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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow NPR Killed College Rock
Of all the types of rock music, perhaps the one that is least considered and most overlooked is college rock. Like todays indie rock, it was named for the circumstance of its proliferation, rather than some characteristic or aesthetic of the music (such as heavy metal, noise, punk, grind, et al). Anthemic and clever, college rock produced clean pop songs which still resonate with listeners today. But what was college rock exactly and why did it disappear? And why is there no cult of stalwarts who maintain its legacy, as there is with nearly every other subcult of rock n roll (goth, ska, mod, punk, rockabilly, etc.)? There is, for example, no Robert Gordon (seventies rockabilly revivalist) or Paul Weller (the second-wave modfather) figure of college rock rallying a college-rock revival; at least not on the near horizon.
Though usually associated with groups of the early 1980s, college rock existed for a short time before and afterward as well, through the heyday of college radio. The genres groups, though often signed to major labels, did not typically enjoy mainstream popularity but were instead cult favoritesa musical counterpart to the then-popular midnight movie craze where gonzo flops and campy outrages were displayed to a knowing, fun-loving, and unpretentious audience. (Of course, some of the college rock groupssuch as Talking Heads, Violent Femmes, and REMeventually became very successful.)
The genre wasnt called college rock because it was produced exclusively for or by students but was instead named for the radio stations which were its champion and proponent. In the sixties, when FM radio was less typical, the FCC issued many Class D radio licenses to universities, which allowed them to create noncommercial stations on the little-used left side of dial (typically 88.190.5 FM). Despite residing in the hinterlands, many of their signals were powerful, with tens of thousands of kilowatts.
By the late seventies, FM had become paradigmatic, and the college stations were burgeoning and sometimes influential. As opposed to commercial stations, which were committed to a highly restrictive Top 40 format, college radio was fairly free-form in its programming. College stations saw promulgation of lesser-heard groups as their responsibility; their sacred mission. They were staffed by music enthusiasts who worked without pay, and who saw college rock as a desperately needed alternative to the platinum tedium of classic and Top 40 drivel.
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underpants
(182,773 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)A non-NPR classical station hoovered up KUSF at the University of San Francisco in order to sell off its commercial frequency and move to KUSF's 90.1. As you can imagine, KUSF was a music powerhouse.
Galileo126
(2,016 posts)First - offer college kids something for peanuts.
Second - Great music ensues!
Third - Capitalists cry because they didn't get what they have - for peanuts.
Fourth- Capitalists takes over, music goes to the wayside, 10,000 commercial ads per hour ensues.
Fifth - We change the channel!
Didn't even bother to read the article - it happens so often.
LiberalArkie
(15,713 posts)truedelphi
(32,324 posts)radio station - very decent approach to the music scene.
olddots
(10,237 posts)N.P.R used to have the Fire Sign Theater along with lots of music shows .
artislife
(9,497 posts)My brother had an album! , with their comedy..
Newsjock
(11,733 posts)... no mention of the role the Internet has played in also killing so many college radio stations.
Also, just gotta laugh a bit: no station anywhere ever had "tens of thousands of kilowatts" of power. (500kw is the record, I believe, briefly held by WLW.) That would be mighty big.
Buzz cook
(2,471 posts)cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)It's not solely a college station anymore, although the UW is still involved in its operations.
As far as keeping college rock alive, I think comparing college rock to ska or rockabilly or whatever isn't really a good comparison, since it wasn't really a genre. Certainly, there are plenty of indie rock bands around that would have fit in on an 80s college rock playlist.
Response to Buzz cook (Reply #7)
artislife This message was self-deleted by its author.
artislife
(9,497 posts)I am also digging http://www.kplu.org/
Their jazz and blues playlists are instrumental (heh) at keeping me from committing suicide on the 405.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Some surveys indicate people get their intoduction to new music from other sources than radio (less than 5%?). I still listen to radio, and go to a set of coffee houses to get their on-line playlists. Hell, I'm hearing stuff released 10, 20 yrs ago for the first time. There's no way I can keep up, and I'm not going to Zombie walk all day with an ear plug in vain attempt.
Lost in all this is the artistry of the D.J. Everyone wants to be a star, and they devise playlists and algorithms, and get paid more to subject us to their bean-counter tastes. Good D.J.s can cause you to keep the station locked in.
Kingofalldems
(38,451 posts)cui bono
(19,926 posts)Not Primetime Ready?
That's the nice one.
Kingofalldems
(38,451 posts)Oops.
flying rabbit
(4,632 posts)He wants to kill so many things...
cui bono
(19,926 posts)Wait... wut????
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)Now they make podcasts and Internet radio stations. That's where you go today if you want to hear good music instead of the same forty songs in a row over and over.
Case in point, one of the Internet stations I listen to, and donate to when I have the money to do so: http://www.sanctuaryradio.com/ - plays gothy, industrial, EBM, darkwave, new-wave music. Some new, some retro-80's. You won't get a station like that on the FM dial - Clear Channel doesn't think there's money in playing good music, or catering to the goth subculture. Might be your kind of music, might not, but it's an example of what's out there.