July 10th, 2002 4:04am
WE PLAY THE HITS
The letter to Entertainment Weekly attributed to the “Image Director” of Clear Channel, Steve Smith, that I found on I Love Music really boils my blood.
Satellite radio is not the answer to good radio, much like cable TV is not the answer to good TV. Both just give you more choices of crap.
Radio is categorized, and it ought to be. Only a slim number of people would like to hear Ja Rule, Rusted Root, Barry Manilow, and Dwight Yoakam on the same radio station. If you are actually looking for a station that will play Norah Jones, B-Tribe, Ned Otter, etc., then look for your closest college ratio station. Give them a good listen. I guarantee you that after 30 seconds of pure hell, you will switch back to a Clear Channel Radio station because we play the hits.
Steve Smith
Production Director/Imaging Director, Clear Channel
Steven.Smith@ClearChannel.com
Lebanon, N.H.
The fucking gall of this man is almost unbelievable. His contempt for the common person is staggering. He does little more in this letter than to confirm what most people already assumed about Clear Channel and their ilk: they aren’t just unconcerned with the public good, they have a genuine antipathy for the common person. They do not understand music and art’s place in culture, and are willing to do irreperable damage to American culture if it means creating a higher profit margin.
There are an incredible number of people who hate the way the airwaves have sold out the public interest – I can’t understand why there are so few people willing to do anything about it. It’s very disheartening. Something has got to give. This sort of corporate corruption, and the government which enables it to happen need to be implicated, they need to be punished severely. Still, most people will ignore this sort of corruption because it’s “only the radio”.
THE SUN’S GOING DOWN ON THE DAYS OF YOUR EASY LIFE
I would have liked to have enjoyed at least one of the songs on the new Oasis album. Unlike a lot of other people, I’m not afraid to say that I can think of at least twenty songs by this band that I genuinely enjoy. I even liked a couple of the songs on their last LP, which most anyone can agree was a lifeless dud. I also like about half of the Be Here Now LP, which even the band (clearly their own biggest fans) hates. When I got around to downloading and listening to the 11 new songs, I didn’t feel sad or disappointed – I just felt sorry for Noel, Liam, and company. They sound like a police composite artist’s rendering of what the band might sound like based on descriptions and testimonials of their music taken from negative reviews. Nothing on this album moves me in the slightest – it’s dull, limp, phoned-in. I felt vaguely insulted listening to it.
This is a band which desperately needs to break up before they ruin their legacy entirely. There’s no shame in quitting now, Noel. You’ll do the same sales when you’re solo the way Oasis is going now. Give it up. Have a little dignity, alright?
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