By Karen Glauber
The Modern Rock format is gnashing its teeth over Richard Sands’ latest Sands Report, in which he asks a few programmers what their Personal Mt. Rushmore (musical) looks like, which he then follows with a question that made no sense: “Why So Few Newer Artists?” Well, Richard, your favorite artists are determined when you’re 23—everybody knows that. EVERY director I ever worked with always trotted out some song from that 20-something era of their youth to have included in the movie I was music-supervising. Most programmers are 50-ish, and Green Day, blink-182, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. is their sweet spot. And bless James Kurdziel for choosing The Clash, The Ramones, The Replacements and R.E.M. as his musical Mt. Rushmore. So, label friends, ignore what was written. Even if you supported Richard with an ad for one of your new artists, as I generously continue to do, this will not impact your job. His “fake news” streaming chart, on the other hand, might keep your record off WGMP.
It made me think of an Elvis Costello line from “Radio Radio”: “I wanna bite the hand that feeds me/I wanna bite that hand so badly/I want to make them wish they’d never seen me.” My personal Mt. Rushmore is Todd Rundgren, Patti Smith, Spoon, The Blue Nile and Television, but it’s those artists that steered me to work with bands I care about now, like The 1975, Bleachers, IDLES, etc. and why I am so excited that there’s a new MGMT single to work! MGMT’s base grew exponentially during the pandemic—even the last record out-streamed most of what you’re playing. “Mother Nature” sounded epic on SiriusXM’s Alt Nation and I look forward to hearing it on L.A. radio.
I look at the recent releases by Green Day, blink-182, Foo Fighters, etc. as gifts to the format. These bands are the foundation that enables programmers to also take risks with new music. Look at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Xmas lineup—once you have Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Offspring and Garbage as your headliners, you can expose the audience to phenomenal newer artists like Bakar, Cannons, Beaches and Lovejoy (pictured above). I’m excited to have Bleachers on that lineup as well!
The biggest Alt tour right now is The 1975. Sold out arenas everywhere. Programmers who have been involved with band meet & greets report their audience’s frenzy with each giveaway. If you don’t believe me, let me know when you can see the band—they’re here for another month. This is the only call-out you need for “About You”—the crowd sings every word. Well, that and the 1 million weekly streams it’s currently getting. Matty Healy is a rock star, singularly charismatic and infinitely smarter than any of us.
I wish I could be in Brooklyn tonight for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction. It’s thrilling that Kate Bush is finally in, after four times on the ballot. I’ll be watching on Disney+.
Even though I can’t be in NYC, I’m grateful for the opportunity to see Hozier at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend with Columbia’s Lisa Sonkin. I haven’t seen Hozier since he played in a church during SXSW in 2014. Lisa has had an incredible year with blink-182, Cannons, Bring Me the Horizon, Hozier, Depeche Mode, etc.
Had I not spent Halloween at home, with every light turned off, pylons blocking the walkway, hiding in the bedroom that isn’t visible from the street, I would’ve been at the Hollywood Bowl to see boygenius, whose name will likely be everywhere when Grammy nominations are announced next Friday. Talk about sold-out tours! Dave Grohl, man about town, joined the band onstage, with inflatable devil horns gracing the outside band shell—a first for the Bowl.
As the year winds down, take a chance on some music you’ve been hoping to play, but haven’t had room. Lovejoy is much bigger than you realize. The new Future Islands is absolutely fantastic, as is IDLES. Plus, there’s always room for Lovelytheband this week. Please be kind to each other.
