AOR. Your opinions.

[coloradodem2005]

I was born in 1979 so by the time I came awareness, AOR was long gone. What do you think of it? When did it truly end? What ended it?

[ordinaryaveragegirl]

1. Disco didn't help...

...and it seemed that MTV put the proverbial nails in the coffin. Why listen when you can gawk? :o It didn't just seem to happen with music, but with media in general, and people's attention spans got a whole lot shorter. I was born in 1976, so I do have some recollection of that genre in its time, and do listen to and enjoy some of it.

[Torgo Johnson]

2. Offhand...

I would say probably in the late 80's. Probably due to a number of factors, such as increasing popularity of singles tracks, increased formatting of radio stations, many of the most popular AOR groups either no longer recording or releasing substandard material and classic rock stations concentration on "hits".

I am actually not that much older than you, so this is mainly based on research I have done in the past. It would have been nice for the early 90's rock bands (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana) to have deeper cuts played because there were good songs on those albums that the record companies did not push to radio.

[coloradodem2005]

4. AOR for Alternative rock.

It might have kept music from imploding in the late 90's.

[BattyDem]

3. AOR was the best!

Every band had their own distinct sound - they wanted to be unique; they wanted to have their own identity. These days, every song on the radio sounds the same and if one artist/band gets a hit, 10 "clones" immediately follow. There's no originality; no artistry. It's all about the "formula".

AOR never really ended, it's just not as high-profile as it once was and in my opinion, media consolidation had a lot to do with that. Once the independent record labels and radio stations were swallowed up, no one wanted to take a chance on something new or on an album that didn't have any potential Top 40 singles on it. As I said before, it's all about the formula. The quality of the music doesn't matter; only the profit does. Stick with what works and don't take any chances. Radio playlists have become very "safe" and restricted. If it doesn't fit the formula and/or the format, it doesn't get played.

[Dukkha]

5. Loved It!

Back in the day of AOR the most popular usually equaled the most talented. That's FAR from the case today. It was a stoner's delight to just kick back in the bean bag, tune in on the big hi-fi, speaker towers in each corner of the room. aaaaahyeaaaah. The DJs were great too. A class act before the morning zoo MORONS came along.

WMMS in Cleveland was the KING of AOR Radio!