Sun 26 Apr 2009
Why Rock Radio in Florida Sucks
Posted by themusicelitist under Alternative Metal, Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Indie Rock, Metal, Metalcore, New Prog, Nu Metal, Pop Punk, Post-Grunge, Progressive Rock, Punk, Ska Punk, blues-rock, post-hardcore, screamo
[31] Comments
I’ve lived in Florida my whole life and something I hear from people constantly is “I hate the radio” or “The radio sucks.” If you’ve ever listened to radio in Florida, you know those statements aren’t an exaggeration. But while all radio does in one way or another suck (no matter what state you’re in) I want to focus mainly on rock station formats in Florida.
I never listen to the radio in Orlando because the only rock station I get here is 101.1 Real Rock. This station is absolutely deplorable. Just take a look at the songs they have played in the last hour:
- Sixx A.M. – Life is Beautiful
- Silverchair – Tomorrow
- Sublime – What I Got
- Papa Roach – Lifeline
- Foo Fighters – My Hero
- Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
- Saving Abel – Drowning (Face Down)
- Third Eye Blind – Graduate
- Saliva – Family Reunion
- Nirvana – Lake of Fire
- AC/DC – Rock ‘n Roll Train
- Godsmack – Awake
- Slipknot – Dead Memories
- Drowning Pool – Bodies
Now, with the exception of Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Sublime and Third Eye Blind, that’s a pretty awful hour of music. Like I said, I have lived in Florida my entire life and radio has pretty much been this way the whole time. Even when I was living in South Florida the rock stations just constantly played bad music like this (with the exception of 103.1 The Buzz, but they’re not owned by Clear Channel so that’s probably why). I assumed it was just the fact that big radio stations owned by Clear Channel all play horrible music. But when I visited California last summer, my eyes were opened. Here’s KROQ’s current Top 25 most played songs:
- Green Day – Know Your Enemy
- Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch
- Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
- Apocalyptica feat. Adam Gontier – I Don’t Care
- Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
- Big B feat. Scott Russo – Sinner
- Rancid – Last One to Die
- The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero
- Incubus – Black Heart Inertia
- Incubus – Love Hurts
- Cage the Elephant – Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
- The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight
- Rise Against – Audience of One
- The Killers – This is Your Life
- Far – Pony
- Anberlin – Feel Good Drag
- Hollywood Undead – Undead
- Asher Roth – I Love College
- 311 – Hey You
- White Lies – To Lose My Life
- Depeche Mode – Wrong
- Coldplay – Life in Technicolor II
- The Offspring – Half-Truism
- U2 – Magnificent
When we were driving around L.A. we listened to KROQ for 15 min and in a row I heard Foo Fighters, Sum 41, Atmosphere and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I was flabbergasted. Not one Nickelback or Godsmack song. Now, obviously Clear Channel wouldn’t keep Real Rock here in Orlando for so long if there wasn’t a market for it. If the amount of white trash I am surrounded by on a daily basis is any indication, there clearly is. And THAT’s why radio in Florida sucks. Because apparently the majority of people in Florida have horrible taste in music.
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Yep. I decided that a long time ago. That’s a main reason why I’m going to college out-of-state. Ivan heard Metric’s new album on the mainstream radio station in Seattle. There’s also Indie radio stations too that play nothing but great music.
Fuck Florida.
Sirius satellite radio has a couple of good channels, but yeah I haven’t listened to the radio for a long long time.
Try Rollins College radio, WPRK 91.5 fm
The play really great music.
My GOD man. Makes me miss KROQ so damn much. Not only did they play Howard in the morning, they played awesome music for the rest of the day. Christ, Los Angeles was pretty awesome. And awful at the same time.
okay, dude, i bitched at u for slipknot, im gonna say this one more time…….
UR AN IGNORANT SWINE PIECE OF SHIT! IM PRETTY SURE I COULD DISS UR BANDS TOO, BUT DO I? NO I DONT, GUESS WHY, CUZ I KNOW NOT TO JUDGE, CUZ IM NOT IGNORANT, U R, UR ONE OF THE MOST IGNORANT PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH, BEFORE U START DISSING SOME OF THE BANDS THAT I LIKE.
@killian – you seem to know a lot about ignorance. I like how you got creative with the caps lock and comma keys…Nice work!
flatstan shut the fuck up, or i’ll get creative with your face. seriously your so pathetic, what killian said is completly true, i mean sure, we dont like your bands(i fucking hate them), but we dont fucking keeping going on about it, infact we dont even say anything. i think most of you wankers up there are pretty pathetic keep going on about slipknot, i mean, if you hate them so much, why waste your breath? just get a life, oh and also.if you want MY advice on somthing to listen too, then get your head out of your ass and listen to some real tunes,
- Devildriver – Clouds over California
- Atreyu – Bleeding mascara
- Killswitch engage – Rose of sharyn
- Lamb of god – Fake messiah
- Machine head – aesthetics of hate
- Metallica – Battery
- SLIPKNOT – Before i forget
- System of a down – B.Y.O.B
- Trivium – Pull harder on the strings of your martyr
please feel free to reply to my comment, and let me know what you think of listening to real music for once
oh and also. try not to be so ignorant.
Pretty big fan of Atreyu and Killswitch Engage actually. I just think SlipKnot sucks donkey balls.
After reviewing your choices, I’m sad to say that every single song on there reflects all that is wrong with music and inspires nothing but pure hatred, which you so happily exemplify. Notice that I don’t have to say the word “fucking” when trying to stress a point and that I capitalize the letter “i” when referring to myself. I think someone that uses the word ignorant as much as you should take a few notes. By the way, I’d love to see you get creative with my face…maybe make me one of those cheesy masks that those terrible musicians wear to hide their identity.
I saw DevilDriver and Slipknot together in STL, pretty bad ass.
I don’t think its fair to say all Slipknot fans are white trash, I love Slipknot and went to the University of Illinois.
But whatever, ignorance sure is bliss.
STAY (SIC) MAGGOTS!
Agreed, I came to the same conclusion. I’m sick of this state full of bad music and bad style. Right now I’m sitting behind a girl wearing Ed Hardy who I’m sure lovvvveess the radio in south Florida…get me out of here!!!!
I guess it is all a matter of opinion. If you don’t like the radio leave or get a M3P player.
I find the title of the blog very humorous.
The comparison example you had given was not a true comparison as you compared and “songs played in the last hour” to “25 most played songs”. Once you do a true comparison, you will most likely find that the station’s playlists are exactly the same aside from a couple of different songs here and there.
I will try to explain why FM radio sucks and it’s not because “people in South Florida have horrible taste in music”. That one made me laugh out loud.
First we have remembered: Rock is no longer just rock. There are so many sub categories within the rock genre as is in the metal genre.
Unfortunately, most FM stations have decided that emo (alternative), rock and metal all go well together. Top that off with generations of music style change and what you get is a hideous mix of music. Why did they do this? To try to keep listeners of all ages in several generations tuning in. Why don’t they change? Because they only have themselves to compete with. Greed and “Monkey see Monkey do”. Greed by combining two stations trying to pull in the most amount of listeners they can get and Monkey See, Monkey do. Some suit seen that “this major company (Clear Channel) is doing it so it must work, right?”
What does radio suck? Because they are trying to mix too many generations of sub-genres to appeal to a wider audience. They think by throwing Nirvana and Sublime it will keep the 90’s generation listening by appealing to both 90’s emo and rock audience. Though, back in the early 90’s this music was played on two different stations: “Alternative Stations” and “Rock Stations”.
Then Suit says, “Hey, I have an idea to save money and cut costs.” Let’s combine the two stations and call it Rock-Alternative.”
“You’re listening to 103.1 The Buzz, Rock/Alternative”. Sound familiar?
By playing Coldplay, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, they are appealing to the current emo generation, Sublime; older emo generation, Slipknot; current metal generation, and Metallica, Nirvana; older rock and metal generation. The problem is these generations of music do not really mix well. By playing the same 90’s songs every day, over playing the new singles the record labels are trying to push both in the rock and alternative genres, it’s no wonder FM sucks. Trust me it’s not just in Florida, it’s in every state and every country! A global music catastrophe!
I hear these complaints every single day from people all over the world and I can go on for days and days about this subject.
What I do want to tell you is that there are so many deserving bands out there in each genre that do not get the radio attention they deserve because the Suits at the Stations make the decisions as to what is played and they base their decisions on money and vast amounts of listeners they think they can gain. The Program Director is no longer a director but just a programmer. Programming what the suits tell him to program leaving hardly any room for airplay for anything fresh and new from either genre.
See I told you I could go on for days.
Here’s the challenge. Don’t settle for what FM is shoving down your throat. Do some research! There are other choices out there besides FM and paid Sirius satellite radio.
I personally was so sick of FM I stopped listening then I stumbled upon “Internet Radio” and after listing for just one day and doing some research on the bands being played, I was mortified and extremely pissed at all the great music I was missing over the years. But mostly so relieved I found and outlet that fits my music tastes and my incredible craving for new music.
I think it’s entirely silly to get upset with someone for they type of music or a particular band they like. We should be thankful for the different styles of music. What you should be upset with is yourself for settling to listen to what FM has sucked you into.
My criteria: if I heard Green Day, Sublime, or Red Hot Chili Peppers, I moved on. It worked! I found a station that best suits me. I will say I like hard rock and metal. Not old school but today’s hard rock and metal.
Because Internet Radio stations are mostly individually owned, the owner decides what is played, not the suits nor the record labels. I say most cases because some suits have entered this medium to try to make their millions. Bottom line: If you don’t like a station, move on! Find another. There are thousands upon thousands from all over the world in all genres.
The great thing: Internet Radio is free and you don’t have to just listen on your computer any more. The industry has seen where internet radio is going and they are making devices to listen to internet radio anywhere, in your car, on your iPod, on your Sony Playstation and Wii games, your cell phones with the option to plug your phone to play over your car speakers. The technology that is out there for Internet Radio is amazing because now more people are now listening to Internet Radio than FM! Yes that’s right, more people are tuning in to Internet Radio than FM!
FM DOES have competition! AND you do have a choice!
I am now co-own an internet radio and absolutely love the new music that’s out there today. Tune in to FM and you are missing out on so much!
Don’t settle! If you don’t like it don’t tune in.
@The Music Elitist
YOU’RE AN IGNORANT PIECE OF SHIT! I’M PRETTY SURE I COULD DISS YOUR BANDS TOO, BUT DO I? NO I DONT, GUESS WHY? BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO STOOP TO A LEVEL AS LOW AS YOURS, YOU’RE LIKE A REPORTER THAT WHINES ABOUT EVERYTHING, APPARENTLY YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO KEEP UP WITH TODAY’S GENERATION!
First off, PLEASE stop typing in all caps. You have no idea how stupid you look to most people when you do that.
Secondly, go ahead, diss my bands. I don’t give a fuck. I listen to plenty of music that I get shit for on a regular basis, but I honestly couldn’t care less.
I make fun of your beloved SlipKnot because they make themselves easy targets with the things they say. (Notice when they keep their mouths shut I don’t have anything to say about them)
If you think SlipKnot is going to be remembered as the band of “today’s generation”, you might wanna try doing a little more research as to what people are listening to nowadays. because aside from you pathetic “maggots” (as you for some reason like to call yourselves) no one gives a rat’s ass about SlipKnot.
Oh, and you might want to look up the definition of the term ignorance, because as far as music goes, it probably applies to you a lot more than me.
Why don’t you try breaking out of the “white trash metal” scene a little bit and exploring other types of music? You might be surprised.
Slipknot is to serious music what Twilight is to serious literature. They are pretty much a silly children’s band.
I have looked up some music…BMTH, Killswitch Engage, TDWP, Hollywood Undead, Brokencyde, and it’s not because of your little suggestion…And the bands I mentioned are way better than what you bitch about. And try to explain to me why Slipknot won the Rock God Award…
Most bands of which you haven’t even commented about.
Oh my, Slipknot won the Rock God Award?! Hm I’m guessing that was either Kerrang or Metal Hammer (Emo Razor) who gave out that award. Neither of those magazines know what they are talking about, as evidenced by the fact they take bands like Slipknot and Trivium seriously.
And why the hell did you go look up Brokencyde? They’re one of the few bands that actually manage to be worse more than Slipknot.
Bands for you to look up my son:
Eluveitie
Equilibrium
DarkThrone
Heol Telwen
Windir
Mayhem
May Result
The Stone (The Serbian band by this name)
Moonsorrow
Then you may return.
*Correction: They’re one of the few bands that actually manage to be worse than Slipknot.
*Correction: As evinced by*
If you made that many mistakes I wouldn’t be surprised you made many others in the same sentence. And I haven’t looked ‘em up I just happened to stumble upon them. And since when am I your son? If I was anything like you I’d be a fag. And on your second correction you still managed to spell wrong. If you’re gonna reply you might as well bring a dictionary with you. I forgot to mention ISMFOF, Skindred, KoRn, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Deep Purple, and Slayer.
(Notice how I didn’t call you THE fag…That title belongs to The Music Elitist)
Oh, Killswitch Engage, The Used, and Paramore are also in that list.
Actually the second correction is not spelled wrong. Look up evinced. I used evidenced when I should have used evinced.
Ah, but the mere fact you use the word “fag” means you are a typical Slipknot kiddie. I honestly have NEVER met a Slipknot fan who can argue without calling their opponent “fag”, or insinuating they are gay in some way. It shows just how immature they are. I’m guessing you are still in high school, probably around the of 14, maybe 15?
And did you seriously put Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Slayer in the same list as kiddie crap like Korn and Manson? Your credibility has officially hit a new low.
Run along now, my son, and grow up.
Btw, if you think The Music Elitist is “THE fag”, as the the typical childish Slipknot fan would say, then why are you reading his blog in the first place? Did you for some reason decide one day to go look for the blogs of people who don’t like Slipknot and be a troll on them?
Like The Music Elitist didn’t look up ANYTHING up? Like he/she knows everything that’s going on and so forth? At some point he/she must’ve watched them on T.V. or got it from a local resource. I’m just making the point clear, if you’re on here you must be here to crush the soul out of people who enjoy different music than you and you want to make the same image as you are. And let me tell you one other thing Slayer is as much crappish shit as Manson. Oh wait! Manson’s songs make sense unlike Slayer that uses random notes here and there (like in Hate Worlwide) At least Slipknot has a more stable beat to it without falling apart at the beggining.
You silly Slipknot fan. Where exactly are the Music Elitist and the people on here crushing the soul of people with different taste in music? Has he forced anyone who likes these bands to come and read what he wrote? Do you really get that emo about what people say about your bands on the internet?
The Music Elitist has insulted bands I like, such as Opeth, but you don’t see me acting like a little child and calling him a “fag”, now do you? It’s his blog. It’s his right. Don’t like it? Don’t read it.
Also it’s rather hypocritical for Slipknot fans to try take the moral high ground on this, given the tendency of the band and their fans to insult other music they don’t like, e.g. Coldplay.
It’s funny that the only Slayer you can reference is Hate Worldwide, not classic 80s Slayer. Come back when you’ve listened to Reign In Blood.
To me they’re mathcore, which in my opinion, sucks. But I can’t change your opinion about anything, it’s you, and I can’t change any part of it even though I hate it very much. And you’re right I should accept other peoples opinion on this. So before I leave this conversation I will tell you all this. If you ever go outside, not ouside of your house,with a big sign that reads: SLIPKNOT SUCKS!! You will get beaten up, not by me, but by other people that share the same interests. So goodbye, RMaggot out.
What is up with Slipknot fans and throwing around threats of physical violence? It seems when they are losing a debate, they either say the maggots will attack you, or Corey Taylor will kick your ass. It’s sad and moronic. It seems they like to fantasize about some mythical maggot army that will go around assaulting everyone who insults their silly nu-metal band.