oldies

[markwa1ion@aol.com]

I'm with Peter George on the oldies topic.  Early rock / doo-wop still 
sounds great, though I enjoy some new stuff as well - though presently 
slanted more towards country than rap / hard rock.

I even enjoy "pre-rock": old blues, ancient country, folk, western 
swing, big bands, post-war jazz (like Miles, Mingus, and Monk), and 
classical.  I have some old Bill Marlowe airchecks which I can still 
enjoy immensely.  Talent is still talent.  Nat King Cole and Frank 
Sinatra will stand the test of time when everybody has forgotten who 
Eminem is.  Too bad so little of this is on the radio.  That's what 
iTunes and Collectors' Choice are for, I guess.

One thing oldies stations had trouble with when they went into a mostly 
post-Beatles era mode was that those who would have been unified behind 
their local Top 40 and its playlist in the '50s and much of the '60s 
really started fragmenting into a lot of different niches once the '70s 
came around.  It has largely remained this way since.

The typical '70s representation on WODS is what would be termed mostly 
adult contemporary / pop.  By the time the '70s arrived for me, I was 
in college listening to a lot of WBCN.  Top 40 seemed too mellow or too 
bubblegum.  Even with a few of its jocks like Garabedian trying to put 
an edge on it, it became irrelevant to many by mid-decade when disco, 
Captain and Tennille, etc. were a big factor.

In the early '70s I was listening to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith and 
southern rock (Allmans, etc.).  British folk influences in Jethro Tull, 
Genesis, and the Moody Blues got me to dig in deeper and find Steeleye 
Span, Fairport Convention, Gentle Giant, Gryphon, Strawbs, etc. (and 
eventually pure Celtic stuff).  I was listening to Donna Halper on 
WCAS, Maxanne Sartori on WBCN, Mark Parenteau on WCOZ, and John 
Garabedian on WMEX (and later on his own WGTR).  That was my '70s.  
Nothing whatever to do with the '70s stuff WODS plays now.

The '80s found me a little closer to mainstream with Duran Duran, Dire 
Straits, U2, etc. and in the '90s I was listening to R.E.M., Green Day, 
and Gin Blossoms among others.  An '80s / '90s retro format can be good 
listening for me since it is less likely to be out of sync with my 
tastes than a '70s one.

With all of this said, I still feel that Summer of '67, both on the 
progressive side and in Top 40 Land, still rules.  Of course most 
people are going to have a soft spot for whatever music they were 
hooked into at age 18.

Mark Connelly - Billerica, MA


<<
I guess I'm rather unusual in terms of musical taste.  I'm 48 and I 
love the
original rock and roll from the FIRST quarter-century of rock 
(1954-1979).  I
can't say that I really listen to stations like WJMN, WPRO-FM or 
WXKS-FM.  It
all sounds the same to me. Same beat, same rap.... whatever. While in 
college
(late 70's early 80's), I enjoyed the current rock material of the time 
on WAAF,
WCCC-FM and WCOZ (before Sebastian). And yes, I hated disco.

About the best description of my musical taste would be the first 
format of
WKKT/WZLX "Classic Hits 100.7" back in '85.  It was a perfect blend of 
the 60's
and 70's and a little bit of the late 50's.  Kinda like the soundtrack 
of "The
Big Chill", with a little bit of retro.

There is still an audience for the pre-1964 material.  That's why 
smaller
stations like WARE/1250 and WXRB/95.1 are there to serve the niche for 
those who
like the original rock and roll.  Hopefully, WODS will finally put 
their
pre-Beatles format on the HD2 as well.

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts

"Scanning the bands since 1967"
    radiojunkie3@yahoo.com
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