FAV SONGS

Hi copper welcome to the forum I think most the songs from those years were the best.

In the late 60's early 70's  I was continually excited by the differant music that was coming out of recording studios. There was such diversity and  far to many to pin down one song.

Well said.

There did seem to be more emphasis on musicianship and composition during those years.

A lot of barriers were also being pushed / broken, both technically and compositionally, as well as in theatricality. As a lifelong fan of Prog Rock, I was concerned about being "stuck in the 70's" musically, with bands like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, ELP, Gentle Giant, etc. What's been a true revelation (and a relief) is that there are still lots of groups today making this kind of music, and doing it very well (Steven Wilson, Marillion, Unitopia, Mostly Autumn, etc.)

And not surprisingly (just like in the disco-era 70's) very little of it makes for popular airplay.

Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never end ........

Laugh Lots ... Forgive Much ...  Love one another     
Covers and some Originals found over there    ------- >    https://soundcloud.com/ukulelejan

I'm completely with you on this one, Phill. These guys never pulled any punches when it came to either musicianship or composition. My favorite version of CTTE is the two-part live concert they did in Amsterdam back 2002 ... simply majestic:

Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOrdEcJZyt0

Part 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvAa-RtwIhI

(in case you haven't already seen it)

Deregulating the communications sector in the late 70's and abolishing the fairness doctrine in  1987 is what lead to this.   You got that wide variety of content because radio stations had to compete in the market for listeners.   After deregulation, huge conglomerates could buy up all the stations in a market, so consolidating on a single format was a smart business move as it reduced costs.

Find yourself a radio station that isn't owned by Clearchanel, iHeartRadio, or some other giant corporation, and listen to it.  It's really all you can do.

up to the early 60's this side of the pond all we had was BBC radio which was run by chinless upper class twits who believed that entertainment was the Black and white minstrel show, based on that guy who sang "mammy" cant remember his name! then some enterprising person or two decided it was time to make some money and please the "younger" generation by starting up commercial radio stations. the aforementioned UCtwits reviled this idea and banned them so they took to the oceans, and sailed up and down the UK just outside the 3 mile limit. the UCT's and the government (one and the same) clamped down on them and made them illegal, but they gifted us with radio 1,2,3 and 4. radio 1 being for us teenagers and the rest for "the more discerning listener" yeah right! we were fed all the "pop and bubblegum music" we could cope with. it wasn't till the likes of John Peel and a few others that we were allowed to listen to "the good stuff" Yes, (early) Genesis, Jethro Tull, Supertramp and of course Led Zeppelin.
i still listen to radio 2 on occasion, especially late at night, during the day we still get fed politics, show music and chat shows.
i was watching a programme with Charlot Church (the singer) today, and i enjoyed listening to what she had to say regarding UCT's (the government) and the people that run everything else, charities and good causes. she also had a lot to say about record executives and producers and plonkers like Simon Cowel who take raw talent and put them through their production line so that they come out sounding just like all the other poor saps that were glad just to get their chance and make a bit of cash. FYI it seems quite a few of them have become TV hosts or make appearances on shows like; Big Brother etc, to me those shows are for has beens that want to make a come back. so sad.

well i've had my rant and now i'm going to bed with a clear heart. nos da

I often wondered where all those little stations went...... being a "child of the 60s" getting used to being back in the States.  Waking up to "The Real Don Steele, on 93KHJ" at 9 in the morning on a "Beautiful Sunny Saturday here in Boss Angeles where it's 72 degrees and Surf's Up with The Beach Boys... Help Me Rhonda!".  Radio was supported by Advertising revenue, and if you had a good sales staff, you could pretty much play anything the censors would pass.  Record Labels mailed out thousands of "demo" vinyl disks (usually 45s) and the DJ picked the playlist based on his own opinion and call volume on the "request lines are open", not compiled by some bean counter in an office on the other coast, based on if this or that Studio was paying an extra hundredth of a cent for every time it aired on one of your stations.

Sorry for the run-on sentence there.... I do miss the "Wolfman", Charlie Tuna, and the "gang".  I listen to the College Stations these days (not revenue driven so much), although there are a few I avoid.... one in particular only has like 30 tunes it cycles through, which wouldn't be bad IF I only wanted to hear Rap and Hip-Hop repeated hourly all day long.
There are a couple Country stations out there too, but they "jumped the Shark" and signed on to the Conglomerates also..... which means now I can hear the same 30 country tunes cycled through every hour all day long for a change of pace.  Hello Pandora!

edited to correct radio station from 92 to 93.... which by the way is now located in American Samoa.

Doug's post above reminded me of a Cellar bar I used to play 20 years ago near Carmarthen. The DJ was a bassist in a band and ran a "pirate" radio station with some others just for the benefit of the locals, I wonder if it's still going?

Another point for Doug, we have a station called Magic that Ann likes to have on on a Sunday morning while we're cleaning and cooking the lunch. They play 60's and up to new songs and no rap or techno. (FYO, IT'S ON THE INTERNET) But they do seem to be playing the same tracks every week. Come on guys, there must be thousands of good tracks in the last 60 or so years, no need to stick to the same ones over and over.