Without modesty I must say that I've always had an uncanny nack for picking out a hit. Well, if not a hit than atleast a song that's catchy and memorable.
As a kid, my ear glued to my Motorola bakelite transistor radio, I heard pop song after pop song coming from WHK, WKYC, CKLW and WIXY. This is where I honed my craft for discerning the songs that really had that sticky quality. Sticky, yeah, like bubblegum, like candy, like ear candy.
In college, as music director then program director, I first discovered the talent. New albums would be delivered to the office by the UPS guy. I'd open the packages to find artists I'd never even heard of. Like a kid on Christmas morning (in essense everyday was Christmas) I'd take the LP's into production and spin them on the turntable. Some would garner no appeal to me but others caught my ear. I'd play these another time. And then, as if being led by a divining rod, I'd determine the song that needed to be on the air right away.
In those days, and being a non-profit college station, there was no need to wait for prognosticators or so-called influencers to deem what songs were worthy of airplay. In fact, I think this is one of the great downfalls of current day radio; the reliance on outside consultants to tell a station what to play. Granted there are a few exceptions.
I proudly called the shots and was usually on target. I took pleasure in reading the trades in the weeks that would follow, confirming that the song I picked was being played by many others stations now. Songs like Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him" and Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer". Yes, I had a gift.
After college I did not pursue a radio career. Mainly because my heart was in Cleveland and I could not bare to leave my beloved city. And as anyone in radio will tell you, when you're starting out in the business be prepared to move alot. "Don't buy carpet", the saying went.
It was a wise decision as the creativity in radio slowly but surely was taken away by the bankers and investors who turned my magical medium into a commodity. The race was on to capture the lowest common denominator market. Dumb it down. Don't take chances. You know what? Ask anyone who's been successful in business. If you don't take risks you'll never be successful. I mean really successful.
I still knew I had my gift though, as I'd attract good crowds to bar gigs I'd DJ. Today I leave brides and grooms and their family and friends raving about my ability to know exactly what to play.
Ok, now about that dream job. Sure, programming a radio station, being able to actually call the shots as to what is played, would be a dream. In today's market that seems unlikely as I explained earlier, but the tides may be turning. Internet radio has everything to do with that.
I want to be that guy who picks out the music in movies, in TV shows, and in advertisements. As far as movies, there are a few directors who have the nack and don't need someone like me. I'm thinking of folks like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.
You know how I know I've got the gift? At the end of each year I put together a single CD compilation of some of my favorite songs of the past 12 months. These tend to be those catchy, hooky songs that may not be big hits, but in a perfect world they would be.
And often I'm proven right by the folks who create ads. Some of those songs include Ben Lee's Catch My Disease which has been used in a Dell ad and a recent ad of which I can't recall the product. GE is using I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star by The Boy Least Likely To in a current campaign. Budweiser is running a spot with Los Campesinos' You! Me! Dancing!
Those are just three current TV commercials that are using songs that I knew would have legs two, three, four years ago. There's plenty of others that I'll be happy to put in my portfolio/resume. Now who's ready to interview me?
Packy Malley's Wedding DJs
