Here in New York, WCBS 101.1 FM is once again an oldies station after two years of being “Jack FM,” which roughly meant playing whatever came up next on an aging hipster’s iPod Shuffle — and yeah, that’s as bad as it sounds. The Big Apple, including its mayor, is now rejoicing after what one columnist recently described as “the Bobby Ewing ‘dream season’ of New York radio” (if you don’t get the reference, click here) — before this week, there was no stereotypical oldies station in a media market of over 20 million people. Of course, over time, the definition of “oldies” evolves as demographics change. But guess what: ’80s music now qualifies.
C’mon guys. Not funny. Oldies is music from before I was born. And that’s that.
This is probably going to enshrine a lot of horrible music — primarily the Bryan Adams-Michael Bolton-Phil Collins oeuvre of “soft rock,” which I will forever maintain is a contradiction in terms — as being worthy of “greatest hits” labeling and corresponding reverence. Reality check … in 1989, Nirvana released their first album, New Kids on the Block was paving the way for a decade of nails-on-the-chalkboard boy band music, and Cyndi Lauper was already washed up. And now, all of that is on the oldies station on your radio dial. Yikes.
And as I say that … “Smells Like Teen Spirit” just came on a classic rock station.
Questions for discussion:
Have cell phones, the Internet, and satellite TV/radio made a reprise of 1960s-style cultural/societal upheaval cultural change more or less likely?
Shouldn’t this decade have a name by now, considering it’s almost over?
What is it going to take for this generation to realize that it’s going to end up waaaaay worse off than its parents? (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)
