Playing New Music from Classic-Rock Artists

A curious thing about U.S. commercial radio these days is that it's almost impossible to hear new music by veteran rock artists.

Classic Rock stations that play '60s and '70s Led Zeppelin won't play recent releases by Robert Plant. New music from Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr won't be played there either - nor on Oldies stations that still play early Beatles. The same goes for the likes of David Gilmour, Keith Richards, Jeff Lynne and the late David Bowie -- and for bands that have stayed together through the years, like Rush.

Meanwhile, stations that play current music by young artists mostly ignore the "dinosaurs" from the 20th Century. Commercial radio playlists seem to follow strict rules: They either play old music by old bands, or new music by new bands. But new music by old bands? It doesn't fit anywhere.

But it suits us perfectly at Birch Street Radio. We love to mix Classic Rock, Folk Rock, New Wave, Alternative Rock, Americana - bands and singer-songwriters from the '60s to this week. And when an old favorite artist puts out new music, we want to hear it!

So we're playing tracks from:

• Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe
• Squeeze - Cradle to the Grave
• Joe Jackson - Fast Forward
• Keith Richards - Crosseyed Heart
• Elton John - Wonderful Crazy Night
• David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock.

And yes: David Bowie's Black Star.

It's all good music, and it fits right in with both the classics and the latest sounds in our Marvelous Mix of Music.

Join us at Birch Street Radio!