OK, I never do this. Well, hardly ever.
But it’s a Friday, the holidays are approaching, and after yesterday’s Bob Dylan post (thanks for the great responses and comments), it seems appropriate to come up with a “yang” to Dylan’s “yin.”
So if you haven’t seen him yet, take a look at and a listen to this 19 year-old British artist, Jake Bugg. Some say he’s the “next Dylan” (whatever that means), but the main thing is that you enjoy his music for what it is. And there’s already a lot of it.
I’m linking a Daily Beast article here to give you some perspective. He has two albums to date (lots of videos), and the new one, Shangri La, was produced by none other than Rick Rubin.
Yesterday, we celebrated the iconic classic, Bob Dylan. Today, it’s a different story – an acknowledgement that new music and emerging stars are out there, too. A couple of weeks ago in The Sands Report – the Alternative radio’s official/unofficial weekly newsletter – the idea of a an “all-current” Alternative format was floated. That’s right – an Alternative station that would do nothing but play new music – no Pearl Jam from 20 years ago, no “Seven Nation Army,” no Ramones, and no ancient Sublime songs.
Just 100% new music, culled from a variety of sources – organic, social, and aggregated from assorted pure-plays, college stations – well, you get the idea of how it could come together. The PDs that Richard Sands interviewed all considered this idea, and while they didn’t completely agree (hey, they’re programmers), most were open to the idea there could be something there. While some questioned the “sustainability” of an Alternative station that just plays new music, we’ve learned from past radio experiments that you don’t know whether formats will last until you put them on the air.
Believe me when I tell you that “sustainability” was the major criticism leveled toward Classic Rock when it first hit the airwaves in the mid-’80s. They didn’t use that word – they just “It won’t last.”
When you think about how many clusters of four FM stations have that total loser – the frequency where seemingly everything’s been tried and nothing works. You wonder why no one has the nerve to try something like this in an environment where we continue to scratch our heads about why Millennials have less and less to do with FM music radio.
In the right town, with the right PD, at the right time…
So, back to Jake Bugg.
The next Dylan? Probably not. How about the next Jake Bugg.
So no more hype and fanfare. Check out “Lighting Bolt” and let me know what you think.
>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH JAKE BUGG’S VIDEO<
P.S. How did I hear about Bugg? From my “Millennial” daughter who discovered it on satellite radio. Just being honest.
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“How did I hear about Bugg? From my “Millennial” daughter who discovered it on satellite radio.”
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I’m assuming as a late 50s something music lover who grew up on WABX circa 69-’73 and CKLW who has always been on the lookout for ‘new’ music to fit in with my love of ‘classic’ rock, there were others like me out there that would appreciate a local station that embraced the new while remembering the old but not be focused grouped into a boring pap. There isn’t and that’s why I listen to Sirius/XM’s The Loft and occasionally flip the dial to Deep Tracks, the Underground Garage and other stations. I’ve discovered more great new music on The Loft in a week than I have on ‘local’ radio in a year. One negative-when you listen to a station like Deep Tracks, is doesn’t have that ‘Detroit Flavor’. Even public radio like WDET makes ‘adult alternative’ specialty shows sound like they were made for nursing home background music. Ah…such is life. But I need a place to hear the 27th new Dylan.
Thanks for weighing in, Alan. You ask a lot of good – and complicated questions. It might take an event like how Jeff Bezos has bought the Washington Post to shake things up in the radio world. In the meantime, read our post today – a sort of companion piece to yesterday’s about Dylan.
Listeners of 105.5 Triple M in Madison have known about Jake Bugg for months. This is what happens on a locally curated station with a plugged-in music director like Gabby Parsons.
I’ve always liked it in Madison. Hmmm….
Thanks for the heads-up, Dave.
Great idea. I listen to public radio for new music. I keep going back everyday for more.
Given the latest research regarding millennials and FM, the time may be right to try something unique.
The now legendary rock stations won their audiences over on a band that had very little traffic by spinning nothing but new rock. Ie KSHE, WBCN, KLOS, KSAN, WOR, etc.
Market it to the local indie community and I think you would have a hit.