We've all bemoaned the state of terrestrial radio, but Snow Patrol is really biting the hand. The band -- who have been at it for years and finally hit upon a winning formula years ago by apeing the sweet sounds of Coldplay -- find themselves with a Top 5 hit in "Chasing Cars." The song's most redeeming characteristic is appearing in Grey's Anatomy, but as expected, the US charts went nuts. And yet, Gary Lightbody laments the state of the terrestrial radio (that made his soundbite relevant in the first place) on the band's website:
So we're the first British guitar band since Duran Duran, 13 years ago, to have a top five hit in the US. Did they use guitars? If television is the new radio (Grey's Anatomy, The OC, etc) what's gonna happen to radio? We spend a lot of time in the States and you just have to turn the radio on there to know there's a problem. There is literally hundreds of stations dedicated to playing eighties soft rock: Poison, Heart, Whitesnake, Def Leppard.... There is a serious problem. The radio, as i see it, is a preview device. It's a toe in the water. A place to hear the records you may one day like to own. One day soon. NOT a graveyard for records you sold at the same car boot sale you sold your stone washed denim jacket (ahem, not based on personal experience). We did sessions and interviews in lots of great stations across America so it's not all bad news.
Well, we did a lot of traveling this summer and could never find quality radio. So, if you're still with us after all of that Snow, let us know the best terrestrial radio station to dial up in your city.(To be clear, "best" also means "non nü-metal.")
