Tuesday, January 19, 2021

The Last DJ and the Death of Radio

 Tom Petty's Song "The Last DJ" points out the turning point in broadcast radio where independent voices and markets become lost in an "omnitopia" of sameness across the nation.

Ironically, the corporate record company that owns "the official video" removed it from YouTube. Here is a live version:


Well you can't turn him into a company man
You can't turn him into a whore
And the boys upstairs just don't understand anymore
Well the top brass don't like him talking so much
And he won't play what they say to play
And he don't want to change what don't need to change
And there goes the last DJ
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say
Hey, hey, hey
And there goes your freedom of choice
There goes the last human voice
There goes the last DJ


There is a great documentary on this topic called "Corporate FM" - here is the trailer!



No comments:

Post a Comment