CMJ RECAP : CMJ ISSUE 1320 WEEK 43

I seriously did not think we had a chance at keeping #1 for a second week. But here I stand very happily proven wrong with DR DOG as the #1 record in college radio for the 2nd week in a row. Also for the second week in a row we had the same number of stations report..

How did this happen? We all knew that the Arcade Fire  had been sent out late but I thought If any band could overcome this and go from ADD week to #1 It would be them. They did pretty well and came in at #3 but are seriously lacking in higher core stations in comparison to both Dr. Dog and Of Montreal ( #2) . I know I said this last week but I have no doubt that they will overcome this and get to #1.  Its funny when I am considering #3 after the ADD week a disappointment.


ADDS were pretty weak this week with the #1 most added record only gaining 87 ADDS ( M.I.A)
With 2 EP's in the top 5 for most ADDED you know there are no big records at radio for the week.  Even without a juggernaut like Arcade Fire I don't think any of these would have a legit #1 shot.


I wanted to share with you some conversations I had this week at college radio about the new Arcade Fire record. It is, without a doubt, the most talked about record at the format. Every station I asked said something about it, mostly positive.  As you know I am not working the record so it is a bit easier for me to talk freely about it. I think the record is fine but my favorite from them is Neon Bible. I did not like the suburbs at all but I found myself defending Arcade Fire quite a few times this week.

One of the conversations I had started with the Music Director telling me they loved the new Arcade Fire record but they would most likely be passing on it.  I thought that was a very interesting statement. Why pass on something that you love? They said that they were just too popular.
It is an interesting reason to pass on something right? Too many people like them so we won't play them.  My next question was well if you do not play the record are there other stations in the area that are going to play them?  No. They said.  So your station, being one that likes the band, is going to pass on the band because your listeners can't get them anywhere else but they are too popular. It really makes no sense to me.

We moved on from Arcade Fire onto the real issue and that is what should College radio be? There was no real answer as it should be unique for each station.  There are some stations that serve as the pop station in town and that is their service to the community. There are others that play mostly hip hop because they are the only ones that can fill that need. In the end the answer was there is no real easy answer as to what is college radio.

I think it is a fun conversation to have and hope every station has it all the time, instead of just doing what we say or what reviews tell them to do.

That brings me to another station I had a conversation with. They passed on a record of mine, and of course this does happen from time to time but I always ask for a why. They had lots of reasons and they all sounded like good ones until I realized he was just quoting a Pitchfork review for the band. No real point to that just thought it was funny.

We are getting close to the end of the year what are your favorite records? Time to start putting that list together!

Thank you for reading lets talk about this on the twitters or the facebooks.