Left of the Dial

"Left of the Dial" is a song by The Replacements off their album Tim. It's also hipster slang for where College Radio stations are found on your radio. You can stream just about any radio station you want nowadays, so it's an antiquated expression unless you still listen to terrestrial radio like I do. I'm fortunate that I live in a college town, Ithaca, NY, where both Cornell University and Ithaca College are located. Both academic institutions have radio stations, WVBR and WICB, and I have them pre-programmed on my favorites list in my car. I've stopped trying to keep up with modern music, but still enjoy some of the newer indie artists. What I've discovered on both of my local alternative college radio stations, is that it depends on the DJ as to what the playlists are, and how much I enjoy them. It's hit and miss.

I'm having a difficult time warming up to the popular recording artists of this era. I don't know if the music is inferior to decades past, or maybe it's me. I enjoyed music from as far back as the 1930s while I was growing up, and as I got older, I listened to bands much younger than my contemporaries. It was about 2010 that I noticed a big change where everybody started sounding the same. 

With female singers, it seems like there's a chanteuse of the month, one hit wonders that are like Madonna on steroids. I have no complaints with Madonna. If you haven't listened to her singles, you don't know what you're missing. She's a bona fide superstar and rightfully so. Just listen to "Borderline", or ,"Material Girl". Madge started it all. They don't call her "The Queen of Pop" for nothing. Yesterday I saw a photo of Dua Lipa in a sequined string bikini. I know she's won some Grammys, but I don't know if she's just hanging onto her career, or this is de rigueur for all the singers and starlets. She's great looking, but posing near naked in your twenties or thirties is no feat. Try doing it in your sixties. 

I've tried watching the Boy-Bands that top the charts and I just don't get it. It's like watching a futuristic version of The Osmond Brothers. Back in the day, when New Kids on the Block and N'SYNC debuted, I thought it was the end of Western Civilization. I was wrong. They've had staying power and catapulted some members to movie stardom, along with continuing to fill arenas. But I never enjoyed The Osmond Brothers. When they first hit the scene, I was listening to Led Zeppelin II, Who's Next, and Alice Cooper's Killer. "Sweet and Innocent" didn't quite cut it. They can sing and dance and fill the theaters in Las Vegas, but I'm staying on the sidelines. 

Some family bands from the 1960s were great. The Cowsills, The Jackson Five and The Beach Boys. The only song the Osmonds did that I liked was a cover of "Deep Purple" by Donnie and Marie. Originally performed in 1963 by Nino Tempo and April Stevens, Donnie and Marie had a rendition for their television show back in 1976. It hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the time, the only Deep Purple I was listening to was "Smoke on the Water". 

About fifteen years ago, my late father and I did a road trip to Ohio. We made a stop in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When we were finished, we drove to Cleveland and toured the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. My father wasn't musically inclined because of a hearing impediment. Most of his musical tastes stemmed from his high school and college years: Johnny Mathis, Julie London, Frank Sinatra and The Platters. The only album he ever owned that I can remember was Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wasn't his thing, but he knew my proclivity towards it. Another sacrifice he made for me.

When we got into the museum, there was one huge wall festooned with album covers of the 100 best Rock albums by their estimation. I've owned 85% of them at one time or another in various formats: 33 1/3 RPM Vinyl, 8-Track, Cassette, Compact Disc and MP3 files via iTunes. Many I've bought multiple times as each format became obsolete. I spent a small fortune on music industry offerings throughout the years. It was money well spent.