason why I hate the radio so much. About 4 years ago when I moved to St. Cloud, it was pretty refreshing to have a college station to listen to that would play things I hadn't heard on the radio, or hadn't heard at all. Living in Mpls. now, Radio K is disappointing. I'm not trying to be an asshole, I know there are a lot of locals on this board who may be involved with the station. The variety of music seems good, the fact that one time I'll turn it on and hear a whole set of songs by bands I love and rarely hear, and then the next day here an hour of something I hate must mean people are getting to play what they want? The thing that pisses me off is that it's an AM station and ususally sounds like shit. I don't know anything about radio, can someone explain to me why SCSU has an FM station, and U of M is AM? Also I'm curious if someone here knows, or is involved with 770, is it owned, or negatively affected by Clear Channel?
Prozacrat: Are you from SD too, or just going to school there? |
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roomloo
= Cult of Ray =
USA
710 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2004 : 08:54:47
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I mostly agree on the Radio K thing, although I might give them more slack on the AM deal (then again, they lose points for hyping the "FM in the west metro!" thing too much -- their transmitter has about a 3 mile radius signal, nothing to be too proud about). Their main problem is that while they're leaps ahead of Clear Channel, they run their ship like an old-school commercial station. Most of the music is highly programmed. The beauty of college radio is supposed to be students playing (almost) whatever the hell they want, but Radio K has strict playlists and you can only play the same song once in a month, the same artist once in a week, unless the song is in rotation but if a song is in rotation you're not supposed to play anything else off the album that single appears on. I think most listeners are like me -- they'll be more in tune with what the students feel like playing than what what's in the CMJ Top 100. Sure, some students will have really crappy tastes, but that's still what college radio is all about.
They do have specialty shows on the weekends though -- Cosmic Slop, the Beat Box, all that. Maybe that's why sometimes you hear completely different things? But if I listen on a weekday I know I won't care too much about who the DJ is, because they all sound more or less the same to me.
I still like it for the most part ... they play requests, DJs do get a little bit of leeway, just not much. |
Edited by - roomloo on 03/27/2004 09:01:28 |
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Distraught
- FB Fan -
USA
65 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2004 : 19:26:32
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| I have always wondered why SCSU has a FM station where as UofMN doesn't. I would probably listen more often if Radio K was FM. It would be nice if St. Cloud's station had a slightly stronger signal, from what I remember it was pretty decent. Generally if I ever listen to the radio anymore it's MPR(I'm a news junkie) or KFAI. |
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porkbone1
= Cult of Ray =
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2004 : 23:01:43
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Sort of a side note: that friend of mine that used to work for a ClearChannel station, he finally got fed up with it. He left and is now working for some internet radio station somewhere. Internet radio seems to be where all the creativity and variety is at now... Internet radio stations are what regular radio was back in the 1960s, before the concept of the program director. ...But it's one of those things I have to remind myself to do. "Remember to listen to internet radio stations." Too bad they don't come in on the car radio, yet.
_______________________
The joke has come upon me |
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The Passion Of El Diablo
= Cult of Ray =
258 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2004 : 07:43:53
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Thanks for the education, folks. But you all just laid out the case for why I love Clear Channel. I am all the more cooler because CC limits variety in the marketplace. I already know to go out and buy all the latest releases by Spoon, Deerhoof, Shellac, the Decembrists, Tortoise, the Mates of State, the Unicorns, the New Pornographers, Stephen Malkmus, My Morning Jacket, Sufjan Stevens, Blonde Redhead, Broken Social Scene, Will Oldham, Elephant Six bands, blah, blah, blah, etc., and -- because of Clear Channel -- there are very few newcomers to these artists. I don't need some cool radio station to stroke my ego by reinforcing what I believe to be "cool." I can take comfort in knowing that I am hearing stuff that most people will never even know to care about. The funny thing is that I usually hate all the so-called edgy trendy cool-as-hell indie bands and revert back to the stuff that all of you snobby elitists allege that Clear Channel "forces" upon consumers.
On that note, recall that the actual "consumers" of Clear Channel are not you and me. Clear Channel's consumers are the companies willing to pay for ad time. Thus, as a business, its prerogative is to pick the stuff that will best drive the ad game. And it does. The stuff it plays is obviously the best stuff, because the marketplace selects it. This is America, where capitalism rules the day and brings us the best products, where socioeconomic factors don't preclude musical talents like Kid Rock from reaching us on our MP3 players. Of course, I don't listen to the radio ever, so -- for all I know -- Clear Channel stations could be having Neko Case hour three times a day. Props to Clear Channel and the American dream. |
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The Passion Of El Diablo
= Cult of Ray =
258 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2004 : 07:30:02
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| Just to follow up on one point, if Clear Channel causes me to pay a couple dollars more for show tickets, then power to CC . . . just a bigger tax deduction for me (my four, hopefully five, compadres for the Pixies show are "business associates" I'm entertaining). |
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BLT
> Teenager of the Year <
South Sandwich Islands
4204 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2004 : 08:28:23
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quote:
Originally posted by The Passion Of El Diablo
Just to follow up on one point, if Clear Channel causes me to pay a couple dollars more for show tickets, then power to CC . . . just a bigger tax deduction for me (my four, hopefully five, compadres for the Pixies show are "business associates" I'm entertaining).
Christ. Yet another alias for the_swimmer. |
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The Passion Of El Diablo
= Cult of Ray =
258 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2004 : 13:59:59
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| What is el-swimmer and what does it have to do with my pending tax deduction? |
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joshuagingery
- FB Fan -
USA
191 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2004 : 14:53:50
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| Attention All--I own Clear Channel (according to Passion) So...as owner and proprieter of CC i tell you...Passion...you are a worthless piece of shit. screw your tax deductions you totalitarianistic dildo. |
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porkbone1
= Cult of Ray =
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2004 : 20:31:32
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Dang if you own ClearChannel you can just get us all in to the Fine Line for free. We have been wasting our time! Dood you're rich or something.
_______________________
The joke has come upon me |
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joshuagingery
- FB Fan -
USA
191 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 06:19:56
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| porkbone-I'll have my people contact your people |
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prozacrat
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1186 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 07:50:38
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quote:
Prozacrat: Are you from SD too, or just going to school there?
I am from SD, and I just graduated from SDSU, but I'm driving to Minneapolis/St. Paul in about five minutes.
"And her head has no room." |
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ShaunWestphal
- FB Fan -
221 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 07:58:15
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quote:
Originally posted by prozacrat
quote:
Prozacrat: Are you from SD too, or just going to school there?
I am from SD, and I just graduated from SDSU, but I'm driving to Minneapolis/St. Paul in about five minutes.
"And her head has no room."
I was just curious, I grew up there too... |
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The Passion Of El Diablo
= Cult of Ray =
258 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 08:19:42
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| If ShaunWestphal is a real person from South Dakota, then he must not be too important, according to the results of my most recent Google search (thanks for the hot tip on Google searches telling us the truth about everything, Josh). |
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ShaunWestphal
- FB Fan -
221 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 09:17:11
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| Search 'The Realist' and you should find more info about me. |
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joshuagingery
- FB Fan -
USA
191 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 10:15:10
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| no-I'm the realist. remember? |
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Chip Away Boy
= Cult of Ray =
914 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 10:19:28
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| how is XM? |
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porkbone1
= Cult of Ray =
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 04/01/2004 : 17:37:33
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I have heard mixed things about Satellite radio. I have heard that Sirius is better than XM, but both are worlds better than commercial radio. Some people complain that satellite radio is full of stations that are too genre-specific. Then again, mainstream radio is also very genre-specific. I guess these people prefer internet radio stations and college radio that are known to mix genres regularly. Either way, I think that as people get used to technologies like TIVO that allow them to avoid commercials, hopefully satellite / internet radio stations will become more popular.
_______________________
The joke has come upon me |
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havinganyfun
- FB Fan -
Canada
25 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 22:32:03
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hey, i don't think that south dakota radio station is all bad. there is a lot of shit on there like trapt, but any radio station that has time is running out in their top 30 has some redeeming value.
give them blood and they'll love you for it |
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Clear Channel
