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Tue, 27 Oct 1998 02:17:57 EST
>From JAM Music:
Can R.E.M. and U2 Cut it on Rock Radio Today?
Do R.E.M. and U2, two rock bands that defined a generation, still carry clout
at increasingly finicky modern rock radio? Or have the two powerhouse bands
morphed into favorites of the more adult-friendly formats?
Both R.E.M and U2, whose blockbuster careers have oddly mirrored one another
over the last two decades, have new singles at modern rock radio in
preparation of fall album releases. But some programmers report listener
reaction has been lukewarm as increasingly young fans focus on acts such as
Beck, the Beastie Boys and the Dave Matthews Band.
"We haven't got an overwhelming listener response on either the U2 or R.E.M
song," says Laurie Gail, music director at WFNX in Boston, who labels the
songs "passive." Currently, R.E.M.'s "Daysleeper" is in medium rotation at
'FNX, and U2's "Sweetest Thing" (a re-mixed version of the band's Eighties B-
side of the same name) is in light. What 'FNX's twentysomething listeners are
burning up the phone lines for are the new Alanis Morissette, Hole and Fatboy
Slim singles, she reports. Nonetheless, Gail considers both U2 and R.E.M to be
"core bands," which mean they've been embraced for years at 'FNX.
Indeed, it was U2 and R.E.M. that helped break the heavy metal stranglehold of
rock radio back in the Eighties, laid the ground work for alternative
revolution of the early Nineties, and have racked up dozens of radio hits.
(Four of U2's last five singles have gone Top 10 at modern rock, as have
R.E.M.'s.)
Today though, after three weeks at radio, R.E.M.'s new single "Daysleeper" is
lodged at No. 22 on Billboard Modern Rock radio chart, while U2's "Sweetest
Thing" comes in at No. 18 in the same amount of time. Those are good, but not
great, showings. For instance, the Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),"
is already at No. 7 after just three weeks on the air.
The good news is that a new generation of laid-back rock stations that target
thirty and forty year-olds, are embracing the latest by U2 and R.E.M. "They're
growing older with our audience," reports Scott Arbough, music director at
KBCO in Denver, a leading Triple A (adult album alternative) station that
caters to post modern-rock fans who aren't yet ready for the classic rock
pastures. "I think these U2 and R.E.M songs are more adult-friendly and easier
to play," he says. "If you're thirty-three today, they're bands you grew up
with. They're important to you."
According to Billboard's Triple-A chart, both "Daysleeper" and "Sweetest
Thing" are racking up Top 10 status. They just happen to be doing it alongside
the likes of Hootie & the Blowfish and Bruce Hornsby. Not exactly rock
revolutionaries. "I don't think [U2 or R.E.M.] would want to image themselves
in that way," says Gail.
R.E.M.'s new album, Up comes out Oct. 27. It follows up the band's
commercially disappointing '96 release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. U2's new
greatest hits package, 1980-1990, arrives in stores on Nov. 3. Like R.E.M.,
U2's last studio effort, Pop, failed to match the band's previous sales
plateaus in America.
ERIC BOEHLERT (October 26, 1998)
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