The Gin Blossoms and the Fall of Radio
The Gin Blossoms formed in 1987, the same year that Mix Tapes and Empty Buildings” takes place. You may not have realized they formed in the 1980s because they hit it big in the 1990s. They are very much a 1990’s band.
The Gin Blossoms had a long history filled with ups and downs like any other band. For me the rise and fall of this band coincided with the last gasps of commercial radio. We have Pandora and now Spotify for streaming music today. Those services will let us be as narrow or as exploratory as our ears will let us. When the Gin Blossoms broke, most people got their music from the radio.
“Hey Jealousy,” their first big hit took a long time to break. I remember it when “New Miserable Experience” the album came out in mid-1992. The song got airplay but not much. The local radio station, 106.3Fm played “Jealousy” in the fall of ‘92. The song was released as a single in 1993 and it was then that the band broke.
About that time, the songwriter committed suicide and wouldn’t see the success. He had already been out of the band for awhile so the band could and would continue on.
“Found Out About You” came out next. All the radio stations that were late to discover the Gin Blossoms played catch up with that song. They played that song all the time. It was the kind of light rock that played well on adult contemporary, pop, and alternative stations. The same could be said of the next single a year and half later. “Follow you down.” The song played well on Top40, alternative, and adult contemporary. Those stations played that song several times a day, every day. The next three singles were on every station, every day.
By the end of 1996, it was too easy to hate this overplayed band. The Gin Blossoms were so pop. They weren’t revolutionary, but dozens of bands followed their lead. They started as a small alternative band that broke big. Those next bands were played every day multiple times a day.
No one could take this band anymore. No one can take the same freaking songs every day. There were so many bands not getting airplay because another Gin Blossoms sounding band were on again!
Gin Blossoms broke up and no one noticed because it was a practical relief.
Radio forgot about them and moved on to overplay someone else new. Alternative radio died out because programmers didn’t find new bands to break. The bands they did find were copies of the bands they already overplayed. 106.3Fm is a country station today. A bunch stations went to talk (hate speech) formats.
The Gin Blossoms are seen as a dated 1990s band. Radio brought their downfall themselves. The Gin Blossoms were a talented band. Their greatest hits compilation has no bad songs. They have since regrouped and played package tours and casinos. People realize “yeah they were a good band and I miss those songs.” After enjoying the songs, they go to Apple Music and find other songs during the rest of the day.
Here’s a link to their song, Hey Jealousy
https://youtu.be/ah5gAkna3jI