Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Thrift Store" - Alternative, really?!?!?

I was kind of taken back when this song was played on X98.5 in Greenville today and it got me curious if other alternative stations are playing it. Almost seemed like a mistake. I know --and like -- the fact that true "alternative" doesn't mean it's all pure rock, but this song seemed too much of an Urban rap song to legitimately played on alt stations.

So those of you in other markets, are your stations playing it?

Mentioned in another thread that the group's last single was indeed #1 on Urban / R&B stations so it's not like they're ignoring the band. It never charted on Alternative.

KROQ has been playing it for at least month, but Kevin Weatherly must be keen on the song because its also been playing on KAMP for the same amount of time.

What isn't alternative about it? These are the kind of records that always should have been playing at alternative. KROQ played Outkast "Hey Ya" and deadmau5 "Professional Griefers" because they, too, fit the format. Maybe if alternative had been more accepting of singles like this and less inclined to play all the rap-rock in the early 2000s and the active rock throughout the decade, it wouldn't be a dying format.

justpassingthough said:

KROQ has been playing it for at least month, but Kevin Weatherly must be keen on the song because its also been playing on KAMP for the same amount of time.

What isn't alternative about it?  These are the kind of records that always should have been playing at alternative.  KROQ played Outkast "Hey Ya" and deadmau5 "Professional Griefers" because they, too, fit the format.  Maybe if alternative had been more accepting of singles like this and less inclined to play all the rap-rock in the early 2000s and the active rock throughout the decade, it wouldn't be a dying format.

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You're probably right as far as it being "alternative". But with the songs that have taken off on alternative stations lately, it just seemed out of place. I actually think the opposite as far as alternative being a dying format. I think it's thriving now more than it has in recent years (at least in terms of volume of product being cranked out). As mentioned in another thread, alternative is finallly beginning to sound alternative again and not playing as much Active Rock.

Guess this song just seemed a little more mainstream rap to me. As I mentioned, the single before this hit the top of the charts on R&B and Urban stations so that didn't scream "alternative" to me where I can see bands like Outkast and, at one time, bands like the Wu Tang Clan having a stronger sense of sounding different enough to not be played on mainstream stations.

I've been a Macklemore fan for years and I'm a fan of both hip hop and alternative, but I think their stuff is more suited for alternative than urban stations, especially "Thrift Shop". I never really saw them as hip hop in the traditional sense.

While I agree alternative is sounding better than ever, and alternative is finally regaining acceptance at Hot AC and CHR stations in the form of crossovers like fun., Gotye, Imagine Dragons and so on, I said it was a dying format because in the past decade so many markets have lost their alternative station that Hot AC or CHR may be the only game in town for people who are fans of alternative music.

We are lucky in LA to have 2 true alternative stations, but a quick glance at the other top 10 markets and there are a few without a real alternative station. So the alternative artists may be regaining popularity, but the format is still dying.

justpassingthough said:

We are lucky in LA to have 2 true alternative stations, but a quick glance at the other top 10 markets and there are a few without a real alternative station. So the alternative artists may be regaining popularity, but the format is still dying.

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Yeah, it is kind of ironic that stations in big markets like 99X in Atlanta went under (again) and our mid-sized market JUST got an alternative station in August. I do wonder with more product and CHR crossover, if we'll see alt stations start to pop up more again in markets that no longer have one. Almost seemed like the stations went away when the alternative charts were very similar to the Active Rock charts. Now, that's changing. So it was like it died just before it started to come alive again.

I'd definately like to see a resurgence in the number of alt stations.

awp69 said:

justpassingthough said:

We are lucky in LA to have 2 true alternative stations, but a quick glance at the other top 10 markets and there are a few without a real alternative station. So the alternative artists may be regaining popularity, but the format is still dying.

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Yeah, it is kind of ironic that stations in big markets like 99X in Atlanta went under (again) and our mid-sized market JUST got an alternative station in August. I do wonder with more product and CHR crossover, if we'll see alt stations start to pop up more again in markets that no longer have one. Almost seemed like the stations went away when the alternative charts were very similar to the Active Rock charts. Now, that's changing. So it was like it died just before it started to come alive again.

I'd definately like to see a resurgence in the number of alt stations.

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It seems like alternative is making a somewhat recovery. That is, the format seems to reappearing on disadvantaged signals, such as the translators in Cleveland, Greenville, Baltimore, and (well, not anymore) Atlanta and the "Franken FM" in Chicago. But if they can perform well on these small sticks, as what's happening in Chicago, maybe companies will decide to give them another shot on the better signals.

Just my opinion, but I hear nothing alternative about this song, except for the lyrics being a little awkward for your typical Urban station. It sounds too much like a comedy rap that would have been recorded by The Lonely Island or Jon LaJoie, yet neither of them were played at alternative.

My local station, 89x/Detroit, played it on it's People's Choice show for about four nights and appeared on the top 9 at 9 for a night, but that's all I've heard of it on this station.

Two words: Beastie Boys.

KTBZ in Houston plays several Beastie Boys track, and it's not just stuff from the 90s but from their first album. They also throw in House of Payne's Jump Around and Cypress Hill's Insane in the Membrane. I remember when those songs first came out. Yeah, they were real hip hop but for some reason they melded with the sounds of alternative rock. Perhaps it was "alternative" sounding rap that you wouldn't hear on rap stations.

Cypress Hill, Beastie Boys and House of Pain are excellent examples.

Traditionally, "alternative" stations have always featured some underground hip hop as well as alt hip hop and reggae, so this really isn't anything new.

Somewhere along the way in the 90s when corporate consolidation took over and playlists became more deeply researched, "alternative" turned into "alternative rock" and shunned the music that didn't test lights out and/or was safe. Alternative should have always been about being the alternative to the mainstream, not an "alternative" to classic or active rock.

(sigh) Here we go again. A rap song gets played on Alt stations - but of course the artist is white ( see also House of Pain, Beastie Boys, etc.). Why not play more rap songs on Alt radio? Like, by artists aren't white? There is plenty of interesting, textured, intelligent rap music out there that isn't about partying/bling/thug life that basically has no radio format to get played on. I'm talking about Tribe Called Quest/ Mos Def/Jurassic 5 inspired artists.

The local alt station, 107.7 The End does have The Seed 2.0 by the Roots /Cody Chesnutt in its playlist. Why stop there? the new record by The Coup, for example, could fit nicely into an alternative playlist.

dtuba said:

(sigh) Here we go again. A rap song gets played on Alt stations - but of course the artist is white ( see also House of Pain, Beastie Boys, etc.). Why not play more rap songs on Alt radio? Like, by artists aren't white? There is plenty of interesting, textured, intelligent rap music out there that isn't about partying/bling/thug life that basically has no radio format to get played on. I'm talking about Tribe Called Quest/ Mos Def/Jurassic 5 inspired artists.

The local alt station, 107.7 The End does have The Seed 2.0 by the Roots /Cody Chesnutt in its playlist. Why stop there? the new record by The Coup, for example, could fit nicely into an alternative playlist.

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Just to clarify. I'm not against rap songs on Alt stations. And the race of the artist certainly has nothing to do with it. I just don't think this particular song is that "alternative". There's been plenty of others that do fall into the alternative category. Outkast and the Wu-Tang Clan have been on alternative stations and they're not white.

Anyway, only reason I started this thread is because the song basically sounded mainstream enough to be not considered "alternative". And the group's last single was a #1 R&B and Urban radio hit so you can't tell me that they aren't played on mainstream stations.

KROQ played "My Name Is" by Eminem back in 1999. I don't think it had anything to do with it being a rap song from a white artist, though. It fit the format at the time, and was somewhat of a novelty.

Since hip hop is as much as a lifestyle as it is a genre of music, songs that transcend the lifestyle and are appropriate for alternative stations tend to make the cut. The Roots are a great example of this.

I still hear Linkin Park & Jay Z "Numb/Encore" all the time on KROQ and KYSR. Its a hip hop song at its core but it sounds right for alternative. Jay Z is far from being a core artist at alternative, though.

Sorry to bring up the elephant in the room, but race has a HUGE part in whether the Alternative format will play rap artists - you're talking about a demographic which is 99% white

If "Airplanes" by B. O. B. had been performed by a white artist, for example, I can almost guarantee it would have charted on Alternative - and if "Lose Yourself" had been performed by a black artist, I can almost guarantee that Alternative wouldn't have touched it

"Numb" is primarily a Linkin Park song, not a Jay-Z song - and, again, sorry to keep bring this up, but if "Numb/Encore" had been performed by Jay-Z WITHOUT Linkin Park, no Alternative station wouldn't have touched it

If you guys can find one example of a black rapper who charted on Alternative (with a rap track - IMO Hey Ya doesn't count), I'll be extremely surprised...

justpassingthough said:

Since hip hop is as much as a lifestyle as it is a genre of music, songs that transcend the lifestyle and are appropriate for alternative stations tend to make the cut. The Roots are a great example of this.

I still hear Linkin Park & Jay Z "Numb/Encore" all the time on KROQ and KYSR. Its a hip hop song at its core but it sounds right for alternative. Jay Z is far from being a core artist at alternative, though.

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Neither "Numb/Encore" nor anything by The Roots ever charted on Alternative, BTW

Here's a link: http://www.popradiotop20.com/Modern-Rock/index.htm

On my phone, so having trouble finding it, but pretty sure Wu Tang Clan did chart on alternative in the 90s. While I agree that most rap on alt stations has been white, offbeat, non-mainstream sound still is a factor. That's more if the reason why I don't think the song in this thread belongs on alt stations. Just sounds too mainstream Urban to me.

I agree on it sounding too mainstream Urban for alternative. The Roots and Jurassic 5 have had songs that sound like they fit in on alternative (I think both had singles peaking between 45-55), but this does not belong anywhere near alternative radio.

Incidentally, the alt station I first heard this song on, X98.5 in Greenville, SC got some complaints about the song being played on their Facebook page. And haven't heard it since that day.

atlantaboy said:

Sorry to bring up the elephant in the room, but race has a HUGE part in whether the Alternative format will play rap artists - you're talking about a demographic which is 99% white

If "Airplanes" by B. O. B. had been performed by a white artist, for example, I can almost guarantee it would have charted on Alternative - and if "Lose Yourself" had been performed by a black artist, I can almost guarantee that Alternative wouldn't have touched it

"Numb" is primarily a Linkin Park song, not a Jay-Z song - and, again, sorry to keep bring this up, but if "Numb/Encore" had been performed by Jay-Z WITHOUT Linkin Park, no Alternative station wouldn't have touched it

If you guys can find one example of a black rapper who charted on Alternative (with a rap track - IMO Hey Ya doesn't count), I'll be extremely surprised...

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THIS guy gets it.

dtuba said:

atlantaboy said:

Sorry to bring up the elephant in the room, but race has a HUGE part in whether the Alternative format will play rap artists - you're talking about a demographic which is 99% white

If "Airplanes" by B. O. B. had been performed by a white artist, for example, I can almost guarantee it would have charted on Alternative - and if "Lose Yourself" had been performed by a black artist, I can almost guarantee that Alternative wouldn't have touched it

"Numb" is primarily a Linkin Park song, not a Jay-Z song - and, again, sorry to keep bring this up, but if "Numb/Encore" had been performed by Jay-Z WITHOUT Linkin Park, no Alternative station wouldn't have touched it

If you guys can find one example of a black rapper who charted on Alternative (with a rap track - IMO Hey Ya doesn't count), I'll be extremely surprised...

Click to expand...

THIS guy gets it.

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I think thats an oversimplified explanation. Yes, alternative doesn't play a lot or any black rappers on a consistent basis, because thats simply not the format. Hip hop belongs on urban, rhythmic and CHR stations, period. As the remainder of the thread pointed out, though, there are certain songs that break through that are appropriate for alternative- regardless of race of the artist.

Is alternative reverse racist for not playing R&B singer Jon B or Robin Thicke, who are both white? No. They don't make music appropriate for the format.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, regardless of their race, are singing a song about a thrift shop and wearing your granddad's clothes- no bling, but an appeal to the hipster aesthetic. This is an alternative song, even though its hip hop at its core. Jay Z "Big Pimpin'" is not- because it doesnt fit the psychographics of an alternative station.

If the argument is that hip hop doesn't fit the format because it's not "rock" enough, then Beastie Boys, Everlast, or Beck have no business being on alternative playlists. Nor, I would argue, do Skrillex, DeadMau5 or any other EDM artist. I think they are as far away from the traditional "rock" format as any hip hop artist.

Sorry, not convinced. Alternative is inherently a racist whitewashed format.

My $00.02.