Great Band, same dang song.

[unter1337]

I've looked at the "do NOT play" thread (though I haven't read it fully), and I saw some good discussion happening. That's one of the things I most appreciate about the AM staff and listeners. People are able to have substantive discussions.

I've been listening here at AM for a few months now and can say that I'm quite happy with it. The shout box is always lively, the music is great and the stream-threads do as well as can be expected. It's gotten to the point that I listen on my 128k stream about 8+ hours a day now (barring weekends).

This being said, I'd like to ask everyone something. Does anyone else think that some songs get overplayed? Since I listen as much as I do, I've found that there are a number of songs that get pretty worn out. Some of them get played at least five times a week (from 8am - 6pm weekdays); some get played more than once a day.

The thing that gets to me is that these songs are from truly great bands. Tangent is a great example of this. Tangent is awesome. I love their music. But, Jumpin Jeebus on a Pogo-stick, I'm tired of hearing "In Darkest Dreams" every day. That's pretty much the only track from Tangent I ever hear on AM, except for the occasional random pick. I would say that the Tangent fans out there that constantly request "In Darkest Dreams" are doing Tangent and AM listeners a great disservice. When you request "In..." the random selector can't pick anything else from them. So, "In..." is all anyone will ever hear from them on AM. Aren't there some other tracks from them that you could play?

Of course, I'm not saying that some kind of fascist policy or otherwise should be instituted. I'm just asking people to police themselves and think about what their doing before they request the same-old-same-old. AM listeners want to be challenged, to expand their horizons. Not hear the same 15 songs every day. We could just turn on the ClearChannel corporate feeding troughs for that. ;-)

Anyway, hope I didn't offend and that all this makes sense...

[progdirjim(Admin)]

Amen, brother Unter!

Here's an idea. Pick a letter of the alphabet. Scroll through the entire playlist for that letter. See how many bands you have never heard - then pick one song from each, and start requesting them. If you like a band, request something else from them. When there's nothing new to discover in that letter, pick another letter. Repeat until you've made it through the entire alphabet. I'll bet you can keep your interest level up and your requests varied for quite some time. And, you might even enjoy it!

Happy hunting...

[moses]

I don't know the whole deal with your request system but I see that it's at least somewhat automated. Isn't it possible to set it up so that, for example, any given artist can be played every 2 hours, but a given song only every 8 hours?

You might even want higher numbers there, but that's up to you. You're right though, the best solution is for everyone to experiment with new bands and see what they like. I know I've found a few new favorites with the "I never heard this band I think I'll request them" trick.

[Rick and Roll]

There is an oligarchy at play here - a lot of the same songs you hear are by the same listeners. There are about 15-20 of the same tunes over and over. Limiting a user to one request a day would be an idea. If there are gaps, the random cycle could kick in.

I have a different perspective because I don't listen to AM during the day, I just see what's playing when I check in periodically. So if there is a band I've ner heard, I can hear it. But usually if Rare Bird comes on or Tangent etc, I can pass.

Jim's suggestion of scrolling through by letter is as good as any.

If you are over 30, you probably have more music than you can listen to. Also, you don't have time to check out new bands as much as can be done. So go out on a limb and request something new. The only drawback is that some of the best material by bands are not on the playlist. But, that's a necessary evil to create space for different bands.

I would be happy to pick out an hour or two worth of songs a week, that would be fun. Conversely, I would be content with a song a week.

Unter, I know what you mean...however, The Tangent has only recently been added to the list and is a phenominal album. I think it's fair then that people will request it heavily for the first few months and then the requests will start to dwindle. My copy of "In......." arrived here today so the chances are I won't be requesting it as much in the future.

There was a time (wasn't there Jim??) when you'd hear 30-40 minutes of Yes in an hour. Ok. Yes are a great band but that is overdoing it. That being said I've noticed that the Yes tracks that come up now seem to be more "obscure" ones like "Arriving UFO" or tracks from 'Union'....that's a good thing. I can't remember the last time I heard CTTE for instance and I, like you unter, listen 8-10 hours a day(I really should get out more......).

Genesis is another case in point. There was a time when "Supper's Ready would get hammered but not any more.

Maybe the regular shouters/chatters could lead the way here. Instead of the themes we've been having GREAT fun with over the past few months we've been together start doing what Jim suggests and each pick a Letter of the day and play more obscure or rarer tracks that way.

We owe it to Avian, progdirjim and, especially, the artists to get this stuff (thank you Neil P) heard.

I'm off to speakers corner with my soap box now to spread the word.

Hell fire there's so much good music out there......let's hear it!!!!!!

Limey git out.