Smodger
05-23-2002, 05:08 AM
Sorry, this was going to be a response to an earlier thread – but it turned into an essay and I thought it deserved a thread of it’s own…
Like many others I’ve met recently, I came across NC by accident. I have converted my husband and am working on my friends & the rest of the country, but I look forward to the day when I can talk about them without the standard response “oh yeah, Nickleback, they’re the 4 blokes etc…” and me having to explain etc. Unfortunately, I’ve got the feeling that this might not happen for quite some time.
It's a real shame - I think NC have the potential (& certainly deserve) to be successful over here in the UK - but there are a couple of big factors getting in the way:
Firstly - over here 'Country' music is still an acquired taste. It conjures up images of rhinestone cowboy boots and people shouting 'yee ha' very loudly - it's a lost cause! (Obviously I'm not speaking for the entire nation, but even among my musically aware 20 & 30 something friends this is certainly the case), oh and lets not forget the damage that line dancing has done. (sorry linedancers!)
So unfortunately when friends ask me what category of music NC fit into – I'm forced to say 'country' or 'bluegrass'. I then have follow up with a long explanation of their ridiculous talent (I mean that in a good way), their contemporary influences, and incredible live shows, in order to justify my interest in them. (do you get the same response in the states I wonder?)
On the good side, I do think that as a whole, people are starting to explore music more, and look beyond the rubbish that usually fills our charts. (This is partly due to the increasing popularity of Radio 2*see long note at the bottom) So maybe there is hope. But, although NC have made the daily playlist with the Lighthouse's tale and they've been featured heavily on the R2 Country & Americana shows, they still don't seem to be considered as serious contenders for the big time, this leads me to …
The second factor is that apart from the R2 airplay, there would appear to be no publicity about NC whatsoever. I hope this changes for the release of the next album in the Autumn . I also hope that they don’t get so popular that I can’t get tickets for the rumoured but much anticipated Glasgow gig in October!. Hmm, it’s a double edged sword!
I think that the general attitude will change slowly, but any suggestions on how to change it more quickly would be gratefully received!
*BBC Radio 2 - a station that used to be labelled as 'easy listening' , but have gained a reputation of being able to cover an extraordinary range of genres from organ music (that's church & seaside entertainment organs in case you don’t have them over there!!), the cliff Adams singers (seriously easy listening for the really old people) to a series on the history of Punk music, and other challenging contemporary music without batting an eyelid. We do have hundreds of other radio stations, but this one is by far the most listened to – especially now that people (like me) have the ability to listen online. (have a listen – the country shows are on Thursday and Friday evenings, the Folk music show on a Wednesday and Bob Harris’s Americana show is on Saturday: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/)
I Hope that was slightly interesting.. :)
Ps I don’t work for the Radio2 advertising department, in case you were wondering !!!
Like many others I’ve met recently, I came across NC by accident. I have converted my husband and am working on my friends & the rest of the country, but I look forward to the day when I can talk about them without the standard response “oh yeah, Nickleback, they’re the 4 blokes etc…” and me having to explain etc. Unfortunately, I’ve got the feeling that this might not happen for quite some time.
It's a real shame - I think NC have the potential (& certainly deserve) to be successful over here in the UK - but there are a couple of big factors getting in the way:
Firstly - over here 'Country' music is still an acquired taste. It conjures up images of rhinestone cowboy boots and people shouting 'yee ha' very loudly - it's a lost cause! (Obviously I'm not speaking for the entire nation, but even among my musically aware 20 & 30 something friends this is certainly the case), oh and lets not forget the damage that line dancing has done. (sorry linedancers!)
So unfortunately when friends ask me what category of music NC fit into – I'm forced to say 'country' or 'bluegrass'. I then have follow up with a long explanation of their ridiculous talent (I mean that in a good way), their contemporary influences, and incredible live shows, in order to justify my interest in them. (do you get the same response in the states I wonder?)
On the good side, I do think that as a whole, people are starting to explore music more, and look beyond the rubbish that usually fills our charts. (This is partly due to the increasing popularity of Radio 2*see long note at the bottom) So maybe there is hope. But, although NC have made the daily playlist with the Lighthouse's tale and they've been featured heavily on the R2 Country & Americana shows, they still don't seem to be considered as serious contenders for the big time, this leads me to …
The second factor is that apart from the R2 airplay, there would appear to be no publicity about NC whatsoever. I hope this changes for the release of the next album in the Autumn . I also hope that they don’t get so popular that I can’t get tickets for the rumoured but much anticipated Glasgow gig in October!. Hmm, it’s a double edged sword!
I think that the general attitude will change slowly, but any suggestions on how to change it more quickly would be gratefully received!
*BBC Radio 2 - a station that used to be labelled as 'easy listening' , but have gained a reputation of being able to cover an extraordinary range of genres from organ music (that's church & seaside entertainment organs in case you don’t have them over there!!), the cliff Adams singers (seriously easy listening for the really old people) to a series on the history of Punk music, and other challenging contemporary music without batting an eyelid. We do have hundreds of other radio stations, but this one is by far the most listened to – especially now that people (like me) have the ability to listen online. (have a listen – the country shows are on Thursday and Friday evenings, the Folk music show on a Wednesday and Bob Harris’s Americana show is on Saturday: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/)
I Hope that was slightly interesting.. :)
Ps I don’t work for the Radio2 advertising department, in case you were wondering !!!