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Hot Dog Days memories music My San Francisco Chronicles Work Diaries

Radio Oldies

I don’t usually listen to radio, but since I’ve started working at the hot dog carts, I have been really digging the KISS 98.1 FM radio station here in San Francisco. The station reminds me of a mix of K92.3 and Q99.1 from back east, in that it plays popular oldies and some more recent, contemporary songs.

Today while working at the commissary, I was singing along with the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, etc. Ah, so many of the songs on the radio give me quite a bout of nostalgia. I was only born in 1985, but so many golden oldies from the ’60s, ’70s, and early ’80s remind me of my childhood. Probably because my siblings and I used to always watch those music video shows on VH1 back when they actually showed music videos. “Whatever happened to…”, “One-Hit Wonders”, etc. We were bored a lot at home, so we ended up learning a lot of American music history.

I feel like I can listen to KISS 98.1 all day…I practically did that today since I ended up working close to 8-9 hours (was slow in the prep work today). So many songs that I recognised, so many memories…

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Japanese music music

Deterioration of Quality in Music.

I’ve been noticing this more and more lately–music has all gone downhill. Not just American music, but even Japanese music. I grew up listening to whatever hits were on the radio; then I “rebelled” against mainstream music during my early teenage years by listening to American oldies. Then, I transitioned over to Japanese pop and rock in my late teenage years since I grew bored of the American scene. Discovering new artists here and there was what kept me enthusiastic about the Japanese music scene.

Nearly six years later, though, I am beginning to feel jaded by that scene as well. I continue to stay open-minded to new acts coming out in Japan, but I feel disappointed with most of them. None of them stand out to me: the same overhashed melodies, cutesy lyrics, predictable everything. A slew of new debuts have come out through the various music companies, and none of them seem to have much potential. Where’s the differentiation? Where’s the variety?

I can’t even name the new artists I have listened to because, frankly, none of them have stuck out in my mind. Maybe the scene has been like this for awhile now and I am just realizing it. I can’t decide where to go next–been kind of sticking with well-known artists, but I also want to branch out into other countries’ music.