Jack Penate

Hey There,

Alright - I keep hearing new singles and love this guy more and more each time I do. It seems ages since I first heard his name - but was impressed to be walking through a GAP the other day and heard 'Tonight's Today' playing over the in-store system. Now the album isn't out here until next week - but the 3 songs I know of are killer. The other 2 I've heard are 'Have I Been A Fool' and 'Be The One'.


I know I've said it before - but British radio is the best in the world. It's the best for one simple reason - they know that good music is good music (full circle raff). They can play a track by Beyonce into Will Smith's 'Gettin Jiggy With It' and then into a classic Stone Roses track. They know that it's their job to teach people about music and open them up to other genres and artists. Here in Canada the radio station is programmed by the advertisers. For argument sake the Automobile ManuFacturers are the reason why you hear so much of the same stuff on repeat. They advertise with stations (television too) that reaches the largest # of audience. There's no thought as to what is being played and to whom they are actually hitting. They go for the biggest bang for their buck. How does this dictate you ask? The radio stations fear that if they stray from playing the same 10 recognizable songs that they will lose listeners/viewers and so they don't take a chance. Jack penate would be a house-hold name if give the time to be heard. There's countless artists like him that you can say the same for. It's a shame!

It's funny that a friend of mine recently told me that they were fed up with radio as all they are hearing is Nickelback, Our Lady Peace, Kings of Leon and Arkells. The crazy thing is that the Arkells are amazing and I was so happy to hear that he even knew them. It's one in a million that broke through the mold. Note: As the title of my blog says - good music is good music - so know that I'm not knocking any of the bands - even Nickelback...I'm simply saying there's more room and that we should not allow advertisers to set the playlists.

Everybody wants to have their hand in the entertainment business. Look at what a mess Edgar Brofman Jr made of Universal. Stick to alcoholic beverages.

Give people more credit - introduce them to other music and people will generally be happier.

My quick top 5 list of songs that should be on radio in Canada right now (not just as a feature)...

1. Gossip - Heavy Cross


2. Jack Penate - Tonight's Today


3. Kasabian - Fire


4. Passion Pit - Cuddle Fuddle *I live the opening beat of this track


5. Doves - Winter Hill

Thanks for reading this far.

Gregg