What would be the opposite of a Grohl? A Björk?

popularity among 18-28 year-olds has zero relevance to mainstream
success

@BakerStreetSaxSolo: Minor? It hit #11. That’s hardly minor and besides, the UK charts are a different animal than the US charts. Radio airplay has no effect on the charts and its solely sales driven.

@MayhemintheHood: “Triple A” means “Adult Album Alternative”. It’s kind of a mix between Alternative radio, Adult Contemporary radio and whatever is being played over the speakers at Urban Outfitters.

@Defenestrated: Los Campesinos! are a hard sell everywhere. I swore that a song as fantastic as “You! Me! Dancing!” would’ve been a huge hit in the UK, where indie rock can get into the Top 40 easily, but it wasn’t. I think the highest they got with a single was like 192 or something like that.

@Defenestrated: Ah, Operator Please. Another band I like. Sadly they just ditched their cute keyboardist because she’s (from rumors i’m hearing) a nymphomaniac. Also listen to “A Lesson in Crime” again. It’s excellent.

@BaseballBookshelf: (I’m responding to everyone ain’t I?) My love of She & Him actually starts with the fact I believe Zooey Deschanel is the single most beautiful woman on the planet (yes, I go for “cute” over “super beautiful”) but i’m happy that the CD is pretty good and they were fantastic at the Newport Folk Festival.

Note: I hate the Hold Steady, so while I despise most of what populates modern rock radio, knowing that I’ll never stumble on a Steady song while surfing channels makes it a little easier to sleep at night.

As for She & Him, I shared the same opinion as the author until I heard them perform live on Sound Opinions. No “hits,” but certainly something to see in person.

I was going to mention 100.3 here in Los Angeles, as i’ve been listening to that station lately and they seem to play stuff like 80′s and classic rock deep cuts, with some newer, indie bands(sorry…alternative). Sure enough, they are on that Wikipedia list. I guess i’ve been listening to a triple A station.

As far as an “indie” band with radio potential, everyone i’ve played Born Ruffians for goes nuts for it, regardless if they’re the music snob or more KROQ leaning music fan.

Another band I like to plug whenever I get the chance is Operator Please. For my money, they’re my favorite female driven power pop group out there right now, and pretty much unknown here in the states.

Maybe their frontwoman doesn’t have the classic MTV friendly looks, but I think they definitely have the sound for a possible crossover. They’re also SUPER young, and I really hope they keep it up, I’m expecting great things.

If there’s any justice, the next Okkervil River album will produce an alt rock hit…if even a minor one.

Also, I was under the impression that the Black Kids were already getting at least a modicrum of radio airplay (yes, outside of NPR even).

@DocStrange: If they have a single with a decently heavy riff on their upcoming one (2 LPs in a year!) it could make a dent. Based on what they’ve done so far, they strike me as more of an indie 103 thing than a KROQ thing. Their LP might still be my favorite album I’ve heard this year though.

The main reason bands like Foo Fighters, Chili Peppers, Green Day, etc. continue to dominate is because they are pretty much the only artists that both the indie/blog-leaning and active-leaning stations can agree upon.

With this is mind, most station owners feel like they probably can’t turn a profit and sell ads if they are playing artists that only a small, small, small fragment of the audience likes.

On a personal note, I really wish we had a BRU/FNX type station here in NYC, because, if any place needs one, it’s here.