Thursday, March 16, 2017

Other voices

Another dull Monday night at work. So when the news started repeating itself and business got slow, I started twiddling the radio dial looking for something listenable in the pathetic lowest-common-denominator programming that is Seattle-area radio. And I wasn't surprised by what I heard.
If this continues, I'll have to start taking CD's to work again. And then I'll crank up the music and ignore customers, because that's what always happens.
Every time an overplayed song by a "classic rocker" came on last night, I jotted down OTHER great songs by the same artist that the stations could have played if they'd been a little more open-minded. Again, this isn't a scientific study, just a suggested playlist generated by a couple hours of bored listening. Stations included a "mix" of the 80's/90's/now, "Seattle's only Classic Rock station," one of those "We play what we want" stations, an alleged "oldies" station (KJR/"The Jet"), and two others aimed at 18-to-35-year-olds. And the playlists were all very similar. Unfortunately.
So try any of these alternatives and thank me later....
* Rod Stewart -- Handbags and Gladrags, Mandolin Wind (this took a LONG time to grow on me).
* Fleetwood Mac -- I Know I'm Not Wrong, Why?, Sisters of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Straight Back, Eyes of the World, Brown Eyes, Never Make Me Cry.
* Yes -- South Side of the Sky. (They actually play "Changes" here -- in fact, local radio turned me on to it....)
* Led Zeppelin -- Carouselambra, Hey Hey What Can I Do?
* Eagles -- The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks, James Dean, Outlaw Man, Seven Bridges Road.
* Boston -- Used to Bad News, Hitch a Ride, A Man I'll Never Be, It's Easy, My Destination.
* Rolling Stones -- Street Fighting Man.
* Madonna -- The Look of Love, Dear Jessie, Oh Daddy.
* Prince -- Anotherloverholeinyohead, Sometimes it Snows in April.
* Foreigner -- Rev on the Red Line, The Modern Day, Blinded by Science.
* Rush -- The Camera Eye, Mystic Rhythms (live), Manhattan Project, Force Ten, Show Don't Tell. (I'd add "Time Stand Still," but they actually play it here....)
* ELP -- Fanfare for the Common Man, Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression Part 1).
* Eric Clapton -- Let it Grow, Another Ticket.
* Journey -- Daydream, People and Places, Troubled Child, Something to Hide.
* Police -- Omegaman, Secret Journey, On Any Other Day, Does Everyone Stare?
* Joe Walsh -- Rivers (of the Hidden Funk), Meadows.
* Grateful Dead -- Passenger, Uncle John's Band.
* Billy Joel -- Travelin' Prayer, The Entertainer, Scenes From an Italian Restaurant.
* Genesis -- Inside and Out, Vancouver, Like it or Not, Afterglow, Your Own Special Way, Madman Moon, You Might Recall.
* The Who -- Daily Records, Another Tricky Day, Slip Kid, Blue Red and Gray, The Kids are Alright, Disguises.
* Heart -- Rockin' Heaven Down, Mistral Wind, Soul of the Sea.
* Kansas -- Journey From Mariabronn, Questions of My Childhood, Miracles Out of Nowhere, The Wall, Cheyenne Anthem, What's On My Mind, Reason to Be, Back Door.
* Queen -- Rock It (Prime Jive), It's Late, Death on Two Legs, '39, The Prophet's Song, The Show Must Go On, I'm Going Slightly Mad, Need Your Loving Tonight, Save Me.
* Aerosmith -- Seasons of Wither, Big Ten-Inch Record.
* Elton John -- Ego, Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Gray Seal, Grimsby, Sick City, Teacher I Need You, Have Mercy on the Criminal, Elderberry Wine, Don't You Wanna Play This Game No More (Sartorial Eloquence).
* Supertramp -- Just Another Nervous Wreck, Child of Vision, Babajii, From Now On, School, Crime of the Century.
* Paul McCartney and Wings -- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, Mrs. Vandebilt, Let Me Roll It, Medicine Jar, Venus and Mars Reprise/Spirits of Ancient Egypt, Picasso's Last Words, Magneto and Titanium Man, Call Me Back Again.
* Paul Simon -- American Tune.
* Simon and Garfunkel -- The Only Living Boy in New York, For Emily Whenever I May Find Her, Keep the Customers Satisfied, Punky's Dilemma, A Simple Desultory Philippic.
* Pat Benatar -- Hard to Believe, Precious Time, Wuthering Heights.
* Tears for Fears -- The Working Hour.
* Pretenders -- Time the Avenger, Kid, Hymn to Her, Human, Stop Your Sobbing, Lovers of Today, Mystery Achievement, 2000 Miles.
* Moody Blues -- Simple Game, Peak Hour, Time to Get Away, Twilight Time, Voices in the Sky, The Actor, Don't You Feel Small?, Lovely to See You, Never Comes the Day, Eyes of a Child Part Two, Gypsy, Out and In, Watching and Waiting, It's Up to You, Our Guessing Game, One More Time to Live, You Can Never Go Home, For My Lady, You and Me, Land of Make-Believe, Meanwhile, Nervous, Veteran Cosmic Rocker, In My World, Blue World, Meet Me Halfway, Running Water, It's Cold Outside of Your Heart, Sorry....

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