Category: Jam Session
This is probably not an easy question to answer, but hey, somebody's gotta risk asking, right? So, how much does a song's popularity or familiarity play a part in your liking or disliking the song? I ask because many commercial radio stations and many internet stations, even those advertised on the Zone, promote the music they play by telling people that these songs are hits. So do people only like a song if it's been determined that other people like it or because they already know it?
If I like a song, its because I like the song. Something appeals to me, be it the lyrics, the melody, the music, the bass line, whatever. I tend to get tired of songs that are well over played on mainstream radio. And, popularity doesn't necessarily make a song good.
The only good thing I see in songs that radio stations play is that they introduce a person into an unfamiliar genre with a particular song. If it wasn't for some of the songs that a country station plays, I probably would have never been slightly interested in country music. I'm sure other advantages can be pointed out, but I'll leave that for someone else to do. If I asked a friend I knew was a country music lover what he recommends, wouldn't this be the same thing as taking advice from the radio?
I often find songs on a CD that were not released as singles and got no radio play which I like better than any of the songs played on the radio. So no, I don't just like songs because they are popular.
I tend to agree with post 3, in that the radion probably has introduced me to artists/genres that I wouldn't have previously considered, however this by no means determines what my musical tastes are across the board. I was at work yesterday, for example, and a coworker had her CD player going. I asked her who it was, and frankly, it was an artist I never gave a second or third listen to. I found myself really enjoying it. I've been in stores and listened to what was playing on the system, only to find I enjoyed it, and it was by an unknown artist.
Lou
I agree with posters 2 and 3. I also will listen to CDS, and hear songs that I like more then I like the ones that r on the radio. I guess what determines a song for me, is what fullcomputergeek said, its melody, its lyrics, stuff like that.
I don't want some music industry suit telling me what to listen to. I like what I like and whether or not a song is a "hit" is irrelevant to me. Mainstream radio is boring and I have been much happier since I made the switch to satellite radio where I can explore lots of different genres and discover lots of cool new music that never makes it to traditional radio.
I may not like a song because it's a hit. I may like a song because of its lyrics, how it makes me feel, or if it pertains to something going on in my life right now. Sometimes, I wish that songs I like by unknown artists may become hits, but then again, that's all we'd be hearing six months from now, so with certain songs, it takes the fun out of it.
I often find that there better songs on a disk than what actually makes it to radio. I like a song by forming my own opinion, not because its on the radio.
If a song is on the radio, they will play the hell out of it, which makes it get old, so sometimes, a perfectly good song gets ruined because they play it too much. This is why I don't really listen to the radio anymore, and if I do, and I like a song I hear from the radio, I stop listening for awhile, so I can enjoy the song on my own without every station shoving it in my face 24-7. I also agree that the best songs on a CD never seem to get played on the radio.
I agree with post 7
I agree with post 10.