Katy Perry -- closet alt rocker

Katy Perry broke a few years back as as alternative artist  -- her single "I Kissed A Girl" got significant airplay on alternative stations before breaking out big time on CHR.  I saw her perform on Later with Jools Holland (a music show out of England, which you can get in the US if your TV gets the Ovation channel, [or at least used to haven't seen it in awhile]).  Anyway, back then she had a rock band behind her and her performance was very edgy.

So Katy name-checks Radiohead in her latest single.  Like Lady Gaga (props to her for having the late Clarence Clemons perform on her last album) and Pink, Katy Perry is a pop artist who is a rocker at heart.  It seems almost inevitable that at some point Katy will tire of the CHR straightjacket and try something different.

When and if she does will alternative rock radio have her back?  Judging by its history I would say no.  The programmers who aren't suits obsessed with not offending the 18-36 male demographic (and often goes out of its way to offend the 18-36 female demographic) are indie snobs who are bent on reliving their glory days on their college station.

I love indie myself, but WLIR and KROQ did not become successes in the 80s by being indie purists. They played just as much Howard Jones as Replacements. When a band like Neon Trees had a radio hit they jumped on it.  They did not become successes by buying into the fiction that all women are interested in is dance pop and singer-songwriters.

The 90's are over.  What worked then won't work now.  If alternative rock radio is to survive (and as a long time listener I hope it does) it has to adapt.  I think it's starting to -- so if pop artists like Pink try to throw a little edge into their music, maybe alt rock radio shouldn't be so quick to ignore or dismiss it.