I was practicing my bass playing to the radio today and while flipping
stations, I stumbled on Gus Gus' tune
"Polyester Day". What's the big deal? I was listening to KROQ 106.7 FM,
which for the past decade has been the bastion of alternative/grunge rock
in the Southern California area.
I used to listen to this station in the early 80s, when they were the
bastion of techno/synth pop music, which I loved (and still love), but
stopped listening to that station around 1987 when the sound of
guitar-based alternative took over. Was this change overnight? Not really;
for at least a year, Jason Bentley (co-owner of Quango Music, and popular
Los Angeles-area club (Bossa Nova) and radio (KCRW-FM) DJ has been hosting
a show called "After Hours" on KROQ, aired between 2-6 a.m. on weekend
nights. He brought over much of the same stuff he plays during his
weeknightly show "Metropolis" on KCRW 89.9 FM: Ambient, trip-hop, jungle,
trance, some Acid Jazz and imported techno and house (in that order).
Anyway, not only did they play Gusgus, but the DJ, Jed The Fish, was
absolutely raving about it and even played a snippet of another cut on the
album and encouraged people to get the album.
And then...
He played Sneaker Pimps' "6 Underground."
Hold on - here's the topper:
Jed the Fish actually said, and I quote:
<sarcastically> "Uh oh!!! We don't sound so Nirvana-centric anymore!!!"
I laughed out loud.
Alternative has been officially pronounced dead. Electronica is here.
Elson
-30-
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Elson Trinidad
Los Angeles, CA, USA
elson@westworld.com * http://www.westworld.com/~elson
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