HEY LOS ANGELES RADIO-Orlando Called. It's Too Soon To Play "Pumped Up Kicks"

Tonight on the way home I was flipping through the competition (other radio stations) like normal. Who’s saying what? Who’s playing the new JT? What is our competitor giving away? I stumbled across a station playing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana which led me to a funny thought to share on Twitter right away.

I stuck around (because my focus was on completing the hilarious Tweet) and the next song was “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster thePeople.

This song was the debut single for the group which did extremely well on the charts in 2010 and 2011. It’s still a damn catchy tune! So catchy I caught myself singing along. But have you really heard yourself sing the few words you DO know?

‘Yeah, so what, Mags. Who cares? Why is this important?’

 “Robert’s got a quick hand/He’ll look around the room/He won’t tell you his plan/He’s got a rolled cigarette/Hanging out his mouth/He’s a cowboy kid.”

Catching the imagery yet? Let me continue.

“Yeah he found a six-shooter gun/In his dad’s closet, in the box of fun things/I don’t even know what/But he’s coming for you, yeah he’s coming for you.”

I’m shuddering typing these words.

“All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/You better run, better run, outrun my gun/ All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/ You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.”

Make sense yet? Let me spell it out for you.

Last weekend, Orlando, FL became home to what the media is calling “The Worst Act Of Terrorism” on American soil since 9/11. I’m pretty sure that Orlando is still trying to recover, let alone heal and I still haven’t gone one day without debating whether or not news released about Omar Mateen or the Pulse nightclub shooting is worth blogging about at my job at KOST 103.5.

While Orlando is still trying to cope with a huge loss, the rest of the country is still standing around with our thumbs up our butts trying to decide if we should ban guns or Muslims or both. Meanwhile, a station in Market #2 is playing a song about opening gun fire on a bunch of kids. “You better run…faster than my bullet.” Come. On.  It’s too soon. The wound is too fresh.

I’m not a programming expert by any means. I just love this crazy business called radio and may be acting like a sensitive Sally on this one. (I wouldn't even be offended).  But even when I was programming a country station in East Central Illinois, any time a really devastating storm rolled through (i.e. Joplin, MO), I would pull songs like “Tornado” by Little Big Town or “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood from the rotation, just for a little while. My philosophy….no one is going to be angry over the things I didn’t play; I never wanted to give someone the opportunity to be angry because of something I did play.

Perhaps the Foster the People tune isn’t directly about terrorism; but the imagery painted by the lyrics certainly could be construed that way. All I’m saying is that a little sensitivity goes a long way. “Pumped Up Kicks” is NOT a hit single right now. Heck, the band isn't even on tour. It can quietly disappear for a few weeks and no one will be wiser to your tricks big shot program director.

I’m disappointed in you, radio station-I-will-not-mention in Los Angeles. You should know better.

 

Foster The People "Pumped Up Kicks"

The lyrics are pretty powerful when you can clearly understand them. I'm not saying that this song should be banned from airwaves forever nor that we should sensor our content for listeners; rather give them a chance to heal and form their own thoughts, feelings and opinions about a situation before we shove our own ideologies down their throats. I know that's not how the world, let alone any entertainment media works, but we can all be a little more sensitive, right?

 

 

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