Shurikid wrote:
Just jumping in the midst of this mini-debate here, but I'm also of the opinion that pop stations like z100 are full of crap. "Come Back to Me" is NOT like the majority of the pop songs given adequate airtime- it doesn't sound anything like them, and that's probably its biggest flaw in terms of getting radio time. It's just as good as those songs, but it's not the same, and what Top 10 stations want is the same conforming musical style set on repeat. I have friends who listen to nothing but the most popular junk, and when I've played Utada for them, they've been really confused because she just isn't mainstream American pop "material" (so to speak). She's too unique. She stands out. But the thing is, all of my friends have also liked her. If you think about it, the radio stations are really doing their listeners a disservice by playing the same stuff over and over because they never choose to expose them to new music. It's not that they shy away from new artists, because God knows the radio stations are quick to pick up on any Top 40 pop fodder they can find, but they rarely pick up new music, much of which their listeners may actually be interested in hearing if they only knew it existed. Radio has become so standardized that people have to go out of their way to find anything that sounds even remotely different, when the entire point of radio is (or should be) to give new artists exposure and bring their music attention. Therefore, radio stations that remain self-contained in their own bubble of mainstream commercial music are worthless, because they aren't really doing their job as musical outlets. It's radio stations like z100 that have brought the American music scene to the stagnant, stale environment it is now, where the biggest gap in musical styles you'll hear is between the Jonas Brothers and Beyonc?, and we all know how far a stretch that is.