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POST TOASTED
I WISH YOU WAY MORE THAN LUCK

By Karen Glauber

Patti Smith played at the Disney Concert Hall four years go, the day before everybody’s world shut down from COVID. On the occasion of Women’s History Month, she had this to say: “I read that it’s the Month of the Woman. That’s really nice and all, but being a girl myself, I thought, one fucking month?” So here we are, one fucking month.

At SXSW this year (my 36th, but who’s counting), I was on a panel moderated by Ted Cohen, and when I brought up the fact that I was recently able to tell one of my more problematic A&M bosses from 30+ years ago how terribly and condescendingly he treated me (his response was, “Well, at least you got something out of it”), so many women attending the panel were telling stories about their problematic male bosses.

Years ago, I predicted that #MeToo would solve nothing and that gender inequality would always exist UNLESS it was the women in executive positions hiring other women and protecting them. A recently emerged feminist anthem, Paris Paloma’s “Labour,” is already at 100m streams on Spotify and has generated countless covers on TikTok. Liz Erman at Nettwerk turned me on to this song, and you should definitely be aware of it.

Honestly, there are several massively streaming songs that EVERY programmer should be playing right now. The first is Michael Marcagi’s “Scared to Start,” which will be at 100m streams when I wake up tomorrow, streaming over 2.5m per day. You should’ve played Noah Kahan months before you eventually capitulated. Stop fighting these huge streaming records that target your demo. Good Neighbours’ “Home” is another slam dunk for you. This London duo, now shepherded at radio by Robbie Lloyd, is everything an Alt programmer could want, including whistling. It’s easily one of the most programmable songs of the year, boasting a memorable sing-along chorus with a lyrical sentiment that even you can relate to. Another undeniable single, Djo’s “End of Beginning,” is already over 225m Spotify streams. Djo is Joe Keery from Stranger Things, a favorite TV show for the younger part of your demo. This song is two and a half minutes of perfection.

The other most-obvious song is Cigarettes After Sex’s latest, “Tejano Blue,” which is already at 11m Spotify streams. It’s certainly the sexiest song of this bunch, a testimony to singer Greg Gonzalez’s genius. When John Allers declares “Tejano Blue” to be a “radio” song and adds it at Live105, it’s time to take notice. The band’s two Kia Forum shows are nearly sold out, and the ticket counts overall are incredible. Josh Venable’s daughter told him that all of her friends are obsessed with “Tejano Blue,” hence his add this week at WZNE Rochester. Also on board are 91X, WEQX, KROX, WGBJ, WWWX, Music Choice, WJMZ and, importantly, Alt Nation. Here’s to our friends at Partisan on their continued success with this band.

At Kris Gillespie’s urging, I saw my new favorite band at SXSW. Fat Dog reminded me of classic Foetus from the mid-’80s, and I caught them at FLOODfest, hosted by our friend Aaron Axelsen. Also memorable was Partisan’s Angélica Garcia, whose single “Color De Dolor” reminds me of Kate Bush. What a gorgeous voice and stunning presence! It wouldn’t be SXSW unless I followed (stalked) a band during the time I was there. In the past, I’ve been obsessed with Calexico, The Polyphonic Spree, Aqualung, Patti Smith, Todd Rundgren, Aurora, The Airborne Toxic Event and Lo Moon. This year marked the return of Lo Moon, whose new record is coming out on Thirty Tigers. I could see this band play every day and be blissfully happy. Matt Lowell’s voice is reminiscent of Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis (RIP).

Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws played a few acoustic shows, including songs from the band’s upcoming album on New West. Nada Surf is invited to play the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas in October. My kid now likes emo (and Weezer), but I’m hoping we survive Coachella first.

SONG TO HEAR (AGAIN): Nation of Language’s “Weak in Your Light,” which is now #2 on the Alt Nation Alt18 Countdown!


 
 
WEAK IN YOUR LIGHT

By Karen Glauber

On this day in 1987, mere weeks after I moved from NYC to L.A. to take over for my then-departing boss at A&M Records as the director of new music marketing, my dad had a heart attack and dropped dead at my twin sister’s wedding to Craig Marks. I was 25 and my dad was 55. What fucked me up back then is now a funny-ish anecdote and one reason I’m a bit emotional today. Relief is now the same as what cured me when I was younger—the joy of a perfect song. Right now, it’s Nation of Language’s “Weak in Your Light,” which makes me feel a million different things, all of them good. This single was doing so well at XMU that Jeff added it at Alt Nation, where it’s Top 5 on the channel’s weekly Top 18.

I know this song is a hit, but the question remains—where to start these records at Alternative? The first quest is finding someone who believes in the song. Easier said than done, especially when “new” music from Linkin Park, Kings of Leon, 21 Pilots, etc., is on the horizon. While it’s wonderful that the format has some big names to play, the Columbus station I’d always approach first to start a record is currently no more, after 33 years of fighting the good fight. Will Randy Malloy emerge again? Of course he will! But the station that couldn’t wait to add IDLES out of the box is now online until further notice. I miss them terribly and I know you do too.

Maybe the next step is to approach the women programmers, since their taste is far more elevated and adventurous than most men in the same job. Still, you could get old and die while waiting for a new-music slot to open up these days. This is where it becomes an option to spend $ at stations that might play the record. Still, this is expensive and doesn’t guarantee that anybody will ever hear the record, since most of this airplay is relegated to overnights in markets without airports. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get a shot at Audacy or iHeart, and then, if you’re Michael Marcagi, with almost 2 million streams a day on “Scared to Start,” you’ve got a chance to be SO BIG that radio can’t ignore you. I mean, they’ll try, but you will be the secret weapon that radio wants. And if your record calls out, like Sum 41’s latest, then whoo, baby, you’re on your way to #1!

This is needle-in-a-haystack stuff, yet we persevere. If I programmed an Alt station and was told I could play Beyoncé, of course I would. Where’s the part where you’re shifting culture? Where’s the awareness that playing female artists helps shift the narrative? Thankfully, Last Dinner Party on Island appears to be this year’s Wet Leg in terms of making compelling music that redefines the mainstream. “Nothing Matters” does, in fact, matter.

If you’re paying attention to culture, you’ll notice that emo is bigger than ever. Papa Roach is having a viral moment with “Leave a Light On” as we head into National Mental Health Month this May. Shazams for the Papa Roach song are Top 20 in markets like St. Louis and Minneapolis.

My kid wants me to take him to Coachella to see Lovejoy, Bleachers and Tyler, The Creator. As long as the second week of Coachella doesn’t interfere with Peter Frampton at the Greek, we have a deal. Peter Frampton was my Taylor Swift when I was a kid—I’m happy he’s on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot this year.

On 2/28, the new single from Cigarettes After Sex, “Tejano Blue,” will be released. This band will sell out two Madison Square Garden shows and has cumulatively amassed 8 BILLION streams over its career. That’s a ton for a catalog of 24 songs. They will stream like crazy, with or without airplay. Do not overthink this.

Also exciting is the new Bleachers single, “Tiny Moves,” which is streaming, is accompanied by an amazing video and has some comparing it to The 1975. Jack Antonoff is a genius, and I was very grateful to be in his orbit when I passed out at his Grammy party. Yes, I thought about my dad when I woke up. Time to listen to Nation of Language again.


 
 
ABOUT YOU

By Karen Glauber

When we were last together, way back in 2023, I was able to give my kid the best Hanukkah gift ever: their own meet & greet with Lovejoy before the band played KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Xmas. It took 10 seconds—enough to capture a photo—but it made Julian as happy as I’ve ever seen.

Soon after, I left for Mexico, where I stayed out of the sun and read eight books in three days. My favorite book was Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky, who is also the drummer of Cigarettes After Sex, the ALTERNATIVE band whose single “Apocalypse” has over ONE BILLION streams. KROQ played the song in 2017; it was one of my favorite adds of all time.

As the new year commenced, I had a positive attitude about what was ahead—until Randy Malloy, the owner of WWCD, Columbus, whom I’ve worked with for 30+ years, told me that the station was going away, UNLESS he can raise $1.5 million to buy the tower. The guys he’s been leasing the “stick” from want to increase the rent exponentially because they think they can do it better themselves. Hubris at play.

What they don’t realize, which Randy has made clear in social-media posts, is that Randy owns the intellectual property rights for all of it. If the station goes away, it will TRULY go away. Vultures, some formerly known to the station, are circling to pick off the parts. This is a big deal for many reasons: WWCD is one of the true independently owned stations in our format. Also, Columbus is the second-largest city in the Midwest (after Chicago), with a median age of 32.5 (our demo). The station has a 1.9 share with an AM signal.

Randy has pulled the proverbial rabbit out of his hat before, so I have faith in him and the station’s incredible employees, including Tom Butler, Laura Lee, Andrea Marcus and the devoted on-air staff.

The Alternative chart hasn’t moved in a month, which is fine by me because both Bleachers and The 1975 are in the Top 10. God bless.

It’s raining men at the format, with Foo Fighters’ latest, “The Glass,” #1 Most Added this week, from their Grammy-nominated album But Here We Are. As of 1/12, The Black Keys will be soaking in the good will from everybody’s holiday shows with their latest, “Beautiful People.” The song sounds like a big fat hit that even their good friend Ivanka Trump would understand. Don’t get me wrong—I love The Black Keys, although it was a bit unsettling to see Ivanka hanging out with Patrick at Beach Fest in Ft. Lauderdale.

The hang that everybody (well, me) wants to see is Mumford and Sons as the musical guest at the Louis Vuitton men’s fashion show in Paris. If you pay attention to these things, then you’ll know that the band’s collaborator on their new single, “Good People,” is also the designer of said fashion show. If you answer correctly, there’s a “Speedy” bag on its way to you, courtesy of Glassnote’s Michael Starr.

The beginning of the year is also a time to focus on mental health. This topic is near and dear to our friends in Papa Roach, who are donating 100% of all revenue from their latest single, “Leave a Light On (Talk Away the Dark),” to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Based on the song’s massive success at Active, the band has already donated $155k to the AFSP. “Leave a Light On” was #2 Most Added last week, with 25 stations playing the song. Unlike most rock songs, this one is streaming, with 437k per week and 15.3M global streams to date. It reminds me of being 15 years old, listening to Billy Joel’s “Vienna” on repeat.

SONG TO HEAR: Alvvays’ “Belinda Says” (nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance)


 
 
STOP MAKING SENSE

By Karen Glauber

What happened this year that was memorable? I only had COVID twice, so that’s something. The Replacements’ box set for Tim provided limitless hours of enjoyment, which is also a positive. And I’m currently watching my phone for the noon on-sale of next year’s Cruel World Festival. Interpol and Simple Minds on the same lineup—two extremely important bands in my career—yes, I will be there! If I wind up with a free ticket (I assume nothing), one of my friends will join me as my +1…

The year opened with great promise: Everybody was feeling more confident about being out in “the world,” plus the Alternative format was excited about the onslaught of A+ releases, including Fall Out Boy, a “found” Linkin Park single, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, The Killers, Green Day, etc. All was grand, until radio asked these bands to do the traditional promotion that the bands had already done countless times before. Here’s the difference: After an imposed hiatus from the pandemic, most bands/managers weren’t going to do anything to risk jeopardizing their tour plans/income, and the only promo most A-list bands were willing to do coincided with the on-sale of tour dates.

Say what you will about my beloved Alternative format, but there’s no denying that on-air support sells tickets. Christmas shows were a challenge this year, with most stations opting for multiple nights in smaller venues. The bands that showed up and played should be acknowledged and appreciated. The artist, the management and the label came through, even when everybody else said no.

Lovejoy played the circuit and showed programmers what they should have already known: This band is going to be headlining everybody’s show in the next year or two. There has to be a balance—when I listen to the radio while the sun is out, I rarely hear a current song. Please don’t tell me my record doesn’t call out when it’s only being played late at night.

Seriously—is there a bigger Alternative band right now than The 1975? How excited was your audience to be in the same room with them during the plethora of meet-and-greets we set up for you this year?

The women of the format understand the culture and are ahead of the trends, which is why I look to Lisa, Christine, Christy, Michelle, Hilary, Laura, Jayn, Amber, etc., for guidance and support.

The pop-punk sound of the ’90s continued to dominate, but the trend worth noting was the success of artists inspired by bands like The Lumineers. Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan are wildly popular artists who owe a nod or two to The Lumineers. After two years of nonstop worldwide tours, selling out arenas in every country, fingers crossed that there will be a new Lumineers record in 2024. I am happiest when I’m working their songs.

We can bury our heads in the sand and pretend that all is well—could it be more apparent that the Alternative format needs a massive, um, reawakening? The programming talent is (mostly) there, the label support remains consistent (as long as new music is being supported), so, where’s the problem? Is everybody too old and too complacent? What’s your fallback plan? I’m 40+ years in—this is what I do.

Instead of pointing out the records you missed, let’s focus on next year. Bands like The Last Dinner Party—newly anointed with the BRIT Awards’ Rising Star designation—Lovejoy and my favorites, IDLES, are three U.K. bands you must know. IDLES’ latest single, “Dancer,” is what separates Alternative radio from every other format. Produced by Nigel Godrich, it’s from TANGK, which will be released on 2/24 on Partisan.

You missed two incredible songs this year: “Devotion” from Arlo Parks and “Salad” from Blondshell. You barely played boygenius and beabadoobee—two of the biggest artists of the year. Every year, I say the same thing: Enough with the call-out! It tells you absolutely nothing. Remember how passionate you were about music when you started your career? Lean into that feeling of breaking new bands—that feeling of joy and achievement is what carries you through the rest of your day.


 
 
Post Toasted Index
posted 2/23/24
posted 1/16/24
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posted 10/23/23
posted 9/25/23
posted 7/31/23
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posted 5/8/23