Makes sense. I think this whole bit about announcing a new album 3-4 months in advance and rolling out 4-5 tracks beforehand just doesn't make any sense any more. People's memories are so short these days that unless you're in the 1% of the 1% of acts, no one is going to be super dedicated to your rollout except for the insufferable stans that troll your Twitter account.
I'm confused as to how anybody would have a problem with this album rollout. How is releasing 3 songs before an album any different from what other acts do?
Active Rock stations tend to be in a B and C market cities where, I'm assuming, there is a larger population of a white working class. The mix of demographics in major cities tend to not be able to support a "Pure Rawk!" station.
Minor, but still important, point of differentiation when using the term "modern rock". In the late 90's, there were essentially two formats the industry had that played current rock music. Modern Rock or Alternative played a fair amount of current guitar-heavy music but also embraced various fads such as ska, swing, indie and the garage rock revival. The other format, which I believe Billboard labeled Mainstream Rock but other industry rags called Active Rock focused on the heavier side of guitar-rock (Tool, Pantera) while still giving plenty of air time to the grunge and grunge-inspired acts that were played on the Modern side (which Three Days Grace also benefited from). Around 2003-04, modern rock/alternative stations started to evaporate as the format essentially became a bunch of niche styles and it was hard to convince fans of Franz Ferdinand and The Killers to 1) even listen to the radio and 2) sit through the likes of Staind and Puddle Of Mudd to here music they like. On the other end of the spectrum, the "modern rock" you mention which included the likes of Shinedown, Three Days Grace, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin (and, yes, even the Foo Fighters) never really had much of an identity crisis and just kept quietly trekking along. Sure, they reach fewer numbers and fewer people but those bands and radio formats all have dedicated fans and ultimately benefited in the long run from the more conservative approach. If you were a rock radio listener in 2002, chances are the stuff that's playing on the radio in 2022 still mostly appeases you (and there are still a ton of "oldies" from the 90's that those listeners apparently never tire of). This is explains the cockroach-like resilience of the two bands you mention.
On a semi-related but still interesting note, the stations that bill as "Alternative" such as KROQ have now morphed to the point that they are essentially alt-pop stations who have embraced hip-hop leaning/Tik Tok-famous acts like Girl In Red, Post Malone, The Kid Laroi and everyone's favorite, Machine Gun Kelly. How a terrestrial radio format playing those acts works these days I have no idea, but it's happening.
For some reason, FF always got a raw deal after 2005 as they are far more consistent than The Killers yet they continue to get fairly lukewarm responses to new albums and slug it out touring at your various House Of Blues around the country.
As a NYC resident, really a bummer how this festival has trended. I get that rock/indie/alt isn't a huge draw these days but I feel like there is a way to split the balance so you can appease various demos. This festival is basically just a giant drunken drug party for 14-24 year olds which, fine. but I do feel like some money is being left on the table by not at least attempting to cater to the 22-35 crowd.
Like probably a lot of kids from my generation, Bat Out Of Hell II sat comfortably on a CD rack next to the more fashionable likes of Vs, In Utero, Dookie, Smash, etc. because we were too young to differentiate between "Cool" and "Uncool" music. I still think BOOH I and II are phenomenal masterpieces full of grandiose, big ideas and the partnership between him and Steinman was unreal. RIP.
I remember this album being the nail in the coffin for them being played on modern rock radio as radio programmers had NO IDEA what to do with a new wave-y song like "Hey Baby" in the middle of Linkin Park, Staind, Incubus and Tool.
Happy the indie snop class system of festivals has been totally dismantled over the past 5-6 years. Fall Out Boy is a slam dunk at these festivals in a sub-role and would also makes sense at Governors Ball, Lolla, etc.
I'd be curious to read a deep dive on what it must be like for promoters to book Western acts in the Middle East. I know the UAE gets a fair amount of UK/US/European acts but I had no idea Saudi Arabia had Western acts perform.
Was the show you mentioned seeing the MTV2 tour w/Lostprophets and Apex Theory? If so, I remember being bummed I couldn't make the NYC date at Irving Plaza seeing as I was still in high school and it was a school year (also, in retrospect, really wish I had never engaged at all with the Lostprophets).
Saw these guys live in 1998 at a radio festival, great set. Their music hasn't always aged particularly well but they have some rippers in their catalog (Shame, Save Yourself, Nothing, What Do I Have To Do, Drugstore, etc)
I always maintained that while Franz Ferdinand, like The Killers, were going to have an excellent greatest hits compilation one day (and that day will come next year), I still think their catalog is really consistent.
I'm a big fan of deluxe editions so long as they contain new/unreleased songs. I always organize them in my library as the original album and remove any of the clutter (live tracks, demo versions, remixes, etc. unless the demos are of songs that were not otherwise released). I'm especially a big fan of the 10-20 year anniversary editions which, particularly for UK bands, collect all the B-sides from the era (big thing of UK acts since their singles need to be released comercially as a stand-alone to be eligible for radio play).
B-sides becoming more of a thing of the past so it'll be weird in 2040 when there are 20th anniversary reissues of this album and there will be no bonus content to add.
I haven't listened to this in a while but will go back and check her out. I have excellent memories of seeing her at BAM in Brooklyn on this tour. I don't remember this being inaccessible or difficult in any way, perhaps just didn't have a surefire crossover song like "1,2,3,4". Also bonus points for having a song ("The Bad In Each Other") in the production of Queen Of The Night, excellent placement.
Comments