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“Elephant” is finally about to chart at Modern Rock. Maybe this is the record that will shift the some attention back to guitars, just as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Daft Punk have provided the format with reasons to embrace rap and disco this summer.

FEELS LIKE WE ONLY GO BACKWARDS, IVANA LAMENTS

When She’s Feeling Blue, Our PoMo Goddess Often Turns to Tame Impala for Succor

In the words of my kindred spirit, University of Maryland student Rebecca Martinson, “If you just opened this like I told you to, tie yourself down to whatever chair you’re sitting in, because this column is going to be a rough fucking ride.” Like my BFF Rebecca, my tolerance for lameness has been sorely tested. Can you imagine what your day would be like if the conversations you had were actually steeped in honesty? Being lied to or having information withheld is mind-numbing, insulting and appalling, not to mention exhausting and counter-intuitive. The assumption should be that we’re grown-ups, fully capable of solving problems, overcoming obstacles and creating mutually beneficial scenarios for all. Instead, we only learn what we need to know when we have enough clues to crack the code or play amateur sleuth. Sometimes it’s so ridiculous that I begin to wonder if my job is really some high concept performance art… My goal is simple: Break artists through the power of radio airplay. That doesn’t include having radio treat the artist like an organ grinder’s monkey, able to perform on command in any situation. So the goal of radio airplay is often secondary to allowing the artist to build their initial base through word-of-mouth, public radio support, touring and by having a point of view and talent that resonates. Bands like Vampire Weekend can sell 10,000+ tickets in a market, yet “Diane Young” is their FIRST single to go Top 20 at radio. Tame Impala has sold over 100k copies of Lonerism, and “Elephant” is finally about to chart at Modern Rock. Maybe this is the record that will shift the some attention back to guitars, just as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Daft Punk have provided the format with reasons to embrace rap and disco this summer…. This week’s magazine celebrates the annual NARM Convention, as well as our quarterly New & Developing Artists issue. Record Store Day on April 20 was the industry’s biggest one to-date. While the usual nincompoops and naysayers groused that it took special edition vinyl and one-off releases to bring customers into record stores, with said editions being purchased primarily for resale on eBay (I fucking hate cynicism), one would assume that there were plenty of would-be regulars who absorbed the experience and would likely return to the store for future purchases. Most music lovers of a certain age grew up hanging out at record stores—why wouldn’t the next few generations also love that culture? The resurgence of vinyl has definitely inspired a new generation of collectors. Part of the joy in ownership is in the acquisition, including the memory of where you bought it, who was with you, and your visceral and emotional reaction to it. What if radio created a similar yearly on-air event, celebrated with special in-studio performances and other programming designed to attract your target demo, who, at this point, probably didn’t grow up listening to radio? What if you offered them a compelling, unique experience, paying attention to what they want (it’s called customer service), and then incorporate the best of it into your ongoing programming? IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME… Stop saying no before you say yes. It’s tiresome and boring. As Oscar winner George Sanders wrote in his suicide note in 1972, “Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored.” A metaphor, as it were, for the assumption that fans of Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Tame Impala, Diplo, LCD Soundsystem, No Age, etc., etc., would never listen to the radio (I fucking hate that excuse). I love radio. I am its cheerleader and advocate. I spend at least 12 hours/day listening to it. I believe every report that it’s still the #1 way to break artists. I wish my ambition for it matched radio’s ambition for itself… A big hail to KROQ on this year’s Weenie Roast lineup, which now includes Black Keys, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Vampire Weekend, Of Monsters and Men¸ Imagine Dragons, and nearly every other band that matters to the KROQ audience. I hope to have an opportunity to say hello to Dan Auerbach, praise him on his production work on Hanni El Khatib’s new record, and inquire if the song “Little Black Submarines” was directly or subliminally inspired by Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung.”… I’m obsessed with Little Green Cars… For those of you that have your heads stuck under rocks, email me: [email protected]

NEAR TRUTHS: SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
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