The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Playing songs you did not like or even hated.

darcyh · January 31, 2023 1:13 pm

I heard one the 'jocks' on WRMI International Miami (shortwave 5085) it might have been "Big Jim Edwards" and he just played "Winchester Cathedral" by the New Vaudeville Band. I despise that tune and could never figure out why it became such a hit.

Anyway, it was obvious he did not like it either. Told a story where he was at a station and the record always seemed to find its way on to the floor and he (inadvertently of course) ran it over it with his chair. It could not be played again during his show. Unfortunately it was always replaced by the next day. The story made me chuckle.

There are songs I don't like and there are songs I despise; the latter are bad enough to get up and change the station. The former you will persevere until its over.

How did you guys who were behind the microphone handle playing songs you absolutely despised? Bathroom break?

Marsden · January 31, 2023 1:52 pm

Easy! I have never played music from a playlist. Still don't. Here's what I played last Friday evening - no playlist. Just jamming with the music from thousands of choices. And those thousands of songs are not listed alphabetically in my files.

Friday - January 27 2023

Rob Stuart - A Beautiful Thing
Peter Murphy - All Night Long
Water Walk - Never Leaving Eden Again
Talk Talk - It's My Life (extended)
War - Low Rider
Talking Heads - Burning Down The House
Mike Batt - Imbecile
New Order - Touched By The Hand Of God (extended remix)
Midge Ure & Mick Karn - After A Fashion
Alison Moyet - Is This Love? (L.A. Mix)
Love & Rockets - So Alive
Benjamin Russell/Rob Stuart - Something In F MinorLevel
Level 42 - Lessons In Love
Byrds - Eight Miles High
Tame Impala - Let It Happen
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
SLAVE To The SQUAREwave - Model Citizen
Elliott Murphy - Rock Ballad
Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
FourOneSix - I've Been Here Before
Procol Harum - Conquistador (live)
Freddie Mercury - Living On My Own (Julian Raymond Mix)
Elliot Murphy - Anastasia
Gary Wright - Dream Weaver
Hollies - Sandy (4th July, Asbury Park)
Genesis - The Musical Box
Moody Blues - The Other Side Of Life
John Madill - Movin’ On
Pink Floyd - Time
Willy DeVille - I Call Your Name
Band - I Shall Be Released
Carole Pope/Sara T. Russell - Some Velvet Morning
Chip Taylor - Little Angel Wings
Chris De Burgh - The Lady in Red
Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven
Louis Armstrong - Moon River
Justin Hayward - Railway Hotel
k.d. lang - Hallelujah
Garfield - Private Affair
Doors - The Crystal Ship
Miley Cyrus feat. WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith - Nothing Else Matters
Tanita Tikaram - Twist In My Sobriety
Church Of Trees feat. Krista Hartman - Me, Myself & I
Dee Long - Good Night Universe

Last edited by Marsden (January 31, 2023 2:01 pm)

betaylored · January 31, 2023 2:50 pm

I turned down the monitor completely and kept an eye on the clock, turned it up during the last fifteen seconds to do the mix. After a few years and the same songs you get a clock in your head and you know when to tune back in.

There weren't too many songs I loathed.

Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves

Everytime I See Your Picture I Cry by Luba

Shout by Tears For Fears always sounded too slow, I may have adjusted the turntable speed for that one song. 🤫

Halfway through my radio career I got heartily sick of all Bon Jovi songs except for "Runaway."

And early Def Leppard pre Mutt Lange's production was painful to play.

I still leap for the radio dial when Bon Jovi comes on.

One song I never got sick of playing and cranked the monitors up to 11 for was Donny Iris "Ah Leah"

RadioActive · January 31, 2023 2:53 pm

It could be worse. Suppose the only job you could find was at a country station and you hated C&W. Now THAT would be real torture. But hey, these days - and even back then - a gig's a gig!

pinto · January 31, 2023 5:20 pm

Working CHR back in the day, all singles from U2's Joshua Tree were muted in the control room. Played them sooo much I got sick of them. Last Album I bought from that band was Boy.

Last edited by pinto (January 31, 2023 5:20 pm)

Forward Power · January 31, 2023 6:30 pm

The early part of my radio career (2000-2020) was spent in rock... always hated Three Doors Down's "Here Without You", Fastball's "The Way", and anything Metallica... "Mandatory Metallica" my arse.
The remainder of my twenty years in the industry was in adult contemporary, which was and still is my specialty... and you bet there were some tracks that I despised. Among them:

Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up
Toni Braxton - Unbreak My Heart
Amanda Marshall - Dark Horse
Lewis Capaldi - Before You Go
anything by Michael Bolton
...and that Luba track that betaylored mentioned.

Side note - an awesome mix of stuff on Marsden's Friday show, though I will admit "Tears In Heaven" reduces me to tears every time... more so when it was played at my father's 2019 funeral.

paterson1 · January 31, 2023 6:34 pm

I agree with betaylored, I would turn down the monitor and maybe answer the phone. Late 70's to early 80's not always a stellar time for music on Top 40 or A/C. Songs I didn't like that were charted/playlisted and were popular-

Leif Garrett- Run Around Sue, I Was Made For Dancin'
Mary MacGregor- Torn Between Two Lovers
David Soul- Don't Give Up On Us
Shaun Cassidy- Da Doo Ron Ron, That's Rock and Roll
Meco- Star Wars Theme
The Raes- Que Sera Sera, I Only Want To Get Up and Dance
A Taste of Honey- Boogie Oogie Oogie
Boney M- Rasputin
M- Pop Musik
Olivia Newton John- Magic
The Buggles- Video Killed the Radio Star
Charlie Dore- Pilot Of The Airwaves
Eric Clapton- Cocaine
Burton Cummings- A Fine State Of Affairs, My Own Way To Rock
Dr. Hook- Sexy Eyes, Only Sixteen
Juice Newton- Queen Of Hearts
Manhattan Transfer- Boy From NYC
Billy Squire- The Stroke
Jon & Vangelis- Friends Of Mr. Cairo
Gino Vannelli- Living Inside Myself
Charlene- Never Been To Me
Laura Branigan- Gloria
Hall & Oates- I Can't Go For That
Ray Parker Jr.- The Other Woman
April Wine- Enough Is Enough
Van Halen- Dancing In The Street
Jackson & McCartney- The Girl Is Mine
ELO- Rock And Roll Is King
Loverboy- Hot Girls In Love
Musical Youth- Pass The Duchie

And many more...

Last edited by paterson1 (January 31, 2023 7:47 pm)

Jody Thornton · January 31, 2023 6:38 pm

Wasn't Mary McGregor the one that did Torn Between Two Lovers?

Now wait!!! You don't like Lining Inside Myself? Friends of Mr Cairo? Pop Musik? Hall and Oates even? Paterson... Paterson. This is so upsetting ....lol (OK I'm hamming it up a wee bit). It's just I LOVED the late 70s and early 80s, with a passion. All good though .... um, not ...lol

Rune · January 31, 2023 6:59 pm

Yeah Jody. Maureen McGovern did "The Morning After" and Mary McGregor did "Torn Between Two Lovers." I'm embarrassed I know that. They're both crap.And who could forget Jud Strunk's 'Daisy a Day." Lord knows I've tried to forget all three.

paterson1 · January 31, 2023 7:33 pm

Jody Thornton wrote:
Wasn't Mary McGregor the one that did Torn Between Two Lovers?

Now wait!!! You don't like Lining Inside Myself? Friends of Mr Cairo? Pop Musik? Hall and Oates even? Paterson... Paterson. This is so upsetting ....lol (OK I'm hamming it up a wee bit). It's just I LOVED the late 70s and early 80s, with a passion. All good though .... um, not ...lol

Hahaha..Thank you Jody and Rune for noticing my error. I am a little like Rune, I didn't like The Morning After either and got the artists mixed up. I think my list (and I could have had a lot more) really reflected the fact that these were all charted and playlisted when I was on the air. You would play these songs every day and on a top 40 station some cuts up to 3 times in a four or five hour shift. Most of the songs were playlisted for months and after a while you just get tired of hearing them. I must admit, when I catch any of the list above on the radio today, or especially on SiriusXM, the channel usually changes in my car within seconds!

splunge · January 31, 2023 8:39 pm

RadioActive wrote:
It could be worse. Suppose the only job you could find was at a country station and you hated C&W. Now THAT would be real torture. But hey, these days - and even back then - a gig's a gig!

early 90s, I was a metal head with hair below my shoulders. Worked for an easy listening station. Good people. it was fun and I learned a lot. music notwithstanding.

RadioActive · January 31, 2023 8:49 pm

I wasn't an announcer there, but back in the late 70s, I was in the newsroom at the old CKEY Toronto. I was a Top 40/rock fan at the time, but the entire day, we were surrounded with groups like the Laurie Bower Singers, which was torture whenever you had to turn up the speakers.

All shift long, it was strike up the bland, as 'EY went from its rock days of the Silver Dollar Survey to an uncomfortable shade of grey. But somebody liked it. The ratings were pretty good and they had great on-air personalities, although they never quite beat CFRB in the music pabulum department.

A great place to work and I was lucky to get a job there straight out of college. But man, was that playlist awful. It was elevator music without the elevator.

Dial Twister · February 1, 2023 9:42 am

pinto wrote:
Working CHR back in the day, all singles from U2's Joshua Tree were muted in the control room. Played them sooo much I got sick of them. Last Album I bought from that band was Boy.

I completely understand how songs can turn into fingernails on a chalkboard. The Joshua Tree was produced by Daniel Lanois, who leads this rendition. Great stuff, my friends! Where would we be without music?

Sometimes, a new take can reawaken our love for a song, to wit...

mace · February 1, 2023 9:47 am

Hey P1: I noticed "Cocaine" on your list. Do you detest the song or just Clapton's version of it. Personally, I prefer the original by J.J. Cale, which rarely gets any airplay. I even have the album, Troubador.

Jody Thornton · February 1, 2023 9:58 am

mace wrote:
Hey P1: I noticed "Cocaine" on your list. Do you detest the song or just Clapton's version of it. Personally, I prefer the original by J.J. Cale, which rarely gets any airplay. I even have the album, Troubador.

Cale also did a GREAT version of "After Midnight". Love that recording.

I must come clean. I actually liked the Morning After (and even worse, the theme from "Angie") by Ms McGovern. Something about that early 70s keyboard halfway through the first verse (the one that reminds me of the Partridge Family Theme)

RadioActive · February 1, 2023 10:21 am

I used to joke, "There's got to be a Maureen After." But there wasn't - it was her only hit.

Jody Thornton · February 1, 2023 10:27 am

RadioActive wrote:
I used to joke, "There's got to be a Maureen After." But there wasn't - it was her only hit.

I had a "sinking" feeling about her chart success (I wonder who will get that )

Lorne · February 1, 2023 11:14 am

Jody Thornton wrote:
I must come clean. I actually liked the Morning After (and even worse, the theme from "Angie") by Ms McGovern. Something about that early 70s keyboard halfway through the first verse (the one that reminds me of the Partridge Family Theme)

I remember hearing Different Worlds, the theme from Angie, on one station here ... I'm thinking it was CKFM, but it could have been CHFI. It did give her a minor comeback hit in 1979, making it to #18 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #1 AC.

paterson1 · February 1, 2023 11:49 am

mace wrote:
Hey P1: I noticed "Cocaine" on your list. Do you detest the song or just Clapton's version of it. Personally, I prefer the original by J.J. Cale, which rarely gets any airplay. I even have the album, Troubador.

I don't like the song. Boring, repetitive and whenever you heard it live, way too long. I like Clapton and JJ Cale but not a fan of the song. I was in radio when it was on the charts and Clapton's version was played a lot. Clapton had much better material in my opinion but this became one of his biggest hits. I should mention as well that even songs I didn't like, I wouldn't say anything negative about them on air. Many people did like these tunes, so I wouldn't give my opinion on them. I would just play, and turn down the monitor usually. Also knowing I could be playing the song later in the show and again tomorrow.

Jody Thornton · February 1, 2023 12:19 pm

Lorne wrote:
Jody Thornton wrote:
I must come clean. I actually liked the Morning After (and even worse, the theme from "Angie") by Ms McGovern. Something about that early 70s keyboard halfway through the first verse (the one that reminds me of the Partridge Family Theme)
I remember hearing Different Worlds, the theme from Angie, on one station here ... I'm thinking it was CKFM, but it could have been CHFI. It did give her a minor comeback hit in 1979, making it to #18 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #1 AC.

I only heard it on CHML in Hamilton. It was the late summer of 1979, and we were living in Selkirk. Mom was driving us to school in a new 1980 Citation.

Lorne · February 1, 2023 12:30 pm

Jody Thornton wrote:
Lorne wrote:
Jody Thornton wrote:
I must come clean. I actually liked the Morning After (and even worse, the theme from "Angie") by Ms McGovern. Something about that early 70s keyboard halfway through the first verse (the one that reminds me of the Partridge Family Theme)
I remember hearing Different Worlds, the theme from Angie, on one station here ... I'm thinking it was CKFM, but it could have been CHFI. It did give her a minor comeback hit in 1979, making it to #18 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #1 AC.

I only heard it on CHML in Hamilton. It was the late summer of 1979, and we were living in Selkirk. Mom was driving us to school in a new 1980 Citation.

Just looked up her discography on Wikipedia to see if had chart positions for Canada ... they show that it was #1 AC here as well, but only #48 pop. That certainly fits with both of us only hearing it on one station.

YMCA · February 10, 2023 4:20 am

Marsden wrote:
Easy! I have never played music from a playlist. Still don't.

Longtime NYTheSpirit listeners, as I am, will recognize a lot of these songs, because Marsden has played them so often.

His weekend shows are quite repetitive. He ain't the savior he pretends to be.

You better like Pink Floyd, because you're going to hear something from PF/DavidGilmour/RogerWaters every show without fail. Ditto Peter Murphy, ditto Stranglers... I could go on.

Marsden will be annoyed with my comments, but although he sits atop all radio personalities in Toronto, he is not immune to criticism. His shows have lacked originality for a long time.

Tomas Barlow · February 13, 2023 2:31 am

YMCA wrote:
Marsden wrote:
Easy! I have never played music from a playlist. Still don't.
Longtime NYTheSpirit listeners, as I am, will recognize a lot of these songs, because Marsden has played them so often.

His weekend shows are quite repetitive. He ain't the savior he pretends to be.

You better like Pink Floyd, because you're going to hear something from PF/DavidGilmour/RogerWaters every show without fail. Ditto Peter Murphy, ditto Stranglers... I could go on.

Marsden will be annoyed with my comments, but although he sits atop all radio personalities in Toronto, he is not immune to criticism. His shows have lacked originality for a long time.

I don't listen but maybe he knows what his listeners like. I don't see an issue with playing an artist frequently if you aren't playing any one song to death.

radiodazewarrior · February 14, 2023 2:00 pm

Although it was number 1 way back when, "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks. Blah, made me cringe every time I HAD (MAPL/CRTC regs) to play it. That's the only one I truly hated. I could tolerate the rest because ultimately, the song was someone's favourite tune (including SiS); and you can't piss off your P1's.

paterson1 · February 14, 2023 5:08 pm

Terry Jacks Seasons In The Sun, the song that most announcers and music critics hated, but listeners seemed to love. Jacks version of the song was by far the most successful and sold over 14 million copies world wide.

Number One on Billboard's Hot 100 for three weeks, and stayed in the top 40 in the US for sixteen weeks. The song was also number one in the UK, Australia and Canada. Cancon regs or not, we would have played this song a lot anyway. I haven't heard it much on Canadian radio for decades, but still do on SiriusXM 70's on 7.... And that's usually when I change the station!

RadioActive · February 14, 2023 5:18 pm

CFRB morning show host John Moore's operators play this song whenever they want to drive him crazy. He absolutely, ravenously despises it almost more than any other, perhaps with the exception of Tainted Love. You can actually hear the anger in his voice if someone puts that song in his ear during his show.

Which, of course, in the grand tradition of radio, means they try to work it in whenever they can!

mic'em · February 14, 2023 5:58 pm

Tweeter and the Monkey Man, it's not so much that I dislike Headstones, or the song as a rule, it's just I hear it so frickin often. It seems like every single time I listen to Rock 95 it's played. I understand it's CANCON but for cripes sake, there a literally 100's of other tunes that can be played . At least they could drop in the Wilbury's version occasionally and air a local artist. This is why I prefer MAX FM out of Orillia. They play local artists 5 times a day.

RadioAaron · February 14, 2023 9:54 pm

Tomas Barlow wrote:
YMCA wrote:
Marsden wrote:
Easy! I have never played music from a playlist. Still don't.
Longtime NYTheSpirit listeners, as I am, will recognize a lot of these songs, because Marsden has played them so often.

His weekend shows are quite repetitive. He ain't the savior he pretends to be.

You better like Pink Floyd, because you're going to hear something from PF/DavidGilmour/RogerWaters every show without fail. Ditto Peter Murphy, ditto Stranglers... I could go on.

Marsden will be annoyed with my comments, but although he sits atop all radio personalities in Toronto, he is not immune to criticism. His shows have lacked originality for a long time.
I don't listen but maybe he knows what his listeners like. I don't see an issue with playing an artist frequently if you aren't playing any one song to death.

Not about Marsden specifically, but I find most freeform type hosts really were playing to their personal taste, and assuming it to be more popular than it actually was due to a pretty limited feedback loop.

Chrisphen · February 14, 2023 9:59 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
Not about Marsden specifically, but I find most freeform type hosts really were playing to their personal taste, and assuming it to be more popular than it actually was due to a pretty limited feedback loop.

Curated. Just like playlists sourced from faceless consultants.

RadioAaron · February 14, 2023 10:02 pm

Chrisphen wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
Not about Marsden specifically, but I find most freeform type hosts really were playing to their personal taste, and assuming it to be more popular than it actually was due to a pretty limited feedback loop.

Curated. Just like playlists sourced from faceless consultants.

Not at all. One tells the audience what to like, the other asks first.