The Station

Yes i am probably getting old and crochety but....

Its apparent to me over the last few months that station software is not performing as, in my opinion, it should be. We have way to many bands on here for SAM to pick a band and play it 4 times a day (Yngwie, Bon Jovi etc...). If these bands are requested thats one thing, but SAM should not be picking them as often as it does.

I will give it credit though, lately it has been picking a of bands that i really had no idea who they were so it is picking new stuff, at least to me, so thats good. Gotta be a balance somewhere.

Speaking of bands, IMHO there are way to many bands that should not be on here. I realize they were added several years ago and probably by users who are not around as often, or at all, like they once were. I remember a debate on what bands should be on here and that the HR80"s term is mostly a general guide on who should be on. That being said, i would like to see a number of bands removed from here that either should never have been put on here, or everytime they play they get rated a 1 star on their songs. James Durbin comes to mind and you cant even rate his songs. Oh look, speaking of, its another Yngwie song being played.

Thin Lizzy does not belong in my opinion. They cant even spell power chord.
Ritchie Kotzen. So he sang for Poison once. His music is not HR80's related
Freak Kitchen
California Breed
Black Stone Cherry. Band was formed in 2001. Not 80's.

The list goes on. I think we went through a time when some people had too much leeway on getting things on the station.

I wish we could go back to the basics.

Hear, Hear!! I am growing old and crotchety too, and my sentiments on some of the dreck on here are the same. Richie Kotzen, personifies it for me, every time I hear a lousy song on HR80s, I expect it to be him. (although there are some really bad Thin Lizzy songs, and Phil Lynott is unmistakable)

When I hear a song/band that is not familiar to me I usually snap screenshot on my phone so I can listen more to the band. I've taken 12 screenshots this week. 6 were bands I did not know well, and only one was a request. In contrast, I've only given two 1 star ratings this week. Although SAM plays a lot of bad music, so maybe I'm a bit numb to it.

Working from home the past year and a half has allowed me to rediscover the station. I'm not sure how long I've been a lurker around here, but I still have email receipts from 2011 for some hard to find songs that I purchased through the website, when that was still a thing. (I think Racer X Street Lethal and some others) I would certainly love to see some improvements, but its way better than FM or playlists from Amazon Music or Qobuz.

The best part of the station remains the Day Crew, especially on Fridays with live music! The Crew tends to request excellent music.

Nah, I don't listen to HR80s to go back to basics. Maybe HR80s has always been a misnomer since it covers so much more than the 80s, but I appreciate that this station has always provided the widest variety around.

If you want basics, check out FM and Hair Nation and other stations on Sirius XM. I actually love Hair Nation in my car, but they trimmed down their (already rather limited) song selection over the past couple years, and I'm growing tired of the station. I don't want to feel that way about HR80s.

I vote to keep every band on that list. Thin Lizzy, Richie Kotzen, Freak Kitchen, California Breed, and Black Stone Cherry. As well as many others. While not every song on HR80s is to my liking, if I liked every little thing all the time, I'd grow tired of the familiar stuff while also missing out on discovering new stuff.

Think of it this way. Since I largely stopped listening to FM and Hair Nation doesn't play Van Halen, when I hear Van Halen on HR80s, it's still pretty special to me. That's not a bad thing.