Bruce Gets Chicked

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306164,00.html

A noted liberal news outlet discovers an informal blacklist.

 

It's not just Bruce...

It’s not just Springsteen. There is no sign at major radio stations of new albums by John Fogerty or Annie Lennox, either. The same stations that should be playing Santana’s new singles with Chad Kroeger or Tina Turner are avoiding them, too.

Like Springsteen, these "older" artists have been relegated to something called Triple A format stations — i.e. either college radio or small artsy stations such as WFUV in the Bronx, N.Y., which are immune from the Clear Channel virus of pre-programming and where the number of plays per song is a fraction of what it is on commercial radio.

 

Yeah, this has zero to do with Springsteen's politics. It has to do with terrestrial radio stations sucking a big fat one. Springsteen is in the same situation as John Fogerty, Paul Simon, Elton John, Paul McCartney -- radio continues to play their oldies into the ground, while ignoring their new stuff. At least Springsteen is still selling his new records...many of those acts, their fans would rather buy the umpteenth greatest hits collection or expanded edition of an old record instead of a new album.

 

Clear Channel is the worst thing to happen to music since Don Henley.

 

Clear Channel sucks. Actually, the entirety of mainstream radio any more sucks, but Clear Channel sucks harder than the others do. You can drive pretty much anywhere now and hear basically the same radio station. Different call letters, but the same music, same voiceovers, same everything. That article is right: This is why people are fleeing to satellite radio, or in my case, NPR and small college and indy stations. Fuckabuncha Clear Channel.

 

Plus, the Chicks learned the hard way that we do not buy concert tickets in order to get indoctrinated into their way of political thinking.
We go to concerts to escape that.

 

Don't forget, too, Clear Channel is programming at least 10 of XM's channels as part of settlement of their lawsuit.
That's why channels 20-26 suck.

 

Lest we forget...

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E1DD1230F936A15750C0A9659C8B63

Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves.

The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious -- and widely hated -- for its iron-fisted centralized control.

 

I disagree. I think terrestrial stations offer compelling choices.

1. Old stuff I have heard a million times with lots of commercials.
2. New stuff I don't want to hear with scads of commercials.

What's not to like?

 

"Last to Die" (Bruce Springsteen, 2007)

 

But it's not political, Starman.

And the moon is made of blue cheese.

 

It's never political.
It's never about race.
I don't recall stations having a problem with The Rising, and nothing's changed since then.