Why do I ask this? Well, for free thinker radio's next episode, I plan taking a rreeaallyy deep plung into the underground of today and of 1969, by featuring Eden's Children and of the first doom metal band ever- Coven. Coven, fronted by the mysterious and down-right sexy as (no pun intended) hell- Jinx Dawson. Their album- "Witchcraft destroys minds and reaps souls" was banned for its outright use of satanism and its infamous ending track "satanic mass" which was just that, an entire satanc mass (13 minuets long, how ironic?) preformed by the band and some friends who all were appearently real satanists.
So, for the (no pun intended, again) hell of it, I figured I play that track and break its silence since from what I've read, no station has ever aired it before. Granted, since it really is quite a downright scary thing to hear, which I have listened to it and even though I'm agnostic I felt like running to my church hahah, I feel that some guys might not wanna air it since it is a legit satanic mass and well....it's not exactly great public relations ya know. So what do you think, is it all good for me to put it on? I don't wanna piss anyone off here.
How "we" feel doesn't really matter. You need to determine the mission statement of your program and base your programming on whether or not your selections meet the goal of that mission.
It's probably an historic recording with some educational value, and heck, today Satanism is becoming more and more mainstream. At issue for me is the length. Apparently few in the radio biz think this way, but when it somes to playing something over 3-4 minutes long you have to ask yourself if it's worth that percentage of your airtime. If you're debating something you are already considering a marginal choice, then add the length to it, you have to really think it through. That same 13 minutes could be used for probably 4 selections of more typical length. So on one hand you have one long selection that you already know will have marginal appeal, or 4 selections that just by variety itself diversify the programming to appeal to a wider audience. If 25% of your listeners find it interesting or educational and stick it out for the full 13 minutes, that means you lost 75%. Whereby playing 4 shorter selections in the same time, even if someone doesn't care for something they only hav to stick it out for 3 minutes or so and then the program moves on to something different. So, you wind up committed to that longer track for the duration, good or bad. Historically there have been few tracks that were "worth" being long.
But really, you need to determine the mission of your program then make selections accordingly. If your mission is to educate people about music and demonstrate for example, that such music exists that's all fine and dandy, but then you have to determine if this particular track is worth the airtime or if 13 minutes of chanting and moaning will make peole shut their radios off.
Tim in Bovey
Instead of taking the ban seriously, look at the banners (those who ban).
Who are they? Who do they think they are telling others what to think and what to do?
There is no devil or satan, and most people who use "satanism" as an act are joking. They are playing a gag.
The righteous holier than us crowd cannot take a joke. They are a joke.
You SHALL play this material!
Eh, Carl, Tim made a great point. Here's what I'll do. I'll make two different versions of this next episode- One with "Satanic Mass" and one without.
I mean, my mission is to just bring (as I say in each show) "the underground to the fore-front." It's broad, but in a nutshell quite simple. I play cool inde music of all different genres. I'm the guy that plays stuff stations like any random "JackFM, TomFM, BobFM, and even JimBobFM for the southeners" wouldn't ever dare touch! That's why it's called "Free Thinker Radio." We're like one big college radio station. Only with a better host (hee hee) and use more viny records.
Atrain made a very mature and diplimatic decision, and yes, Tim's advice was top-drawer executive level and business-like.
My view (expressed above) is more in the nitty and gritty of mental disorder, which easily gets stirred up when it comes to religious issues.
I have a programming problem every year that runs along similar lines...
My radio station (its mission) is secular.
Secular merely means non-religious, but de-educated non-thinkers believe it means "anti-religious" and unfurl their battle mode.
The problem comes when every year programmers, EVEN ATHEIST PROGRAMMERS, start dwelling on "christmas" and "the holidays" and they don't shut up about it for two whole weeks.
All christmas all-the-time is not just religious promotion, it's commercial promotion as well because every christmas song is a retail sales jingle.
It's Pavlovian in scope... Ivan Pavlov discovered that a dog could be trained to salivate by ringing a bell.. even after the food is no longer offered... and so people shop when they hear "jingle bells."
Adding church bells to the game serves a double purpose.
Religion is satanic.
Your friendly neighborhood free thinker.
I like what you wrote Carl! And thanks for calling it diplomatic, I just figured it was the most effective solution. Hey you know, secular lasts longer and evolves easier than religion. There's a reason christmas was put on the 25th. Emperor constantine knew most celebrated the winter solstice on the 25th, so he put christmas there. Real holy and religious huh? It was a god damn political move.
I enjoy playing Christmas music. There's a lot of good stuff out there over and above the standard 50 song playlist most stations rotate endlessly. I've got hundreds of Christmas doo-wop songs in my current rotation, including some novelty hits (they were common back in the 50s and the 60s). Some are not politically correct, but they're a product of their time (and in my opinion a refreshing change from the overly regulated political correctness of today) - and they're not meant to be taken seriously.
And while you're entitled to your non religious opinions, there are plenty of folks who disagree (and they have every right to). As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with the good feelings generated by this most wonderful time of the year - you don't have to buy into the commercialism if you don't want to.
Unlike sports, world culture (religion, music) is not a competitive event so much as it is a vast range of beliefs and practices.
The wrap-up season (pun intended) has long meant a lot of different things to different people.
We are really only talking about radio programming decisions on this thread, and each approach serves a particular niche of the total audience.
As a member of the ALPB I support and defend all programming flavors presented by our special class of broadcasters.
With the diversity exhibited in this thread alone, no listener will be left behind.
Excellent thinking on all sides.