I remember classic/rock radio having a lot more variety just 15-20 years ago. I also remember when we had at least one "rock" radio station that played contemporary rock as well as some classic rock and heavy metal. All that's gone now. It may be a regional issue. "New rock" radio is dead down here. All that's left is "oldies" radio (which is now actually classic/rock radio but occasionally you hear some 60s stuff like Beach Boys mixed in with Jimi hendrix, Santana, the usual suspects (no Zeppelin though). And there's still the ever present, "classic rock" station that's been around for 25 years, playing the same Zep, Skynyrd, Floyd songs at any given time. But I remember when that station played a lot more Yes, Tull, ELP, etc. Forget it now. Most people just listen to the classic/rock station as wallpaper. They hear the same songs all the time. The corporations know this so the classic/rock station's only real purpose to still exist is for advertizing. It's the same in pubs and restaurants. The piped in house music is all classic/rock. They know that most of the people paying money to eat and drink average in age about 40-45, so classic/rock is familiar to them. If they play hip-hop, or "freestyle" or too much crappy pop people start getting up and leaving. It's no joke, I've witnessed this in pubs and restaurants. Well, I guess if I'm gonna be forcefed music and my choices are: classic/rock, hip-hop, dance/pop, or shitty, pop/salsa/tropical I'll take classic/rock every time.This could be just romanticizing the past on my part, but I also think that there was a lot more variety in the classic rock programming 25 years ago than there is now.
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