The day the music died.

[rontaki]

I couldn't give a darn aboot his memoir.
I'm actually fed up with many of their songs.
The local oldies stations seem to think only the Stoned, Eagles and Queen existed in the past.
Over and over and over and over...

So why do you keep listening to that station?
I steam from YouTube with phone or computer, and Bluetooth speakers. YT's algorithms present me with bands and songs I had forgotten, or just never got into, back when. Now I have some new "old" favorites. As far as actual radio listening, I probably tune in to shortwave more than the usual radio stations. From your description of your local oldies station, they are probably desperate for listeners and revenue, they know the end of that format is not too far away.
Also, if you stream from your phone and it is in your pocket, you can change the volume or program without having to go to where the radio is.

 

[Runner]

From the days when you could name a band after a handgun, and no one blinked twice.

Only good hit I can remember from them was "Hold on Loosely". I guess they had a resurgence with "Back to Paradise," but that was a pretty crappy vanilla song, IMO.

Also "Caught Up In You" and "Rockin' Into The Night".

 

[Happy in NC]

Saw somewhere the other day that Woodstock was like $8 for all 3 days.
Could you imagine what those tickets would be today??
And they quit selling them when they realzed what they had on their hands!

 

[WinterDeere]

Saw somewhere the other day that Woodstock was like $8 for all 3 days.
Could you imagine what those tickets would be today??

Probably no more than any indie music festival today, as most of the performers weren't yet big names, in summer '69.

Woodstock '99 was $150 in advance, and $180 at the gate. That scales to about $300 - $350, today. But most of the bands playing at Woodstock '99 may have been more established at that time, than those performing in 1969.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I was on vacation then and went near there, but too many people & rain. Hippies were hitch hiking to get there all along the way.
Looking back I don't know how so many people knew about it.

 

[ultrarunner]

I was on vacation then and went near there, but too many people & rain. Hippies were hitch hiking to get there all along the way.
Looking back I don't know how so many people knew about it.

The teenage neighbor next door ran away from home at 15 and hitched all the way from California to Woodstock.

His mother and step father found a note and there really wasn’t anything they could do…

He made one collect call after the concert saying not to worry about him… he was working odd jobs… landed a steady job in Kentucky as a stable groom…

Heard he is retired in Oregon… if we ever meet I would ask him about it.

 

[WinterDeere]

The teenage neighbor next door ran away from home at 15 and hitched all the way from California to Woodstock.

His mother and step father found a note and there really wasn’t anything they could do…

He made one collect call after the concert saying not to worry about him… he was working odd jobs… landed a steady job in Kentucky as a stable groom…

Heard he is retired in Oregon… if we ever meet I would ask him about it.

Sounds like something straight out of The Wonder Years TV show.

A video montage of that story could be set to, "Turn, turn, turn," with Dan Stern narrating.

 

[caver]

Ross (The Boss) Friedman guitarist and founder of the metal band Manowar. I heard he had been diagnosed with ALS not long ago. I bought their first album in my youth and the production sounded like garbage. A few years ago I tried the streaming version and it had the same problem. I had assumed I got a defective pressing on vinyl.

 

[masseyrider]

So why do you keep listening to that station?
I steam from YouTube with phone or computer, and Bluetooth speakers. YT's algorithms present me with bands and songs I had forgotten, or just never got into, back when. Now I have some new "old" favorites. As far as actual radio listening, I probably tune in to shortwave more than the usual radio stations. From your description of your local oldies station, they are probably desperate for listeners and revenue, they know the end of that format is not too far away.
Also, if you stream from your phone and it is in your pocket, you can change the volume or program without having to go to where the radio is.

The YouTube steam maybe too hot for my ears.
And it's not just one station, it's at least 10.
The play lists vary a little but all are an overkill of Stoned, Eagles, Queen and a few others.
There's so much good music from that time period you probably shouldn't have to hear a repeat for days.

 

[rontaki]

The YouTube steam maybe too hot for my ears.
And it's not just one station, it's at least 10.
The play lists vary a little but all are an overkill of Stoned, Eagles, Queen and a few others.
There's so much good music from that time period you probably shouldn't have to hear a repeat for days.

Not sure what you mean by too hot.
The way I approach it is by searching for a favorite artist, and pickingwhat I'm in the mood for from the suggestions. Often there is a compilation that I like. Maybe by now the YT algorithms know what genre I like. I rarely see Stones, Eagles or Queen in the line-up. Then again I'm not subscribed to any "stations".

Suggestions:
Start with Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up, The Stranglers (some hardcore, some just good old R&R) such as Always The Sun and Golden Brown. Check out their cover of Walk On By. I just recently rediscovered The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys. Awesome. These are all from the era of the Stones, etc, and might help "train" YouTube algorithms.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

The YouTube steam maybe too hot for my ears.
And it's not just one station, it's at least 10.
The play lists vary a little but all are an overkill of Stoned, Eagles, Queen and a few others.
There's so much good music from that time period you probably shouldn't have to hear a repeat for days.

It's the market speaking. People who listen to classic rock radio stations are set in their ways, they want to hear stuff they've heard a thousand times.

 

[masseyrider]

It's the market speaking. People who listen to classic rock radio stations are set in their ways, they want to hear stuff they've heard a thousand times.

In one day?

 

[masseyrider]

So why do you keep listening to that station?
I steam from YouTube with phone or computer, and Bluetooth speakers.

This why it may be too hot. You STEAM. Just being snickery here.

 

[Jstpssng]

Not sure what you mean by too hot.
The way I approach it is by searching for a favorite artist, and pickingwhat I'm in the mood for from the suggestions. Often there is a compilation that I like. Maybe by now the YT algorithms know what genre I like. I rarely see Stones, Eagles or Queen in the line-up. Then again I'm not subscribed to any "stations".

Suggestions:
Start with Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up, The Stranglers (some hardcore, some just good old R&R) such as Always The Sun and Golden Brown. Check out their cover of Walk On By. I just recently rediscovered The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys. Awesome. These are all from the era of the Stones, etc, and might help "train" YouTube algorithms.

I listen to youtube a lot. The problem is that you have to sit there babysitting or it will morph into a 43 minute "infomercial"... sometimes right in the middle of Steve Lehto.
I used to put a song on and go to sleep listening to it. Can't do that anymore, I'll wake up 2 hours later with a commercial still droning on.

 

[Jstpssng]

they want to hear stuff they've heard a thousand times

Who doesn't want to listen to FreeBird and Stairway to Heaven 5 times per day, with Ozzie mixed in?
Yet that's the way those stations have always been. Buy a 10 song repertoir and put it on loop. At least that's what it seems like.
The station I listened to most was owned by horror writer Stephen King. He sold it Jan 1 2025, and it has changed hands again. They will not play 2 songs in a row without a commercial or yakking. Why do they think we want to hear everybody make a request?

I'm in the process of signing up for Pandora, as soon as I find time to finish reading their terms and conditions.

 

[Runner]

I listen to youtube a lot. The problem is that you have to sit there babysitting or it will morph into a 43 minute "infomercial"... sometimes right in the middle of Steve Lehto.
I used to put a song on and go to sleep listening to it. Can't do that anymore, I'll wake up 2 hours later with a commercial still droning on.

Same here. I'm so busy playing "sir mix alot" with 5 You Tube sessions open at once, switching back and forth, all muted except one, trying to cue up the next vid/song without having to listen to a commercial. Barely have time to take a drink of beer....

I look like the Wizard of Oz playing with all the buttons....

 

[Engineer42]

Who doesn't want to listen to FreeBird and Stairway to Heaven 5 times per day, with Ozzie mixed in?
Yet that's the way those stations have always been. Buy a 10 song repertoir and put it on loop. At least that's what it seems like.
The station I listened to most was owned by horror writer Stephen King. He sold it Jan 1 2025, and it has changed hands again. They will not play 2 songs in a row without a commercial or yakking. Why do they think we want to hear everybody make a request?

I'm in the process of signing up for Pandora, as soon as I find time to finish reading their terms and conditions.

I've been listening to Pandora for the past 5 years or so. The stations do tend to play from the same list after a while. I have 4 or 5 stations I switch thru. It's more for background, so I hear it but don't, ya know. Ain't like I'm singing along, lol.

 

[Oaktree]

So many of them yet they have the nerve to charge big name ticket prices. Awhile back an old high school friend said she was all excited to go see 38 Special. I said you do realize that there is only 1 original member left? She didn't seem to care.

We saw Paul Revere & the Raiders maybe 20 years ago. Other than Paul himself, no one else in the band had even been born when those songs were hits.

 

[Oaktree]

I was on vacation then and went near there, but too many people & rain. Hippies were hitch hiking to get there all along the way.
Looking back I don't know how so many people knew about it.

I dunno, I was 19 when it happened and I didn't know about it until hearing news stories that weekend. Then again, I wasn't really into that "hippie stuff".

It's the market speaking. People who listen to classic rock radio stations are set in their ways, they want to hear stuff they've heard a thousand times.

I worked at a classic rock station in the 90s, and our program director got the idea we needed to play more "deep cut" tracks. The ratings tanked, and within 6 months most of those lesser known songs were history. Trouble is, once you get past the couple hundred biggest hits, most songs have as many negative reactions as positive.

I'm in the process of signing up for Pandora, as soon as I find time to finish reading their terms and conditions.

I've tried a couple of those streaming providers, and have gotten bored with them quickly. Way too many mid-charting songs that I never liked very much in the first place. I've gotten so I make my own modern equivalent of mix tapes (hour-long mp3 files I put on a flashdrive) of nothing but songs I like. At 75 I'm not particularly interested in discovering "new" music, though I will admit I still like a lot of newer songs even though I don't know who most of the artists are anymore.

 

[WinterDeere]

Who doesn't want to listen to FreeBird and Stairway to Heaven 5 times per day, with Ozzie mixed in?
Yet that's the way those stations have always been.

Anyone who grew up anywhere near Philly knows WMMR, "Everything that rocks", and "MMR Means More Rock". The station gained popularity by playing full albums, or at least full album sides, of popular bands. Instead of Stairway to Heaven or Roundabout for the 15-millionth time, you'd actually get to hear The Rain Song or Heart of Sunrise.

They don't do that so much anymore, since their catalog now spans 1960's to current music. Just too broad to devote 45 minutes to a single band anymore, I'd guess. But it is fun to hear The White Stripes or Smashing Pumpkins, immediately following The Doors or Procol Harum.