Rap On The Radio

There's a radio station in DC with the tag line, Today's best hits, without the rap. My question is, in 2014, what is the problem with playing rap on the radio? Look, no one expects this station to abandon its current play list of Katy Perry, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, Bruno Mars and Lorde and start playing Wu-Tang Clan and Odd Future. (You didn't expect an Odd Future reference from me, did you?) However, would the audience revolt and the universe explode if the station included the Juicy J portion of Katy Perry's Dark Horse? Are they worried about losing sponsors if they played Same Love by Macklemore?

Meanwhile, one of this station's competitors (who plays virtually the exact same songs) recently changed its tag line to All the Hits and are slowly figuring out this rap thing. Although they also seem to be against Juicy J too, this station is okay playing the T.I. portion of Blurred Lines and Ludacris' rap in an Enrique Iglesias song. They also play Drake's Hold On We're Going Home since Drake sings rather than raps on this song, so I guess that makes it okay.

Any thoughts on this or am I simply listening to the radio too much during the day?

Not So Fresh FM

About two weeks ago, Washington radio station 94.7 FM changed its format from classic rock to a "contemporary pop tunes" station. Radio stations change formats all the time, so this isn’t that big of a deal (although it’s the end of an era according to this Washington Post article). While I liked the old station and am sorry to see it go, my issue is with the station’s new title: Fresh FM. What music do you expect to hear with a station named Fresh? You would think music from new artists and recently released songs. Well, here is the song list from what I listened to for just over an hour Thursday afternoon:

Have a Bad Day – Daniel Powter (he was #26 on my list of top 25 Canadian musicians; I may need to reconsider that pick now)
Ever the Same – Rob Thomas
Keep Holding On – Avril Lavigne
If You Had My Love – Jennifer Lopez (I don’t even think she was J-Lo yet)
Why Don’t You & I – Santana and Alex Band (I think he was/is the lead singer of the band The Calling)
Someday (not exactly sure of the title) – Sugar Ray
Better In Time – Leona Lewis
Closing Time – Semisonic
I Need You (this is different than I Need To Know) – Marc Anthony
Slide – Goo Goo Dolls
It’s A Little Too Late – Jo Jo
Daughters – John Mayer
Viva La Vida – Coldplay
She’s All I Ever Had – Ricky Martin
Breathless – The Corrs
Who Said You Can’t Go Home – Bon Jovi
Drift Away – Uncle Kracker
Found Out About You – Gin Blossoms
What’s Left of Me – Nick Lachey

It was during the Nick Lachey song when I switched to Yahoo’s Big Hits of the 80s station.

When looking at this list, nothing jumps out as fresh. The Leona Lewis and Coldplay songs are the only ones released in the last year or so. (The Marc Anthony song could also be new since I’ve never heard it before, but I doubt that as the only thing I’ve heard about him doing recently in J-Lo.)

Look, I have nothing against pop music. I love pop music including some of songs here (Goo Goo Dolls, The Corrs & Gin Blossoms). However, there is definitely no truth in advertising; there is nothing fresh about this station.