Last year I was playing favorites and it popped into the rotation. I was pleasantly surprised, but then realized it was just luck. I do wonder about how the algorithm works on favorites - I get a whole lot of psychic playlist events that really make me wonder. It's probably just that the favorites have a lot of meaning to me, but I have thousands of favorites, so the odds of getting Alice's restaurant on thanksgiving day are pretty small. I've also had James Taylor's Mexico come on while approaching the border, and once while driving into Todos Santos (where Hotel California is in Baja Sur), the Gypsy King's version of Hotel California queued up. Could all be coincidence, but have a LOT of these things happen when playing 'favorites'. Several that have been almost uncomfortable - I generally have location services off, but.... (I'd be more disturbed about the Gypsy Kings thing, but I really like the song and was headed for tacos, so I couldn't really be mad)
11 months ago IMArlo wrote in the song comments "Bill just mentioned that they might put this song away any year now, permanently, due to its political incorrectness. My PI radar might be out of tune. What does he refer to?", to which someone responded that it was Arlo's use of the word "faggot" (as meaning something other than a bundle of sticks).
For the sake of clarity: that post was written by a user whose name is "iMario", not "IMArlo". Whether or not Bill "mentioned" what that post alleges is not clear either, though the later speculation is there. I never thought much of that song anyhow, and into married life, the mandatory Thanksgiving listening usually exacerbated the tension of the holiday for me.
You are correct sir! I should have done a copy and paste and shame on me for not recognizing AliGator!! (If I were really punctilious, I would have at least tried to look up Bill's mention, although it may have been spoken, in which case I couldn't find it.):
Posted 1 year ago by AliGator:iMario wrote:Bill just mentioned that they might put this song away any year now, permanently, due to its political incorrectness. My PI radar might be out of tune. What does he refer to?
Vox.com runs a lot of articles that provide perspective or backstory to events...and they've done it again. I suspect most of us know the story behind the song, but what the hell.
There is something to be said for the shared experience of having us all listen to something together, especially something with shared associations, but that's becoming less & less of a thing. Increasingly, by using our pause, skip, and cache features, our RP experience has become less synchronous. There's a loss in that, but one that is more than compensated for (in my opinion, anyway) by the convenience of those features.
I agree that the new features are great but I get the sneaking feeling that RP members aren't writing on the song comment areas as much, perhaps because the smartphone apps bury access to the comments and offer only a bare-bones text editor. Part of the greatness of RP is the ability to talk with people about all sorts of things and share experiences. The possible decline of the song comments section raises the issue of the decline of the RP community, as does (in a smaller way) the end of a shared, scheduled airing of "Alice's Restaurant."
Though I sure hope that Alice's Restaurant remains part of the "thoughtfully-crafted and diverse musical flow". For many of us the song is iconic even if I would have personally dumped Arlo's ass in jail for dumping garbage.
Sorry for any Arlo letdowns. Could have posted something about this in advance.
Over the past few years, we've gradually stopped doing holiday-centric music. Christmas was the first to go — several years ago — and this year we stopped doing Halloween blocks, and, as noted, the Thanksgiving airing of Alice's Restaurant.
These days there are so many ways to hear music that is specific to your current experience. If I want to hear "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" or "Thriller" or, yes, "Alice's Restaurant", all I have to do is tell Alexa, or open the Spotify app, or go to YouTube.
There is something to be said for the shared experience of having us all listen to something together, especially something with shared associations, but that's becoming less & less of a thing. Increasingly, by using our pause, skip, and cache features, our RP experience has become less synchronous. There's a loss in that, but one that is more than compensated for (in my opinion, anyway) by the convenience of those features.
RP is also very much a global station, so US-specific holidays like Thanksgiving or the 4th of July naturally receive less of a focus.
The bottom line is that while there are lots of places to scratch a specific musical itch, there are very few places where you can find a thoughtfully-crafted and diverse musical flow. That's our niche, and that's where our focus is.
That said, I hope you all had a great time yesterday — whether it was Thanksgiving or just Thursday :-)
I was not a member of the generation that gathered around the AM console radio to listen to Little Orphan Annie or Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, but I think there were echoes of this communal experience in going to a friend's house and listening to one or more sides of an album, sharing music (and whatever else was on hand) for social bonding or mind enlarging experiences.
As you correctly point out, nostalgic/song specific experiences are readily available online, at least to those with minimal tech savvy. My adult children are now much less embarrassed by and more willing to openly enjoy listening to Mr. Guthrie's anti-establishment hymn every November. Anyone who longs for the communal experience of shared entertainment, whether modern or nostalgic, can always leave their apartment/house/boat and go see a play, go to the movie theater, go to a reading, go to a live music performance, etc.
RP can't be all things to all people all the time, and I think your focus on continuing to be what it does best (human-directed streaming music) is quite appropriate.
11 months ago IMArlo wrote in the song comments "Bill just mentioned that they might put this song away any year now, permanently, due to its political incorrectness. My PI radar might be out of tune. What does he refer to?", to which someone responded that it was Arlo's use of the word "faggot" (as meaning something other than a bundle of sticks).
For the sake of clarity: that post was written by a user whose name is "iMario", not "IMArlo". Whether or not Bill "mentioned" what that post alleges is not clear either, though the later speculation is there. I never thought much of that song anyhow, and into married life, the mandatory Thanksgiving listening usually exacerbated the tension of the holiday for me.
Sorry for any Arlo letdowns. Could have posted something about this in advance.
Over the past few years, we've gradually stopped doing holiday-centric music. Christmas was the first to go — several years ago — and this year we stopped doing Halloween blocks, and, as noted, the Thanksgiving airing of Alice's Restaurant.
These days there are so many ways to hear music that is specific to your current experience. If I want to hear "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" or "Thriller" or, yes, "Alice's Restaurant", all I have to do is tell Alexa, or open the Spotify app, or go to YouTube.
There is something to be said for the shared experience of having us all listen to something together, especially something with shared associations, but that's becoming less & less of a thing. Increasingly, by using our pause, skip, and cache features, our RP experience has become less synchronous. There's a loss in that, but one that is more than compensated for (in my opinion, anyway) by the convenience of those features.
RP is also very much a global station, so US-specific holidays like Thanksgiving or the 4th of July naturally receive less of a focus.
The bottom line is that while there are lots of places to scratch a specific musical itch, there are very few places where you can find a thoughtfully-crafted and diverse musical flow. That's our niche, and that's where our focus is.
That said, I hope you all had a great time yesterday — whether it was Thanksgiving or just Thursday :-)
It's just a nostalgic song from a 60's hippie. Controversial? Offensive? As if it doesn't take a leaf blowing by the window to cause ridiculous arguments around here.
I hadn't missed it in 12 years. A shame.
Oh yeah....Happy Thanksgiving.
What? No giblet gravy? No cranberry sauce? No magic lamp? All gone? Just like that?
It's just a nostalgic song from a 60's hippie. Controversial? Offensive? As if it doesn't take a leaf blowing by the window to cause ridiculous arguments around here.
I hadn't missed it in 12 years. A shame.
Oh yeah....Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy T-Day.
The song found a way to be played at my table. I'm not proud, or tired. Gotta stop war and stuff.
