BOY "Little Numbers"

At some point, you do have to put on the breaks.

One of the weird quirks of the music business is that record releases by major acts don't generally happen from November through the end of March.

I'm sure there are a lot of good reasons for this, including the fact that larger bands that can mount large tours, aren't heading out to promote an album until late Spring or Summer.

While very little happens, in terms of record releases from November through mid-January, once the year is underway, there are plenty of great new releases from new bands or bands with smaller followings.

While we have strong sounding records from Eric Clapton and Ben Harper in the playlist right now, most of the new songs on the playlist are from great, but unfamiliar names (unfamiliar, at least, to our past playlists).  Carrie Rodriguez, Trixie Whitley, Chris Ross and Jesse Dee all have great sounding songs on the station.  But I'd wager that few mvyradio listeners are tuning into the station and instantly recognizing the voice, the way they would if they encountered a new R.E.M. or Bonnie Raitt track.

So the balance shifts to the new.  And new is good.  Until you hit the tipping point where the station isn't delivering the level of familiarity and comfort that regular listeners are used to.  You can put more or less salt in the soup each time you make it, but at some point if you tip the shaker a little too much, the soup's just not going to taste the same.

And that's where I am right now with our playlist, I think.

I like this track from BOY.  It's a little poppy, but it seems like it's going to be a hit.  And under different circumstances I might be inclined to add it.  But right now, mvyradio doesn't need more new, unfamiliar voices.  We need that new JJ Grey song to work its way into rotation and for the new Patty Griffin to arrive.

When we can restore balance, we can dive back into unfamiliar territory.


Hear the song on Youtube.