by SPW » 08 Mar 2013 08:01
British radio reminds me of community radio in the US where I first heard 808 State during the late 1980s. Community radio is public supported radio and is similar to college radio or pirate radio in that it broadcast on a weaker signal. Commercial radio stations in the US play the same popular music format in rotation and are run by large corporations like Clear Channel.
For example Acid Trax played on the show with Graham is more of a staple in the UK than it is in the US since Chicago house was very much a regional or localized type of music. Even though some people who worked at indie record stores where I grew up in Dallas did support house and try and play it on the radio but back then it was very much a digital drum machine, idustrial, new wave type affair.
808 State were a hit in the US when Excel came out because the alternative people followed New Order, The Sugarcube etc. By that time techno/rave type music started to take off in the US.
The alternative scene died with the record store and of course underground music culture suffered when you couldn't throw a rave, underground party. Today everything is social networking and commercial. Music is digital and easily accesible.