30th anniversary of alternative songs: are bands from the 80s still playing on Alt Radio?

This week, Billboard celebrates the 30th anniversary of our alternative song list. Here, we take a look back at some of those artists who were on the charts three decades ago, and see which of them – if any – are still receiving shows on alternative radio in 2018.

The treatment. Siouxsie and the Banshees. Lou Reed. REM

When Billboard launched its “Modern Rock Tracks” chart in September 1988, they were among the alternative artists who quickly became the top class of the charts, encapsulating a new radio format that had made a name for itself throughout the decade in as the home of guitar music beyond Big Brother. AOR (album oriented rock) format. Stations like KROQ in Los Angeles, WLIR in New York, and KCMU in Seattle – along with a legion of underground college programs – all spun these songs relentlessly during the graphic’s childhood, relying on post-punk. 80s, new wave and goth-rock to help define their space on the dial.

But now, as the chart – renamed “Alternative Songs” in 2009 – celebrates 30 years of compiling the hottest tracks bubbling just under the radar, how many of those jams that characterized the format first remain in regular rotation on alternative waves? Do REM and Siouxsie Sioux still play a role among today’s indie-pop and electro-rock heroes, or have the surviving stations just evolved?

The program directors of several of the country’s most popular alternative radio stations seem to agree that while the ancestors of the format are not completely extinct, the era is certainly in danger in 2018 – with only a handful of the alternative hits. the most elite mixing with more recent pieces. Mike Kaplan, senior vice president of programming at ALT 92.3 in New York City, estimates that 80s songs only make up about two or three percent of his station’s total rotations.

“These are usually the songs that had the advantage of being critical mass, almost among the top 40 songs at the time,” says Kaplan, noting The Ramones, REM and The Cure as the must-have retro artists of ALT. 92.3. “That’s what I see working to this day – those songs that hit the top 40 or more of one format are what still seem to resonate with the masses here.”

At 101 WKQX in Chicago, program director Troy Hanson says his station has largely become Nirvana. “And some guys even hate that,” he notes, as some in the industry think alternative stations should only broadcast new stuff.

“There’s always REM’s ‘It’s the end of the world’, there’s always ‘How Soon Is Now?’ from the Smiths, ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ and ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’ by the Beastie Boys, and if we really want to go back, we’ll probably watch a track from Clash, ”Hanson says of of the station’s older programming. “But that’s about the extent of it.”

And on Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia, program director John Allers calls’ 80s stuff nothing more than “spice at this point.” “Ten years ago we played several tracks from many 80s bands, while in 2018 we don’t go very far with 80s artists,” says Allers, noting that the station still sprinkles Violent on it. Women and Depeche Mode as well as the aforementioned staples.

It all goes with BillboardMost recent alt data from the ’80s: When diving into the last week of playlists of the roughly 65 alternative stations that relate to the rankings, the top 10 most played songs from the’ 80s were (according to Nielsen Music):

1. Beastie Boys, “(You must) fight for your right (to party!)”

2. Violent women, “Blister in the Sun”

3. REM, “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel good)”

4. Beastie Boys, “No Sleep Until Brooklyn”

5. Beastie Boys, “Brass Monkey”

6. The remedy, “Song of love”

7. REM, “The one I love”

8. The remedy, “Just like heaven”

9. Beastie Boys, “Paul Revere”

10. Pixies, “Where’s my mind?” “

But this is, of course, a very comprehensive roster, with just three of the most popular bands of the era – all of which scored the top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 as well – including eight of the top 10. And even though Beastie Boys’ “Fight” is listed as # 1 here, it’s actually a modest # 202 when ranked against all the songs played on alternative radio last week which are considered gold by Billboard.

As Kaplan explains, the stations walk a fine line between a rugged retro mix and venturing too deep into what is now considered old by their target audience.

“You go out and the ’80s are still very much in the minds of the millennial consumer… but there are also expectations,” he says. “People come to you in a certain mood and they know what they want and if you are defying expectations and playing too much of a return sound. [you lose listeners]. With the alternative today, if you play a small part of it, I think it’s healthy, but leaning too far in that direction is detrimental to your station.

But for some call signs, especially those that aren’t as beholden to what climbs Billboard, this is not exactly the case. Owen Murphy, producer for KEXP Public Radio in Seattle (successor to KCMU), says their DJs still use a full roster of old records, artists mentioned to Kate Bush, Public Enemy, New Order and more as their Foundational acts that offer more seasoned listeners added context when they were juxtaposed with the station’s new bands.

“For example, one of our new favorites is the English punk band Idles,” says Murphy. “And there is no Idles without The Fall or The Clash; or there is no Janelle Monae without Prince, and you have to play both music to properly tell a given story.

But in most scenarios, as the ’80s alternative fades from stations that are more in tune with current trends, songs that were once the lifeblood of this format will likely continue to migrate to where their predecessors did. did years ago – and where many of them have gone before – further into contemporary and classic adult rock formats. But there too is a problem. Songs that can now be considered too rock for alternative stations that broadcast pop-crossover artists like Portugal. The Man or Twenty One Pilots could also be too loaded with keys or genre for more traditional rock icon dependent stations like Led Zeppelin or Tom Petty.

“The style of ’80s alternative music dictates whether it switches to classic rock,” Kaplan explains. “Much of the indie / synth texture doesn’t suit classic rockers who rely more on guitar-based artists. Hanson adds, “I don’t think you’re going to see Depeche Mode, Beasties or XTC suddenly making their way onto classic rock stations, it may not be sound level.”

So, does that leave the ’80s alternative floating in the radio ether, like an era without a home format? Kaplan wonders if such a hole could lead to the “development of a ‘Classic Alternative’ format” in some cities.

Wherever these songs end up, whether dispersed across multiple formats or woven into a new fleet of stations, they aren’t the only ones making their debut on modern alternative radio. Kaplan says many of the hits of the ’90s – once seen as the foundation for most alternative stations and reflecting the format’s most successful era commercially – are also starting to be left out of rotation.

” Our heart [audience] is 25-34 years old – millennials, ”he says. “And they’ve got a certain appetite for the ’90s and’ 80s. But they’re really looking more forward than back.