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Altering song lyrics for radio play to correspond to market/location/geography

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Started 7 months ago by Walker
Latest reply from ChrisSunami

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Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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So first things first, I admit it... I was listening to WNCI today. ;)

Now that it's out of the way... I noticed in two different songs (in a row actually) shout outs to "Columbus" and "Ohio" that I didn't think were supposed to be there.

One instance was in Lady Gaga's "You and I".

The line is normally:

"There’s only three men that Imma serve my whole life,
It’s my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ"

Nebraska was replaced with Columbus.

The other song was Good Life by OneRepublic where "Ohio" was used to replace some other place (I think Colorado)?

I did a little googling and from what little info I can find, these songs are altered depending on the market the radio station is in, to make references to different cities or states or regions. I imagine the original artist is recording multiple versions (dozens? hundreds?) as it doesn't sound falsely inserted.

Does anyone know if this is a new practice? I don't listen to Top 40 stations too often (though that's about all that comes in on our little kitchen radio) but I've never noticed this phenomenon. I imagine it's a subtle marketing trick to make people enjoy the music more if their city is mentioned, but I found it more distracting than anything. And if it is a marketing ploy, it's pretty ridiculous.

Posted 7 months ago #
armyoflarry
Columbus, Ohio
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Michael Stanley Band did this same thing with "My Town" back in the 80's. Only example I can think of right now.

Posted 7 months ago #
blammo
in the shadow of the wonder of bread
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Man, I can see doing that live, but even that is pretty cheesy. I can't picture doing 48 or so different recording versions just to get a "WHOOOOOOO!!!!" from a crowd that can't even appreciate that you're just only doing to get that brief reaction.

I do remember opening for Tenacious D back a zillion years ago, and they have a song about hooking up with some girl in Michigan, and the crowd booed so loudly at the line, that they stopped the show just to get an explanation from the audience.

Having said that, it's fun to say "hello Cleveland" and "scream for me Long Beach", regardless of where you are playing. :)

Posted 7 months ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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Wow, that makes me feel just as special as when I get a form letter where my name has been inserted by a computer to make it look personal.

It doesn't seem to say much for the artistic integrity of the songs in question.

That said, how many songs are there where Columbus gets a genuine shout-out? (not counting songs from strictly local bands)

I remember Bizzy Bone forced his bandmates to give us one on a late era Bone-Thugs track, and there were a couple Lil Bow Wow songs with Columbus references.

Get the Video Player

On an unrelated note, I always liked the backing beat on that song --does anyone know where it's from? It sounds very Legend of Zelda-esque.

Posted 7 months ago #
bman
New Albany
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Starship had a song years ago that they inserted a line for the area it was playing. I think this happens more than we think.

Posted 7 months ago #
Rockmastermike
CORNspiracy HQ
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wow that's... a pointless waste of time. although I don't think at all highly of any of the music cited as examples. Guess you get what you pay for.

Posted 7 months ago #
Mister Shifter
Lewis Center
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I don't know what's more egregious, the dubbing of lyrics to correspond to different cities, or Walker listening to WNCI.

Posted 7 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Mister Shifter said:
I don't know what's more egregious, the dubbing of lyrics to correspond to different cities, or Walker listening to WNCI.

I know you love to Party Rock. ;)

Posted 7 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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blammo said:
Man, I can see doing that live, but even that is pretty cheesy. I can't picture doing 48 or so different recording versions just to get a "WHOOOOOOO!!!!" from a crowd that can't even appreciate that you're just only doing to get that brief reaction.

Yeah, exactly. It seems like it's more of a subliminal ploy to me than a live on stage shout-out.

Yahoo Answers certainly isn't the most trustworthy place in the world, but here's links to where people have heard different versions of the two songs I mentioned in quite a few markets around the US with lyrics changed to reflect the region:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110919220411AAc4nZT

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110703105053AApF7HS

Posted 7 months ago #
Anne
King Lincoln
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Richard Lewis gave Ohio State a shout out on Curb Your Enthusiasm this season, that was neat.

Posted 7 months ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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blammo said:I can't picture doing 48 or so different recording versions just to get a "WHOOOOOOO!!!!" from a crowd that can't even appreciate that you're just only doing to get that brief reaction.

I'm sure there's marketing research behind doing it. :/

And --how do I put this delicately? --there are probably places where it seems perfectly plausible to hear the name of their city legitimately namedropped in a random pop song...

Posted 7 months ago #

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