Do you hear what I hear?

[Timothy22]

Just wanted to say how GREAT is it to walk thru the malls or stores shopping and to actually HEAR the carpenter's Christmas songs being played!! I've heard Karen singing so many times this Christmas season that I've lost track. I always pick out their songs playing immediately - I sometimes wonder if others even know who she is? Hearing Carpenter's music almost makes shopping at this time of the year a joy! I actually think I like going to the malls - not to buy anything - but to hear karen singing in a puclic place! Wondering if others of you are heard Karen singing a lot in stores this Christmas? If only we could hear the other GREAT Carpenter's music played on radio etc. at other times of the year. At least we have CD's! I really believe the Carpenter's will be remembered most by OTHERS for their GREAT Christmas Music.
Merry Christmas to all!! Tim.

 

[andywithaz]

I'll try not to be dumb in this post

Yes, I have heard Karen on the radio, in the malls, and even in restaurants. The other day some chinese restaurant was playing the Horizon CD and it was wonderful. The malls have been so crowded that I can't quite tell what songs are being played but I can certainly identify Karen's voice.

 

[Chris]

This reminds me of hearing the Carpenters played in the "Old Navy" store last Valentine's season. They were playing classic pop songs of love because of the season. What was really neat about it is that in the Old Navy stores they have a great sound system and play their music very loud. When I heard the start of "We've Only Just Begun" it made me so happy. It sounded so great on that big booming sound system. To hear Karen's voice ringing out in public so loud and strong, I could not help but smile and sing along at one point. One of the employees there looked at me strangely.

 

[Bruno]

Some days ago, I got into my car to drive to work. I switched on the radio, and I was totally amazed, because there was Karen singing HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS!

I haven't heard the Carpenters on German public radio for years. Most stations seem to boycott them, just like they boycott Manilow, Diamond and Streisand.

But the station, which played HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS,is a private one, called RADIO BONN. This is the only station, which is playing lots of American Christmas songs.

When I bought CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT back in 1982, I didn't know most of the songs. I'm glad, the German public finally gets a chance to hear those beautiful songs on the radio!

Bruno
who enjoyed Bach's CHRISTMAS ORATORY in Cologne, yesterday

 

[andywithaz]

Why would the German radio stations boycott the Carpenters

 

[Bruno]

I think, they are not boycotting the Carpenters in specific, Andrew. But they just don't play music which is considered soft rock or adult contemporary.

I've often read US forum members complaining about the fact, that many radio stations in the US are no longer playing Manilow, Diamond and others, too. Is that true?

Bruno

 

[Chris]

Yes, Bruno, for the most part that is true. The light rock stations that used to play Manilow, Carpenters, Diamond, and Streisand have dropped them all. It seems especially noticeable since the year 2000. I never hear Carpenters music on the radio anymore.

Luckily during the Holiday season, we still hear lots of Carpenters. The airwaves are not quite as heavily saturated with Carpenters Christmas music as it once was a few years back, but they still get lots of airplay.

I can remember in the 80's when on Christmas Eve you could literally change your radio station when one Carpenters Christmas song was ending, and hear another one beginning on another station. It went on constantly. Boy, those were the days!

 

[jfiedler17]

The light rock stations that used to play Manilow, Carpenters, Diamond, and Streisand have dropped them all. It seems especially noticeable since the year 2000. I never hear Carpenters music on the radio anymore.

Actually, one of my more fun experiences in college (which I finished only last spring, actually) was getting away with playing all four of these acts on a regular basis at my college radio station!
In my senior year, I started and hosted my own specialty radio show devoted almost exclusively to ‘80s Top 40 hits (and occasional Hot 100 hits) that have all but disappeared from the airwaves. So, in addition to getting to play a TON of A&M stuff (relatively obscure artists like Ali Thomson, Giant Steps, Boy Meets Girl, One 2 Many, etc.; “lost” Top 40 hits from bigger names like Janet Jackson, Bryan Adams, Styx, etc.), I got to play a LOT of 45s by soft-rock artists who’ve all but vanished from the radio around here. Manilow I got away with playing a LOT by (“Somewhere Down the Road,” “Let’s Hang On,” “When I Wanted You,” “Some Kind of Friend,” “The Old Songs” …). Diamond I played a little less of, only ‘cause I don’t like his ‘80s stuff nearly as much as his ‘60s or ‘70s records. Streisand I played semi-frequently (her Don Johnson duet “’Til I Loved You,” which, despite all the criticism it usually gets, I really like, was one I loved to play to end a show). Of course, I had to squeeze the Carpenters’ “Touch Me When We’re Dancing” in every so often (and, even though it didn’t go Top 40, “(Want You) Back in My Life Again,” which is one of my all-time favorite Carpenters songs). (Pablo Cruise is another A&M soft-rock act that’s all but been banished from mainstream radio that I loved playing every so often (“Reflector” is one of my favorite ‘80s albums)).
I’m willing to bet we were just about the only college station in the country this year to have Barry Manilow or the Carpenters in rotation!
Surprisingly (especially since our station was entirely student-run (I was the oldest person there, and I’m just 24) and otherwise entirely hip-hop-and-hard-rock-oriented), I never got any complaints from management or student listeners for mixing in so much soft-rock and easy-listening alongside the more “hip” pop/rock stuff. That I could segue from something like Janet Jackson or Prince or Madonna into Firefall or Greg Guidry without any backlash from management or my regular listeners I thought was kind of cool.
I’ve been trying like mad to find a new taker for the show, so I can get it back on the air again (which has become my ultimate dream), but – considering how narrow-minded and un-adventurous radio has become, I’m, perhaps not entirely surprisingly, having an unbelievably difficult time getting a response from anybody. But I rant ...
Feeling the sudden urge to put "Back in My Life Again" on the turntable ...

 

[Rudy]

Just getting the "vibe" of this thread myself--around here, it seems I am hearing the Carpenters holiday songs played more in public places this year than any other. Think of all the other stuff they could be playing, and they do play...hearing something I'm very familiar with is reassuring. After all, I don't need to hear Michael Bolton screaming "Silent Night" at me. Or one of the umpteen replays of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer."