Continuing a theme explored on last week's Mat Kearney post . . . not adding a song onto mvyradio isn't a comment on its quality, only on its mix-ability.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes are awesome, but you wouldn't likely serve it in soup. It's not a complimentary texture or taste.
I think lots of radio programmers have been looking forward to the new My Morning Jacket. Jim James and Company deserve much credit for their creativity. They could easily crank out Neil Young-ish rawk, and sell plenty of records and have devoted fans. But instead, they seem to be happier challenging their fans' expectations and their own creative envelope.
"Holding On To Black Metal" is a powerful, complex, dense song, with horns and strings and a choir/chorus of women/falsetto-ing men/kids a la "Another Brick In The Wall."
It's a cool, adventurous song. But I think it would sound out of place between in-the-pocket mvyradio fare, say Paul Simon and The Civil Wars.
What do you think?
See the video on Youtube.
Showing posts with label mat kearney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mat kearney. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Mat Kearney "Hey Mama"
There's a line that some record promotion folks will use to prod me (or, in some cases, tease me).
They say: "Don't be afraid to play a Hit!"
It's kind of a funny situation to be in, but sometimes I'll turn down a song because it's too much of a "Hit."
Take this new Mat Kearney song. It's insanely catchy, well-crafted and fun.
But because of those seemingly positive attributes, it would sound pretty out of place on our station.
"Single Ladies" this song is not. But on a continuum, "Hey Mama" is too far down the line away from Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," and the earthy, singer-songwriter-strummer roots of the station.
People sometimes think if we don't play a certain song, or a certain artist, it's a judgment against that song/artist. We're somehow saying that they're not good enough.
And yeah, I suppose that's sometimes true.
But Mat Kearney is a talented songwriter, a legitimate artist. If he were making slightly different music, with a slightly different production spin, he'd sound great on our station.
Instead, he's going to have to suffer the cruel fate of having his song become a big, successful hit via the hundreds of radio stations across the country who make their home on a more populist place on the musical continuum.
See the video on Youtube.
Imagine what it might've sounded like with acoustic instrumentation.
See the video on Youtube.
They say: "Don't be afraid to play a Hit!"
It's kind of a funny situation to be in, but sometimes I'll turn down a song because it's too much of a "Hit."
Take this new Mat Kearney song. It's insanely catchy, well-crafted and fun.
But because of those seemingly positive attributes, it would sound pretty out of place on our station.
"Single Ladies" this song is not. But on a continuum, "Hey Mama" is too far down the line away from Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," and the earthy, singer-songwriter-strummer roots of the station.
People sometimes think if we don't play a certain song, or a certain artist, it's a judgment against that song/artist. We're somehow saying that they're not good enough.
And yeah, I suppose that's sometimes true.
But Mat Kearney is a talented songwriter, a legitimate artist. If he were making slightly different music, with a slightly different production spin, he'd sound great on our station.
Instead, he's going to have to suffer the cruel fate of having his song become a big, successful hit via the hundreds of radio stations across the country who make their home on a more populist place on the musical continuum.
See the video on Youtube.
Imagine what it might've sounded like with acoustic instrumentation.
See the video on Youtube.
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