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According to Hofmann: The soft rock ‘n roll controversy

By Mark Hofmann mhofmann@heraldstandard.Com 5 min read
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There are too many reminders in our daily lives that we’re getting older, and I think the biggest one may also be the most depressing one: music on the radio.

I have to admit, I don’t listen to the radio that much anymore. With so many options available on the phone and through a bluetooth connection to your car, the skyĢƵ the limit … even when you’re on the road.

But I’ve totally abandoned the radio. There are times that I like listening to a DJ talk about a song before playing it, or listening to a syndicated radio show from rockers themselves like Alice Cooper, Steven Van Zandt or Milli Vanilli (though that last show is always silent for some reason).

I also like tuning my carĢƵ radio to pick up stations is when I’m driving out of or across the state because I like to hear the local flavor of the area I’m in or traveling through.

The most recent time that happened was last weekend when I traveled to Philadelphia for a birthday party. After three hours of listening to yet another true-crime podcast on the history of jaywalking, I decided to scan the radio stations for classic rock.

One of many advantages of technology is the information on a carĢƵ display that tells you what genre the radio station plays so you know what to expect after the commercial for Big RoyĢƵ Tires and Gutters Emporium.

I scanned through stations until I had to look away and swerve the car to avoid hitting some people running from a rogue tractor or something-I don’t know; I was trying to make time.

After swerving past the ambulance and hearing a commercial for Big RoyĢƵ Psychological Counseling Services Emporium, the song “Talk Dirty to Me” by Poison came on.

While it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, itĢƵ still my jam, so I listened and sang along.

Then I stopped cold.

I glanced back down at the carĢƵ display, which told me that I was listening to a “Soft Rock” station.

“Soft Rock?” I said, before screaming a string of profanities that would make a sailor blush. My 12-year-old stepdaughter, Emma, asked with extreme caution what was wrong.

I explained to her that you can’t put an 80ĢƵ hair-band song like “Poison” in the same category as Michael Bolton, but since Emma didn’t know any of those names, I told her the radio did a stupid thing.

After checking out more stations, I found out just how stupid.

When I reached a “Rock” station, and after the ad played for Big RoyĢƵ Nuts’n’Bolts Emporium, some kind of garbage Jonas-Beiber pop song came on.

I had a feeling Emma wanted to sing along, but she didn’t get the chance because my fist was buried deep into the digital display.

Turns out I had some time before reaching my destination, so I started to think about getting older.

I remembered growing up, and how my dad would listen to the oldies station because a good bit of that music was stuff he grew up with. I figure when he was young, those tunes were considered to be pop songs.

I can imagine my grandfather asking him what happened to all the popular music from Glenn Miller and Bing Crosby, and then my great-grandfather chiming in to ask how come songs like “ItĢƵ a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” and “Cohen on the Telephone” aren’t played on the radio anymore.

It also seems that every dozen years that go by, the oldies station adds another decade to its advertising — so much so that even the DJs are caught off guard.

“This is your home for classic hits of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s – Good lord! I have undigested meat in my colon older than some of these songs!”

So, sure, I get it that some changes have to be made to go along with the times, but I think it can be handled in a better way.

I think the better way is to not even consider the age of the song. You can argue that some songs age better than others, but you can’t deny that songs like 1957ĢƵ “Long Tall Sally” by Little Richard rocks out as much as 1971ĢƵ “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin and 1990ĢƵ “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. Songs like those deserve to be on a radio station with similar songs throughout all decades and genres.

Now, this idea may seem pretty radical to station managers who have to go by audience demographics and other figures. To them, I say I have no idea how to run a radio station or balance a checkbook, but forget about all of that because music is a feeling and you should go with your gut.

I know itĢƵ a risk, but if a radio station wants to survive in an age where other listening options are plentiful, it needs to change or maybe, I don’t know, not identifying your station as “Soft Rock” when you play Poison songs.

If you don’t want to take that risk, then just hand your station off to Big Roy so he can create a radio-station emporium. He seems to know what heĢƵ doing.

According to Hofmann is written by staff reporter Mark Hofmann of Rostraver Township. His books, “Good Mourning! A Guide to Biting the Big One … and Dying, Too” and “Stupid Brain,” are available on Amazon.com.

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