Mixed Bag Verdict

Love the enthusiasm, initiative, Bri. Be the change you want to see in the world, etc.... I just subscribed to your playlist on Rdio and will begin listening shortly.

I haven't listened much to the indie88 station beyond the first couple of hours after receiving the email from Marc Stuart. I don't drive much and usually just stream music at home rather than turn to the radio. However, tuning into the first few hours online last week were a mixed bag. Some interesting bands I'd never expect to hear on radio were featured, which was encouraging, followed by a bunch of fairly mainstream alternative music from the 80s and 90s (Bowie’s ‘I’m afraid of Americans’, Talking Heads’ ‘Burning Down the House’) which was less so.

I just took a look at some of the songs played within a given hour (you can search back through previous playlists) and it continues this trend:

-July Talk - Paper Girl

-Buffalo Soldier – Bob Marley

-Default – Django Django

-Would That Not Be Nice – Divine Fits

-Make it Wit Chu – Queens of the Stone Age

-The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells

Not sure that any of these are ground breaking but I certainly have never heard at least three of those on the radio dial before, at least in Toronto. Another quick hourly scan showed new music from Austra, an alt-j song but also Coldplay. Verdict: still a mixed bag.

I suspect one of the reasons for the ‘Indie Alternative’ branding is that they are trying to cast a wide net for their audience, attempting to appeal to those who want to be edgy and hear new things but want the comfort of a Killers or Oasis song every once in awhile. I’d prefer more straight up indie, as well as music that, Bob Marley in the example above aside, isn’t so decidedly white.

Even the good satellite stations and public radio stations in the US will repeat newer songs throughout the day. I think the goal is to familiarize the audience with the music to build some interest in it. I guess I’m willing to cut it some more slack on the here because a lot of these bands will never get exposure to listeners on the radio dial and it may take some repetition and familiarity to win over new converts. But it still grates a bit.

Btw...I have added tracks 17-26 to Brian's Rdio Playlist.