Heard it on the radio... but not lately.

[Nords]

I had an interesting epiphany this morning.

I was walking through the grocery store listening to the audio they play over their PA system. I thought I recognized a '50s song and listened harder for the lyrics.

Then I realized it was a 1980s Journey song. Which says a lot on how I feel about that group's alleged musical tastes, but that's not my point.

I suddenly realized that I haven't heard any '50s songs on the radio for a very long time, and usually only when the DJ is in their 80s.

When I was growing up in the '60s and '70s I used to hear a lot of '50s songs on my parents' radio. I probably wasn't aware of it at the time, but I doubt I was hearing anything from the '30s and '40s unless someone happened to tune to an oldies station.

As I got older I would only hear the '50s tunes on the oldies stations.

Now the '80s tunes are starting to move to the oldies stations. I wonder what the age is of the programming "executives" who are making these decisions.

No wonder I'm spending so much more time with my iPod and so much less time with radio. My iPod doesn't remind me of my age, and I can pretend that I'm hearing all its tracks from my high-school cafeteria's speakers...

 

[veremchuka]

i think the 80's had the best music of all the decades from the 60's to the 00's. i dislike the 90's, bored with the 70's and the 60's were just too crazy for today at my advanced age. anything pre beatles never appealed to me. i have very eclectic musical tastes from heavy metal to symphony.

 

[73ss454]

A few years ago all the radio stations went to Beatles and newer. The Beatles are now the oldies.

I'm thankful for YouTube, I can listen to what ever I want.

Doo Wop and 60's Girl Groups do it for me.

 

[HFWR]

Most stations have narrowed there playlists to fit a certain unascertainable to me demographic.

I grew up listening to WAKY in Louisville (whacky radio, 7-9-0), which played a pretty wide range of rock-pop, but I switched to underground FM stations (remember them?) in the late 60s, and never turned back. Still, never hear much beyond a 40-song playlist on classic rock stations anymore...

I was a DJ for a couple of years, but on a country station. Used to get in trouble playing southern rock and "outlaw country". Was a few years too early, I suppose...

Reminds me of the old Carlin skit:

Hi, gang, Scott Lame here.

The boss jock with the boss sound of the boss list of the boss thirty,
that my boss told me to play...

As an aside, I started DJing the same year as Howard Stern (we're the same age), but I never made more than two bucks an hour.

 

[aaronc879]

The Beatles are now the oldies.

The Beatles have been the oldies for almost 30 years!

 

[HFWR]

The Beatles have been the oldies for almost 30 years!

They broke up in 1970, and last performed live in 1966. Well, there was that rooftop show. "Thank you on behalf of the group, and I hope we passed the audition..."

 

[aaronc879]

I remember being a young kid in the 80's. My parents would always have the oldies station on in the car and about every 5th song would be a Beatles song. Beatles in the car and CCR in the house. I think I knew every song by both groups by the time I was 10.

 

[73ss454]

The Beatles have been the oldies for almost 30 years!

You must be a lot younger than me. Are the Beatles still together?

 

[Skye]

I ran into a acquaintance that works in incoming patients at a nursing home. She said one of the many questions they or a family member must answer on a questionare they fill out when they are admitted is: What kind of music do you enjoy listening to? She said for the first time they are starting to get.....Grateful Dead, and Rolling Stones!

 

[73ss454]

I ran into a acquaintance that works in incoming patients at a nursing home. She said one of the many questions they or a family member must answer on a questionare they fill out when they are admitted is: What kind of music do you enjoy listening to? She said for the first time they are starting to get.....Grateful Dead, and Rolling Stones!

Great! GULP

 

[Nords]

She said for the first time they are starting to get.....Grateful Dead, and Rolling Stones!

As my 18-year-old daughter would say: "Okay... ouch."

 

[Onward]

The Beatles have been the oldies for almost 30 years!

Wasn't that Paul McCartney's band before Wings?

 

[samclem]

As HFWR mentioned, the playlists on oldies stations now are very narrow. I remember the rock/pop radio stations in the 70s threw in occasional novelty tracks, etc. There's none of that today--oldies stations play just the songs from the top 40.

My radio station in HS/College: KMET, Los Angeles. Album format rock, lots of whackiness.

 

[stevenst]

I'll make a guess that radio is focused on the age-50 and under demographic. Not many under-50's listening to the 1950's. And us old folks over 50 don't buy enough stuff to draw advertisers, hence we don't get radio programming aimed at us.

I love the internet And Ad-Blocker on Firefox.

 

[RonBoyd]

I'm thankful for YouTube, I can listen to what ever I want.

And Thank You's go out, also, to Pandora and Slacker.

 

[Badger]

Sitting here listening to oldies on the computer through a large site where you can select any kind of music you like. There every day to put a smile on my face. Presently/usually on a 50's/60's/early 70's station. The only place I could find 100's of stations to pick from and find oldies that I haven't heard since that time. Makes me a happy camper. The site is the number of days in the year (didn't know if I could include the site in the post.)

Cheers!

 

[RonBoyd]

(didn't know if I could include the site in the post.)

Let me Google that for you:

"internet radio" - Google Search

And that is just a start.

 

[Danmar]

Beatles now on I-tunes. I need to load up.

 

[Fireup2020]

As a teen in the 80's it pains me to hear 80's music on the oldies stations or referred to as "classic oldies"

I'm too young for my generation's music to be old or classic!

 

[73ss454]

Here ya go Nords, you can sing along if you like.


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