Thursday, August 11, 2011

Fountains Of Wayne "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart"

One of the hardest concepts for people who haven't ever really spent time thinking about what it must be like to be a DJ, is the concept of how and why we play what we play.

People just kind of assume that we pick our favorite songs and just play them.

That sounds good, but it's not right at all.

Funny enough, you wouldn't ascribe this attribute to any other business.

The movie theater owner doesn't show movies based on what HE would like to watch.

The chef doesn't cook whatever SHE feels like eating that night.

The shoe store owner doesn't only carry shoes that she herself would wear.

Now, the DJs try to play songs they think are good, just like the movie theater owner tries to pick movies people will come to see, the chef makes dishes people want to eat and the shoe store owner carries shoes that people might want to put on their feet. But they are not doing it for their own personal satisfaction.

Radio is a customer service business. We're trying to serve something that lots of folks might enjoy. We, like the restaurant, try to have a consistent menu, so when people come to our place, we're serving something that they expect, that is familiar and is pleasurable.

All this to say that just because I like something, doesn't mean it's going to get regular airplay on mvyradio.

I LOVE Fountains Of Wayne. But try as I might to convince myself otherwise, they just don't seem to sound right on mvyradio. Like a number of great Power Pop acts (Matthew Sweet and Squeeze come to mind), they're a little to hooky and clean, for mvy's otherwise organic, rootsy nature.

If I were playing only songs I liked, yeah, I'd probably play a lot of what I usually play on mvyradio, but I'd also play a fair amount of Ramones and The Clash.

And a whole lot of Fountains Of Wayne.


Hear the song on Youtube.

1 comment:

  1. FOW are terrific, as are Matthew Sweet and Squeeze. But you're right; power pop, great as it is, just doesn't quite fit on MVY. Otherwise I'd be calling every hour to request Cheap Trick. :c) But that's OK; MVY is pretty great as is!

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