The airwaves in Los Angeles have improved vastly in the past year or so.
hope. I think the worst thing that happened was most of the format stations
had no real competition - there was One Top-40 station, One Alternative
Station, etc. The quality of programming got bad simply because there was
no real competition to look out for. Especially in '96, there were a
handful of important stations that came on the air to provide competition,
and I'm glad it's happening, even in stations that I don't really listen to.
As far as "electronica" things are real interesting. There are two stations
in town that play trip-hop, ambient and drum & bass;
one a public radio station run from a community college campus (KCRW) and a
commercial (as opposed to public radio) dance-music format station (KACD
aka "Groove Radio"). Not only does Groove Radio play the more cutting-edge
electonic stuff, but they also play popular dance/house tunes (which
competes against a couple top 40/dance stations) and even classic 70s disco
and funk tunes. I think that's a good thing, since by not narrowing their
format, they're able to get someone who's familliar with Ace of Base and
turn them on to Drum & Bass. I think they need some (more) acid-jazz in
their format; they have been playing it here and there and in fact have
sponsored recent concerts by the Greyboy Allstars and Jamiroquai, but I'm
not hearing it. The jazz station (KLON) won't do it, and neither would the
main hip-hop station (KKBT aka The Beat; though they perviously attempted
an 'underground hip-hop' show which featured the likes of Broun Fellinis
and Alphabet Soup). KCRW does, mostly very late at night or suring Jason
Bentley's "Metropolis" show, but the selection is waning.
Does anyone think that today's alterna-rock stations
>will be tomorrow's 'electronica' broadcasters? Is anyone seeing that trend
>anywhere?
I think it's obvious. In the early 1980s, the "alternative" music was New
Wave and Techno-Pop (yes, I do proudly admit that I was into a lot of that
stuff; I wouldn't be a musician today if it never happened). Come the late
80s, for better or worse, grunge prevailed, now a new
decade/century/millenium is upon us, and everyone knows that in American
culture nothing lasts for two consecutive decades. So "Electronica" will be
it. Case in point KROQ-FM in Los Angeles; they burst into the scene in the
early 80s playing Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and Heaven 17. By the 90s, it
was Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Everclear. NOW, they've got a
techno/ambient/trip-hop/jungle show on late weekend nights (hosted by Jason
Bentley, in fact). In a couple of years, you'll be hearing more of that
stuff. I know it. Someone hit it right on the nail when this discussion
surfaced before - grunge has had its day; the year 2000 is coming, and the
new millenium and images of worn-out flannel and out-of-tune, distorted
Fender Stratocasters don't mix.
I'd like to add to this discussion further - where does Acid Jazz fit in?
It seems like the perfect "middle ground" between "Electronica" and Hip Hop
(but jungle moreso, though I've yet to hear someone drop continuous rhymes
at 168 BPM), as well
as music of "the past" (i.e. traditional jazz and 70s funk), but
unfortunately I don't see it thriving. And perhaps our reluctance to use
the "Acid Jazz" term, or any agreeable term, is probably leading to its
demise. I mean, look at the techno/house realm - it's got millions of genre
labels - hardcore, happy hardcore, trance, GOA trance, kitchen sink trance
(j/k) etc, etc. But shit, it's growing!
So where is Acid Jazz going? Well, my prediction is, it's gonna get
absorbed by something. In Europe, it'll be absorbed by "Electronica" like
some hostile takeover. In America, it seems more inclined to be swallowed
up by hip-hop, but who's to know? I know the major elements of hip-hop will
live on strong in the next decade, but I have no idea what it will be like.
I do know that it will still be hip-hop, but it will be different, like how
80s hip-hop used LinnDrums, DMXs and TR808s, and how 90s hip-hop used loops.
>We already know that Portugal is getting funky....
Paulo's da MAN! :) Can I do a voice-over greeting for your radio show,
Paulo? :)
Elson
-30-
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Elson Trinidad
Los Angeles, CA, USA
elson@westworld.com * http://www.westworld.com/~elson
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