ITT We Figure Out the Mainstream Rock Format

I guess the sort-of-interesting thing here is, and it's in Sund4r's OP, is whether there is somebody on this board or one step away from them who actively likes the new, "active" stuff.

Modern Rock used to be Alternative. I grew up listening to WHFS in the DC suburbs pre-Lollapalooza

WHFS really was an alternative station once - I don't mean "alternative" as in what later came to be thought of as alt-rock, but rather real alternative, music that wouldn't be found on any Billboard chart. Freeform formats where the DJs actually picked many of the records from all sorts of uncommercial genres. Lots of local bands too. It was like that throughout the 1970s and early 80s, after which the playlists tightened up and focused on "college rock" that became "alternative" or "modern" rock by the '90s. I was always irked at million-selling records being called "alternative"; no knock against the music itself, but it's mainstream whether you like that label or not once you're on the top 20 of the Billboard modern rock chart.

How many listeners would these stations lose if they played Opeth and Gojira, or Mastodon instead of Mammoth WVH and Pop Evil? (They don't seem that different in terms of Spotify and Youtube numbers.) Or is the new stuff meant to be as anonymous as possible so people won't turn it off in between the commercial break and the next Alice in Chains song?

It's funny to me how tied Shinedown are to this format:

Shinedown has the most number one singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts out of any band, with 16, and all of their released singles have reached the top 5 on the chart. Additionally, on June 3, 2021 Shinedown was ranked #1 by Billboard on the Greatest of All Time Mainstreams Rock Artists chart released to celebrate the Mainstream Rock Chart's 40th Anniversary.[1]

How does it feel to be the canonical Mainstream Rock band?

Feels good!

then again

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/shinedown-bassist-eric-bass-tests-positive-for-covid-19-band-to-play-next-two-shows-as-a-three-piece/

Oh, listening to "Second Chance" now, their most popular song on Spotify, I've heard this song a million times before. (Of course, it's 13 years old.) I might have expected this to be too wimpy for this format.

This concept is kind of funny - a niche format that is actually less distinctive/interesting than the larger umbrella format. But then I’ve never heard Shinedown.

I checked out their top song on Spotify-- "Cut the Cord"-- could be a theme song for Alex Jones

This Shinedown song is generic sounding enough that I might have heard it, but I don't recognize it. I guess this is somewhat like the (mostly cancon) stuff that my local rock music station plays between classic rock songs, though maybe a bit lighter.

and looking at that Canadian chart vs the American one linked in the first post, I recognize a surprisingly high number of bands in the Canadian one (Big Wreck, Sheepdogs, cleopatrick, Damn Truth) that are played pretty regularly by the rock station here. I assume these bands are Canadian and they are just slotting them into spots where something like Shinedown would be if this rock station were American.

Also, aren't there Canadian content regs to consider? Are Canadians suspicious of bands that are only popular in Canada and nowhere else, figuring they're only getting airplay to meet the quota?

one thing i have learned from this format is that odd numbers are way cooler than even

Three Doors Down
Five Finger Death Punch
Avenged Sevenfold

Third Eye Blind
Ben Folds Five

(actually even numbers have an uneven track record, cf. 4 Non Blondes)

9 Live Crew

Sum 41? RAWK
Eve 6? LAME

Also, aren't there Canadian content regs to consider? Are Canadians suspicious of bands that are only popular in Canada and nowhere else, figuring they're only getting airplay to meet the quota?

As opposed to the objective meritocracy of US and UK radio?

lol

Are Canadians suspicious of bands that are only popular in Canada and nowhere else, figuring they're only getting airplay to meet the quota?

I definitely used to think this when I was younger, but now I realize that there are going to be a lot of terrible bands getting radio airplay no matter what, so might as well help out our local shitty bands, they are no better or worse than their international equivalents.

I wonder how much of this has to do with demographic shifts— radio still plays a HUGE part in rural areas and smaller cities, and this kind of "hard rock" stuff that dominates these charts might play okay to a certain demo; namely, teenage boys and their dads, honkies all of them.

Been thinking about these sorts of questions a lot since I saw Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys a month ago— I liked the former before "Ruby Soho" and "Timebomb" came out because I'd read about them in SPIN and bought a CD with my dog-walking money, but the latter emerged in the mid-to-late 90s as a sort of rowdy punk band...but how to explain their rise to be the favorite band of vaguely white nationalist Catholic types who live in the suburbs? I've done some searching on the charts and it can't be explained there, I don't think.

(Also, just FYI, I went to that show because my best friend from elementary and middle school invited me to go with him. He remains a nice guy, but man his music taste is abysmal!)

I know (used to know, more accurately) a lot of ppl my age (& even old dudes!) who think bands like Godsmack & Five Finger Death Punch are as good as any grunge-era bands, as good as bands get really...

o_O

Lmao

They always play some cool rock on the fight scenes in Letterkenny and I always thing I need to look up who that band is and never do. I assume they are Canadian artists (I knew Peaches tune when it came up as there was plenty of ILM love for it back when it was new).

From scanning some videos by FFDP, Hurricane, and Shinedown, all featured heartfelt comments by current or former members of the US military, so that also appears to be a key demographic here.

(Also, just FYI, I went to that show because my best friend from elementary and middle school invited me to go with him. He remains a nice guy, but man his music taste is abysmal!)

lol just listened to an episode of Cinepunx which featured a tangent of one of the hosts going to this tour, 80% complaining about how shit Dropkick Murphys and their weird fanbase are.

From scanning some videos by FFDP, Hurricane, and Shinedown, all featured heartfelt comments by current or former members of the US military, so that also appears to be a key demographic here.

I wrote about this phenomenon a few years ago.

good stuff, thanks

lol just listened to an episode of Cinepunx which featured a tangent of one of the hosts going to this tour, 80% complaining about how shit Dropkick Murphys and their weird fanbase are.

― Daniel_Rf, Friday, October 1, 2021 4:09 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

It was confounding— there were dudes wearing NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF and Black punks with PUNKS AGAINST RACIST HATE shirts walking around, and in the meantime, the guys who parked next to me had Trump stickers and Thin Blue Line cop-humper shit all over their brand new Expedition— they were all wearing Irish and Dropkick Murphys type of gear.

especially since they have beat up Nazis at their shows

I think it's sort of the Boondock Saints effect— there's this sort of "hatred of authority" and "adoration of authority" that seem to go hand in hand with these types of idiots.

I listened to the active rock station for a little bit in the car last night, out of curiosity. It's an interesting contrast to what these charts are like, since almost every song was familiar: iirc,
Foo Fighters - Making a Fire (only song from this year; I knew it but only bc I listened to it when I saw it on the chart - it sounds like it could be from the 70s)
Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills
Green Day - Longview
The Glorious Sons - Kill the Lights (only song I didn't recognize; four years old but could be 20)
My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade
Something by the Tragically Hip

I actually don't dislike any of these and actively like a few but it was a exceptionally unchallenging, unsurprising listen; as noted above, it's basically a heavier contemporary take on classic rock in a way that doesn't come across when reading charts.

Other than Iron Maiden and Green Day, you might as well have just listed

Shit Band- Stupid shit song
Bad Group- Really Dumb Bro Song
Wow our band is Bad- Fucking Abysmal Song

Wow our band is Bad don't get much love on ILM, maybe it's their name?

Clap Your Hands Wow Our Band Is Bad

I can’t believe how many albums the foo fighters have made. I would have assumed they’d have all literally died of boredom after having to record their 7th album of undifferentiated “rock music” flavored audio product

Cool article, unperson.

yeah, great article unperson.

The new Big Wreck single is honestly really good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZImrFEkGjGs

Shit Band- Stupid shit song
Bad Group- Really Dumb Bro Song
Wow our band is Bad- Fucking Abysmal Song

It would be handy if Wow our band is Bad would add "UK" to their name, so I stop getting this weird Belgian microhouse group with a similar name on my Spotify "release radar" each Friday