Does anyone else miss this? When I listen to stuff I have taped off the radio back then or just generally what I remember, I can pick out a huge difference with now...but it was so comfortable in relation to the past, because:

'90s music (of course) was current and popular stuff you were always hearing
'80s music was "today's hits" in an extended sense
'70s music was split between classics and "really old stuff on hits stations"
'60s music was the majority of classic rock and Oldies
'50s music was golden oldies

Another thing is that Clear Channel hadn't happened yet until 1996...and even a couple years later in the late '90s, the effect of it hadn't really totally been noticeable like it is now. Like with songs being cut from playlists, and radio stations being more strict and limited in their formats by cycling the same couple of hundred songs over and over.



Nowadays, it's very rare to hear anything before the late 1960s, and even THAT usually is just the absolute biggest stuff, like Beatles and Rolling Stones songs. I used to hear Elvis and other pre-British Invasion music on oldies stations in the '90s...which has totally been dropped off now. I think it's not only sad and symbolic of time passing, but it almost seems disrespectful to the past in a way.

I guess there's about a 40 year cutoff on radio, which might make some sense actually.

On the classic hits station I listen to, it's mostly 80s and 90s with the odd 70s song thrown in there.  It's a great mix of songs I love and some songs I haven't heard in a long time

I loved listening to the radio in the '90s.  Once in '96, I called in and requested Green Day's "When I Come Around" so that I could tape it on an audio cassette.  By the time it was played, I had already taped a whole side of the cassette with songs I liked while I was waiting (mostly current stuff), which had been maybe 90 minutes before the GD song came on.  :)

One of my favorite "oldies" stations currently plays the 60's--70's--80's. ::)  If I want to listen to the 50's..I have to wait until Sunday night when they feature a "Sunday Night Diner" of 50's songs.

I loved listening to the radio in the '90s.  Once in '96, I called in and requested Green Day's "When I Come Around" so that I could tape it on an audio cassette.  By the time it was played, I had already taped a whole side of the cassette with songs I liked while I was waiting (mostly current stuff), which had been maybe 90 minutes before the GD song came on.  :)


   The Modern Rock stations were what I listened to on the radio in the 90s...

   
   Other news:

   At least they played your request!  The only time in my life I called-in a request was I Can't Go for That by Hall & Oates when I was in the 8th grade.  I sat around all night waiting for it, like you, to tape it...

   Never happened... >:(

There are a couple of stations here in the Philadelphia / New York City area that play alot of good 80s / 90s / 00s stuff.   

I cannot stand those Top 40 Top 10 stations that play the same few songs over and over.  Seriously, sometimes they play the same song twice within one hour!

I cannot stand those Top 40 Top 10 stations that play the same few songs over and over.  Seriously, sometimes they play the same song twice within one hour!



They had those type of stations in the 90's, and the 80's too.  It didn't seem like there was much of a "Mix variety"/Jack-FM format until the 90's and those type of formats have carried over into the current decade.

With the invention of Satellite radio one now has even more options to choose from, should they choose to purchase it.  Internet radio's more popular now than it was in the 90's and there are tons of non-terrestrial stations that stream and have larger playlists than terrestrial stations.

   The Modern Rock stations were what I listened to on the radio in the 90s...

   
   Other news:

   At least they played your request!  The only time in my life I called-in a request was I Can't Go for That by Hall & Oates when I was in the 8th grade.  I sat around all night waiting for it, like you, to tape it...

   Never happened... >:(


Oh that sucks!  Yeah I've had that happen a lot too though.  Actually they seemed to play my requests more in the '90s than when I ever tried in this decade.  Maybe more stations actually cared about what their listeners wanted to hear then.  ::)

^ That's true yeah, it seemed more personalized. :) Even VH1 had video by requests in the early '90s...my mom even called in for one for me ("Out of Touch" by Hall and Oates) and they might've even played it, but I never saw it lol.


I also love commercials from back then. There were lots of jingles and food-themed ones I have on tape too.

Back in the 90's, the Top 40 stations would play a variety of music styles, like alternative, R&B, and pop. These days, if I tune in to these so-called "Top 40" stations, it's all rap and hip-hop.  :(

 
  At least they played your request!  The only time in my life I called-in a request was I Can't Go for That by Hall & Oates when I was in the 8th grade.  I sat around all night waiting for it, like you, to tape it...

  Never happened... >:(


I'll bet they play it any day now.  You should go listen to the station, they might be playing it now.  :D ;)

Radio is worse here. 95% of our stations are owned by one of 2 major overseas (Australian and Canadian) corporations all with the same overused, boring formats like top 40, modern rock, oldies, etc. playing the same 90-100 songs over and over. And not to mention all these radio stations are taped in 1 city and relayed out to everywhere else in the country, thus losing that local flavour of all these stations. Often you even get radio shows that are pre-taped, not even live-to-air, the way radio should be. We do habve,however, the odd independent station that is all local, live-to-air stuff that plays music you won't hear on the other stations. But they are often underfunded and on crappy frequencies that are all static and not worth the hassle tuning into.

I'll bet they play it any day now.  You should go listen to the station, they might be playing it now.   :D ;)


  I don't get no respect... :-\\

In the 90s radio wasn't as biased toward certain types of music. Now it's all urban music, if you don't have a hip hop element or try to sound like Nirvana, you can't sell.

Radio in the 60s was great.  They were just making the transition to FM, and a I would say 95% were small stations that had the freedom to play anything they wanted to play.  All the top 10 crap was on AM, but FM was the equivalent of the wild wild west, you could tune into stations that played anything and everything. They also did a lot of political stuff that was real funny, and got some of the DJs on the FBI list. Not like the pandering, half-wit, circle jerk Opie and Anthony/Howard Stern stuff. 

Yeah, I remember back in the '90s that songs from the '80s and even '70s were still being played on local "hits" stations. The strange thing is that today, you don't even hear songs from the '90s on hits stations around here very often. If you do, its usually something from 1998 at the earliest. At least you still heard a decent amount of '80s music on the radio back in the '90s.

Thankfully with satellite radio, you can listen to whatever you want. 

Yeah, I remember back in the '90s that songs from the '80s and even '70s were still being played on local "hits" stations. The strange this is that today, you don't even hear songs from the '90s on hits stations around here very often. If you do, its usually something from 1998 at the earliest. At least you still heard a decent amount of '80s music on the radio back in the '90s.

Thankfully with satellite radio, you can listen to whatever you want.  


I can always count on your posts. :)


Yeah I agree. There was this Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites station in Sacramento that I used to listen to all the time around 1994...and I'd say they started in the late '70s. Like I remember hearing early Billy Joel and Fleetwood Mac songs. The irony today is that the range probably goes further back (it seems like early '80s), but the amount that you'll hear those songs in relation to the newer ones is less too, does that make sense?

I noticed that most '90s music you hear now is either the alternative stuff and maybe Metallica, or some of the AC songs...but not that much inbetween. Lots of pop songs have vanished and I don't always like that either.

P.S. I think Satellite radio by concept is much better, but it kinda takes away from the human aspect of terrestrial radio. I love the DJs, morning shows, and even commercials sometimes (even if I usually complain about them when they're actually on, lol).

I can always count on your posts. :)



;)


Yeah I agree. There was this Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites station in Sacramento that I used to listen to all the time around 1994...and I'd say they started in the late '70s. Like I remember hearing early Billy Joel and Fleetwood Mac songs. The irony today is that the range probably goes further back (it seems like early '80s), but the amount that you'll hear those songs in relation to the newer ones is less too, does that make sense?

I noticed that most '90s music you hear now is either the alternative stuff and maybe Metallica, or some of the AC songs...but not that much inbetween. Lots of pop songs have vanished and I don't always like that either.

P.S. I think Satellite radio by concept is much better, but it kinda takes away from the human aspect of terrestrial radio. I love the DJs, morning shows, and even commercials sometimes (even if I usually complain about them when they're actually on, lol).



Yes, I have noticed that too. Most rock stations in this area (and even some "hits" stations) still play early '90s alternative on a pretty fair rotation. Songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Black Hole Sun" have pretty much become standards anyway, and are probably seen today the way a song by Led Zepplin was seen in the late '80s. But, pop music from the '90s, and even some of the "Grunge-pop" stuff from the later '90s like Barenaked Ladies/Semisonic/Eve 6/etc. gets hardly any airplay on stations in this area.

It's actually kinda sad because, as a kid, I discovered alot of great songs from the early '80s, '70s, '60s, and even '50s that I probably would have never heard if not for the local "hits" and "oldies" stations playing that music.

;)


Yes, I have noticed that too. Most rock stations in this area (and even some "hits" stations) still play early '90s alternative on a pretty fair rotation. Songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Black Hole Sun" have pretty much become standards anyway, and are probably seen today the way a song by Led Zepplin was seen in the late '80s. But, pop music from the '90s, and even some of the "Grunge-pop" stuff from the later '90s like Barenaked Ladies/Semisonic/Eve 6/etc. gets hardly any airplay on stations in this area.

It's actually kinda sad because, as a kid, I discovered alot of great songs from the early '80s, '70s, '60s, and even '50s that I probably would have never heard if not for the local "hits" and "oldies" stations playing that music.


Oh yeah, like I still hear early Red Hot Chili Peppers songs like "Under the Bridge" on current stations all the time. I do agree that basic pop from the entire '90s has really faded out, again probably thanks to our buddy Clear Channel. ;)

Same here with getting into/discovering loads of '70s and '80s songs (and even some oldies) when I was younger. I miss that variety. I wonder if that's why people like me and probably some guys your age too, are kinda the last "old schoolers", since we were kinda more exposed to old pop culture after the fact. They also used to show more old classic movies on non-cable channels during the '90s.

Early Red Hot Chili Peppers songs?  :o

They were around in the 1980's and had cult hits like "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes", "Fight Like The Brave", and their first mainstream hit "Higher Ground" was released in 1989

Early Red Hot Chili Peppers songs?  :o

They were around in the 1980's and had cult hits like "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes", "Fight Like The Brave", and their first mainstream hit "Higher Ground" was released in 1989


True: RHCP had 4 releases before they got big with BSSM. Incidentally, "Higher Ground" was a Stevie Wonder cover.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is like Metallica's Black CD: the 5th release and their most commerically successful work. While both bands made mediocre next CDs (One Hot Minute and Load), the RHCP managed to get better from that point, unlike Metallica whose later CDs, aside from S&M, are barely fit for use as drink coasters.

Radio in the 90s was good (the music was good - that helped a lot), but it was rare then to hear a lesser hit from a band. With grunge, at least Pearl Jam and Soundgarden got fair amount of airplay with their lessers songs, but AiC, Faith No More, STP and Nirvana only had their hits played here despite a really worthy catalog at that point. Difference now is you will hear the more obscure Nirvana songs, but with AiC it's the same four songs (Would?, Rooster, Man in the Box and Them Bones).

Ant

Can't argue with the thread title. :)

True: RHCP had 4 releases before they got big with BSSM. Incidentally, "Higher Ground" was a Stevie Wonder cover.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is like Metallica's Black CD: the 5th release and their most commerically successful work. While both bands made mediocre next CDs (One Hot Minute and Load), the RHCP managed to get better from that point, unlike Metallica whose later CDs, aside from S&M, are barely fit for use as drink coasters.

Radio in the 90s was good (the music was good - that helped a lot), but it was rare then to hear a lesser hit from a band. With grunge, at least Pearl Jam and Soundgarden got fair amount of airplay with their lessers songs, but AiC, Faith No More, STP and Nirvana only had their hits played here despite a really worthy catalog at that point. Difference now is you will hear the more obscure Nirvana songs, but with AiC it's the same four songs (Would?, Rooster, Man in the Box and Them Bones).

Ant



That's true. In fact, even today on our local rock radio stations most original grunge artists only get a certain set of songs played. For Nirvana, that's usually just songs off of "Nevermind", for STP its usually just "Plush" or "Interstate Love Song", and for Faith No More its usually only "Epic".

As far as the RHCP's are concerned, they were around for quite a while in the '80s, but considering that "BSSM" came out in 1991 (now 17 years ago) I would say that was still relatively early in there career.

OK, being a huge fan of 90's music, I have to throw in my 2 cents (if anyone's interested.)

One thing I have to bring up about radio in the 90's that I have found through personal research is that fewer songs / singles were released or promoted on the radio than in the 80's.  In the 80's, if you look through almost any given monthly top 20 list, you'd find a whole bunch of new songs EVERY month.  It was not uncommon for a month's top 20 hits charts to have 7 or 8 (or more) new songs on it.  Starting in the early 90's (1992, actually,) that number dropped significantly.  Maybe 3 or 4 new songs would appear on the list.  Sometimes even less than that.  And that was mainly due, I'm convinced, to the beginning of (a) the corporate radio buyouts across the country (yes, the genesis of Clear Channel,) as well as (b) the rise of the "indie" promoter - agents hired by record labels to shmooze the radio stations (read: bribe them,) into playing certain songs.

Because of the Payola laws set decades before, the labels could not themselves pay the stations to play anything, BUT that didn't mean they couldn't hire third-party promotion agencies to do the job for them.  And since that was essentially their only job, they had to do it successfully, or they didn't get to keep their jobs.  So certain songs were given the first-class treatment and others were often lucky to make it on air at all.  And it didn't help that nation-wide ownership of multiple stations resulted in national format playlists - what was played in Cleveland was also going to be played in Scottsdale, Tallahassee, Portland, San Diego, Little Rock, etc.  It removed a lot of opportunities for songs to launch in any kind of grass-roots fashion, where some DJ (or Program Director) in some town throws a song with a lot of potential into the playlist and it grows in popularity from there.  It was the beginning of most of the problems we see in radio today, basically.

That having been said, here's what I really, really loved about radio in the 90's...

Program directors got their heads spun big time back then.  It seemed everyone knew what Rock was, but when Nirvana and Pearl Jam hit, all of a sudden, Rock was obsolete.  People wanted "Alternative," and mainstream radio programmers didn't know what the hell fit that bill.  So they threw everything at the wall, hoping for as much of it to stick as possible.  Soundgarden, Live, Everclear, Alanis Morrisette, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Cake, The Wallflowers, Stone Temple Pilots, Soul Coughing, Seven Mary Three, Beck, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Marcy Playground, Radiohead, Green Day, Weezer, White Town, No Doubt, 311, Sublime, PM Dawn, Third Eye Blind, The Crystal Method, Daft Punk, Matchbox Twenty, Paula Cole, Indigo Girls, Joan Osbourne, Rancid, Sheryl Crow, hell, even Hootie and the Blowfish . . . all of these acts spent time on Modern Rock stations (or alternative / progressive rock stations,) because the Program Directors just didn't know exactly what the demographic demanded anymore.  AND I LOVED IT!

So many different styles were covered on the rock stations I listened to (mainly 91-X and the late 92.5 "The Flash," for those of you in the area.)  It was completely not homogonized like radio feels now (except for Sophie 103.7, but even that's got an "Adult Alternative" playlist.)  It was crazy and it was free-range, and it was so perfect for that stage in my life, working full time and going to school, starting to go out and acquiring a girlfriend here and there, and listening to my car radio basically all day long.  Not just certain songs but artists and whole albums encapsulated that time in my life.  And I will always, always be thankful that music was in such a big transition at that time that any new song or act could seemingly redirect the public's tastes (remember the big Swing music comeback of 1998?) so radio was partly trying to keep up and partly blazing trails in its own right.  Especially considering MTV was quickly becoming antiquated as a source for music, but that's a different thread....

Anyway... yeah, as I think about it now, radio was WONDERFUL back in the 90's.

Radio hit it's peak in the 90s. All went downhill pretty much after around '98 or so. Now radio is just awful.

OK, being a huge fan of 90's music, I have to throw in my 2 cents (if anyone's interested.)


Program directors got their heads spun big time back then.  It seemed everyone knew what Rock was, but when Nirvana and Pearl Jam hit, all of a sudden, Rock was obsolete.  People wanted "Alternative," and mainstream radio programmers didn't know what the hell fit that bill.  So they threw everything at the wall, hoping for as much of it to stick as possible.  Soundgarden, Live, Everclear, Alanis Morrisette, Jewel, Fiona Apple, Cake, The Wallflowers, Stone Temple Pilots, Soul Coughing, Seven Mary Three, Beck, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Marcy Playground, Radiohead, Green Day, Weezer, White Town, No Doubt, 311, Sublime, PM Dawn, Third Eye Blind, The Crystal Method, Daft Punk, Matchbox Twenty, Paula Cole, Indigo Girls, Joan Osbourne, Rancid, Sheryl Crow, hell, even Hootie and the Blowfish . . . all of these acts spent time on Modern Rock stations (or alternative / progressive rock stations,) because the Program Directors just didn't know exactly what the demographic demanded anymore.  AND I LOVED IT!

So many different styles were covered on the rock stations I listened to (mainly 91-X and the late 92.5 "The Flash," for those of you in the area.)  It was completely not homogonized like radio feels now (except for Sophie 103.7, but even that's got an "Adult Alternative" playlist.)  It was crazy and it was free-range, and it was so perfect for that stage in my life, working full time and going to school, starting to go out and acquiring a girlfriend here and there, and listening to my car radio basically all day long.  Not just certain songs but artists and whole albums encapsulated that time in my life.  And I will always, always be thankful that music was in such a big transition at that time that any new song or act could seemingly redirect the public's tastes (remember the big Swing music comeback of 1998?) so radio was partly trying to keep up and partly blazing trails in its own right.  Especially considering MTV was quickly becoming antiquated as a source for music, but that's a different thread....

Anyway... yeah, as I think about it now, radio was WONDERFUL back in the 90's.
"PM Dawn" was played on Mondern Rock stations? I always thought a group like PM Dawn was played on Hip-Hop/R&B stations and Top 40 radio of course like you said previously.

Your right about Top 40 radio I could listen too it all day long back in 1995. I used to listen to 97.5 WPST out of Philadelphia. They used to play a group like "Weezer" and an R&B act like Boyz II Men on their station.

Radio hit it's peak in the 90s. All went downhill pretty much after around '98 or so. Now radio is just awful.
I still listened to the radio(for music)up until early 2007 than I got tired of radio. I listen to sports talk radio or "1010 WINS" out of NYC now. I don't have time the patience anymore to listen too alot of bad songs anymore on the radio.

I still listened to the radio(for music)up until early 2007 than I got tired of radio. I listen to sports talk radio or "1010 WINS" out of NYC now. I don't have time the patience anymore to listen too alot of bad songs anymore on the radio.



I agree, however, I have felt this way for most of the 2000's. There is alot of bad music. 

Around 1991-92 all types of music became popular - grunge, pop, hip hop, rock, electronic, dance, and "alternative."  Hip hop and alternative were not really played on mainstream radio stations.  This trend lasted throughout the 90s and today.  However, the music played on mainstream radio stations was better in the 90s, then it is today, in my opinion.

Yes! Nowadays, I hear the same songs playing over and over, sometimes simultaneously on different stations, and when a commericial is on, it seems to be on every station at once. There are barely any rock stations anymore.

I'm getting Sirius or XM.

Good topic.  In my town there is a radio station called 105.7 and between 1994-1997 it played contemporary pop along with a few 80s sprinkled about. At the same time another station was created called 97.7 and it played 60s, 70s, and some 80s Rock and ever since then 97.7 has been my town's only "classic rock" station.  Early in 1997 105.7 changed its format to 60s and very early 70s pop thus making it my towns first "Oldies station."  Fast forward to 2005 when 105.7 changed its format yet again this time to 1980s pop, with a few early 90s songs as well.  Now 97.7 still does "classic rock" however they squeeze in some 90s grunge from time to time. Don't bother looking anywhere on the FM for your late 50s, 60s, and very early 70s pop fix; one AM station 13.30 is the only place left for "oldies" any more.