"Classic Rock" or "Album Rock"?

I noticed the other day that you never hear the following bands on classic rock radio stations:

Squeeze
The Cure
Crowded House
The Wallflowers
Bruce Hornsby
Tears for Fears

I hear all of these groups/bands/musicians on AAA radio quite often, but never on classic rock radio. I know the compact playlist is pretty common on all classic hits/rock radio stations in the modern era, but it seems like a lot of groups are ignored.

Would you classify any of the groups I listed as belonging on classic rock radio?

fordranger797 said:

Would you classify any of the groups I listed as belonging on classic rock radio?

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I would never classify any group, band, or artist as belonging on classic rock radio. I would only classify specific songs as belonging there. But that's just me. Many of the songs recorded by those artists sound like classic rock, and therefore I think they belong on classic rock stations. Other songs by those artists don't. The problem is that the suits who program radio don't give a damn what a song sounds like. The only look at the recording date and chart position when it was a hit.

Avid Listener said:

I would never classify any group, band, or artist as belonging on classic rock radio. I would only classify specific songs as belonging there. But that's just me. Many of the songs recorded by those artists sound like classic rock, and therefore I think they belong on classic rock stations. Other songs by those artists don't. The problem is that the suits who program radio don't give a damn what a song sounds like. The only look at the recording date and chart position when it was a hit.

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But haven't the radio pros here said time and time again that chart position doesn't matter two or three decades later? I'm not a huge fan of today's classic rock radio, but the ones I've listened to sound just fine, focused on songs that I (and I'm sure most others) still remember clearly either from radio or MTV. I don't have a problem with hearing "Don't Dream It's Over" on the same station that's playing "Dirty Deeds Done Cheap." But if it was playing, say, "One More Night" (Phil Collins), yeah, that would be a problem. But none of those stations are playing Phil's soft AC sides, even though both "One More Night" and "Don't Dream It's Over" became AC staples long after their run on the Hot 100. It's a matter of how the songs sound today, and, to these ears, Crowded House (and Hornsby and The Cure and the others) is a comfortable fit for classic rock radio.

CTListener said:

But haven't the radio pros here said time and time again that chart position doesn't matter two or three decades later? I'm not a huge fan of today's classic rock radio, but the ones I've listened to sound just fine, focused on songs that I (and I'm sure most others) still remember clearly either from radio or MTV. I don't have a problem with hearing "Don't Dream It's Over" on the same station that's playing "Dirty Deeds Done Cheap." But if it was playing, say, "One More Night" (Phil Collins), yeah, that would be a problem. But none of those stations are playing Phil's soft AC sides, even though both "One More Night" and "Don't Dream It's Over" became AC staples long after their run on the Hot 100. It's a matter of how the songs sound today, and, to these ears, Crowded House (and Hornsby and The Cure and the others) is a comfortable fit for classic rock radio.

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Yeah, the suits say lots of things. When it makes their case, they claim chart positions don't matter for vintage songs, but when you challenge them about playing deep cuts (ie. no-hits) from albums that sold sell under the assumption that anyone who bought the entire album back in the day was familiar with all of the songs on it, then they claim that only the hits test well.

I'm one of the most outspoken advocates of the position, "It's a matter of how the songs sound today". Those examples you mentioned are just a drop in the bucket of really great songs that were recorded outside the narrow date parameters that the suits swear by that have the right sound to be played on a "classic rock" station. And you can be sure if any of the suits who participate in here respond, they'll claim that listeners will change the station if they hear a great-sounding classic rock song that doesn't tickle their nostalgia button.

I can't picture "Don't Dream It's Over" on any station calling its music "rock".

A lot of songs played on rock stations way back when don't belong there now, in my opinion. "Lawyers in Love" by Jackson Browne? "Hey Nineteen"? Those songs marked the beginning of the end for "95-Q". Once I start liking the songs, something's wrong.

I really just can't see listeners still wanting to hear the same crappy Van Halen songs over and over again in the next few years. I don't think it would be that big of a deal to cycle in a few songs that are memorable, but not in the usual "rut". Then again, I am not a music director.

fordranger797 said:

I really just can't see listeners still wanting to hear the same crappy Van Halen songs over and over again in the next few years. I don't think it would be that big of a deal to cycle in a few songs that are memorable, but not in the usual "rut". Then again, I am not a music director.

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I don't care how much people liked any song at one time, if you overplay it, then it gets burnt out. If I never hear "LaGrange" by ZZ Top again, it'll be to soon! There are two realities that the suits just won't accept. One is that no matter how much we like a song, we get tired of it if they over play it. The other is that there are large numbers of people who are exposed to classic rock through other venues, like listening to their parents' (or grandparents') record collections, who end up really liking the sound of classic rock. These younger listeners (in highly desirable demographics) don't give a damn when something was recorded. They only care if it sounds good. The suits will claim that their bogus testing says that younger listeners won't listen to great sounding music if it's too old, or if it's "tainted" as music for old farts. That's probably because the suits all think it's still 1957.

I like "La Grange" myself, but I haven't heard it over and over.

Avid Listener said:

The suits will claim that their bogus testing says that younger listeners won't listen to great sounding music if it's too old, or if it's "tainted" as music for old farts. That's probably because the suits all think it's still 1957.

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They have never heard of "day parting" and "night parting" either!

fordranger797 said:

They have never heard of "day parting" and "night parting" either!

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A consistent "sound" -- days, nights, weekdays, weekends -- seems to be the overriding factor in programming all musical formats these days. Here in Connecticut, there's absolutely no difference in what WPLR and its classic hits sister station WDRC-FM play at any time. Ratings are OK in the part of the power demo that such formats appeal to, so no need to tweak anything, I guess.

CTListener said:

A consistent "sound" -- days, nights, weekdays, weekends -- seems to be the overriding factor in programming all musical formats these days.

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If that were true, then the suits would pay more attention to the "sound" of each song they program, instead of just looking at release date and chart position, or the results of some bogus "stacked deck" tests.

vchimpanzee said:

I can't picture "Don't Dream It's Over" on any station calling its music "rock".

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The word "Rock" describes a really big tent. It's not nearly as narrowly defined as radio industry suits like to pretend it is. "Don't Dream It's Over" isn't all that much different from "Love of My Life", from Queen's "A Night at the Opera", one of the best rock albums ever made.