Sharing a house with people who have drastically different tastes to myself, I find myself listening to popular radio stations most days of the week, usually while cooking in the communal kitchen. The thing that strikes me the most whilst doing is this just how lucky some bands are (even some that are considered classics) to receive such genrous airtime, day-in, day-out. Sure, some of the songs are well crafted, catchy, hummable but there really are very few that really make me sit up and listen closely. Of the few that do impress me, I can’t help but think of a whole host of other songs that could easily be played instead and become massive hits, given the chance. For every Adele there is a Sharon van Etten, a Sarah Jaffe, a Samantha Savage, a Megan Bonnell.
I’ll leave you with two such examples. I’m sure in a parallel universe these two songs are being played on every mainstream channel there is.
The take home message is to explore things, don’t let anyone fully dictate what you listen to. That includes us.