If it's on the dial, over the air, on the cable, or just plain Out There, it's fair game for 'Station Break with Paul Farhi.' Bring your comments to the conversation on America's Fastest Growing Pop Culture Chat.

Farhi was online Tuesday, July 1, at 1 p.m. ET.

A transcript follows.

Farhi is a reporter in The Post's Style section, writing about media and popular culture. He's been watching TV and listening to the radio since "The Monkees" were in first run and Adam West was a star. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Los Angeles, Farhi had brief stints in the movie business (as an usher at the Picwood Theater), and in the auto industry (rental-car lot guy) before devoting himself fulltime to word processing. His car has 15 radio pre-sets and his cable system has 500 channels. He vows to use all of them for good instead of evil.

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Paul Farhi: Greetings, all, and welcome...Well, you've come to the right place. As is our custom, today we'll have our traditional pre-July 4th fireworks extravaganza, free with every admission. Please keep the kids back...And speaking of kids, I was musing the other day (do you ever muse?) about the state of rock music these days. Not so good, in my estimation. Well, kind of a downer, actually. So much of what I hear is dark, angsty, melancholy. In fact, here are the top five Hot 100 rock tracks, as measured by Billboard. The titles and band names tell you pretty much what you need to know: 1. "Inside the Fire" (Disturbed); 2. "Addicted" (Saving Abel); 3. "Rise Above This" (Seether); 4. "Devour" (Seether); 5. "Given Up" (Linkin Park). Check out the lyrics; everyone's miserable, mopey, a hateful loser (or one's ex is)...Is there no joy, no fun left in rock? Don't get me started (because I'll sound like more of an old fogey than I already am), but back in the day, rock sounded a whole like happier and hopeful, from the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who through Led Zep, Eagles, U2. Heck, even Foreigner, Boston, Skynryd, etc.

Sure, you've got your Weezers, your O.A.R.s and all, but these seem like exceptions, rather than the mainstream rule.

Am I missing something, or has rock gone into a Dark Age?

Let's go to the phones...

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Arlington, Va.: I listen to Opie and Anthony on XM and I have to say that as soon as they come off terrestrial radio and onto their XM-only show they are considerably less funny. What say you?

Paul Farhi: I was never a big O&A fan, but their post-St. Patrick's era has been superior to their pre-St. Patrick's era (background: O&A were bounced off terrestrial radio in 2003? for a sex stunt staged in St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC; they were then rehabilitated and returned to regular old radio). In any case, I can no longer hear them in the D.C. area since they were dropped here, so I can't make much of a comparison.

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Big 100's format: Paul: I'm writing in way early, so I don't forget. I was listening to Big 100 while getting my haircut and here are the songs they played, in order:

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Freebird

Stevie Wonder: Signed, Sealed and Delivered

The Clash: Rock The Casbah

Johnny Nash: I Can See Clearly Now

Looking Glass: Brandy

Who in the world are they formatting this station for? Does that sound like a logical playlist for a station, any station? I happen to like almost all of those songs, but I found it jarring to hear them played in succession. I normally listen to satellite and this didn't exactly make me want to turn on Big 100 in my car.

Paul Farhi: I wonder if they've been nudged by the advent of 105.9's oldies playlist, and are trying to be a bit less rigid...And anyway what's wrong with those songs (okay, I might red-pencil "Brandy" and "I Can See Clearly," but otherwise I'm liking the era- and genre-spanning selections)...

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Mike Barnicle, Part Deux: Although probably just a coincidence, the Gene Weingarten Pulitzer Prize-winning article is less than completely original.

In his chat, he claims he will not surrender his Pulitzer. Any chance his employers will persuade him to forfeit the award?

Paul Farhi: I thought that was a fascinating column. But I would defend Gene completely. You have to ask: Did he know about the earlier column? (Unlikely, given the obscurity of the publication and the age of the earlier stunt). And doesn't his piece stand on its own, regardless of whether this has been done before? The only issue, if any, is whether they should give Pulitzers for stunts like his. I guess there's some argument there, but his piece DOES stand on its own merits.

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The triplecast: Paul, what's your take on whether HD radio is about to subsume the XM/Sirius duopoly?

And how do you think the radio stations in this region (particularly WAMU and WETA) are doing in this realm? And might we see a D.C. sports broadcast get moved onto an HD2 or HD3 channel so that people can actually find it?

Paul Farhi: HD radio will NOT subsume anything. It's a failure, as far as I can tell (and it's sort of hard to tell, since no one seems to know how many HD radios there are out there). ONly a few stations (WAMU, for example) really promote what's on their HD channels. And not many stations are doing anything truly innovative with their second, third and fourth channels. The XM/Sirius duop (or monop, depending on the FCC) has other problems, but HD radio isn't one of them.

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RE: Sure, you've got your Weezers: I don't know if those Weezer guys are all that happy. Someone destroyed one of their sweaters, after all.

Paul Farhi: But Weezer is one of the few bands that you can listen to without thinking, "Oh, why go on?" "Beverly Hills" is a little bit o' fun. And their latest is chock full o' self esteem and spunk:

I'mma do the things/That I wanna do

I ain't got a thing/To prove to you

I'll eat my candy/With the pork and beans

Excuse my manners/If I make a scene

I ain't gonna wear/The clothes that you like

I'm finally dandy/With the me inside

One look in the mirror/And I'm tickled pink

I don't give a hoot/About what you think ...

Possible explanation: Weezer has been around a while. Maybe they've developed more than one gear...

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Nader "What's my alternative? Should I go to Monterey and watch the whales?" : I used to like him, but now I wish he WOULD just go watch the whales. Seems like a pleasant enough activity to do during retirement.

Paul Farhi: Maybe because I've listened to his arguments for too long, I'm sympathetic to Nader. Why shouldn't he run? "Because he has no chance" isn't an answer. This is a democracy, and we're entitled to alternatives. Nader is certainly an alternative. If you don't like him, you have the right not to vote for him. But Democrats have done something very un-democratic in the past--they've tried to keep him off the ballot. I'm not advocating for or against Nader, but preventing people from voting for him seems sinister and un-American.

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The state of rock music these days: It all started with grunge, a reaction to the "I just want to party and have fun" era of big-hair '80s rock bands. Grunge musicians wanted us to think about stuff, not just party. I don't want to go back to the time of White Snake, but I would like to hear some happier tunes out there. Maybe the creative juices flow more strongly when the artist is unhappy.

Paul Farhi: I think you're right. But grunge was, what, nearly 20 years ago? That's a few eons in rock history. Time to move on, folks.

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But Weezer is one of the few bands that you can listen to without thinking, "Oh, why go on?": Paul, I was just joking. I mean, if a destroyed sweater is the worst thing they can think to sing about...

Of course, they do have that song "Hash Pipe."

Paul Farhi: Of course...And darned if I don't love "Hash Pipe."*

*No endorsement of illegal drug consumption is implied or explicit.

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washingtonpost.com: Editorial: Unneeded at Any Speed ( Post, June 27)

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Arlington, Va.:94.7 is turning into little more than a top 40 station. They play the same 10 or 15 songs non-stop. Any buzz in the business about 101.9 in NY. Now that is a real station playing a good mix of old and new.

Suggestion for a drinking game -- A drink every time Cerfe says the word "cool." You would be plastered in 30 minutes.

And Chris Core is back big time with his personal testimonial adds -- I am so glad he gets a boost from his protein drink. Let's hope he keeps his daughter out of the promotions.

Paul Farhi: I have trouble getting a fix on 94.7, but maybe that's the whole point. Eclectic radio is supposed to be, you know, eclectic. Still, it's tough for me to find a way in (and for godsakes, please kill the admittedly increasingly rare "eco" messages--it seems quite phony and contrived).

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Gloom Rock: Oh, I don't know, how about "four dead in Ohio," or that Buffalo Springfield song about "something happening here" (sorry, the name escapes me), or "War (What is it good for?)"? (Not that I'm putting any of the artists that you mentioned on a par with CSNY et al.) As a nation, we're in a pretty bad mood these days, regarding both the economy and the war, so why should it be surprising that dark (cathartic?) rock is doing well?

Paul Farhi: You refer, of course, to two great late '60s/early '70s anti-war/protest songs--"Ohio" by CSNY and "For What It's Worth" by Buff. Springfield...Well, taking on big social issues seems like a pretty legit role for rock, which IS the music of rebellion. But that's not what today's music does. It's more personal, more generically "life sucks." And I dig the economic/social context of the music. But this stuff predates $4-gallon gas prices. It really predates Bush.

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Clifton, Va.: Thank God for XM and Soul Street and their classic rock channel after 94.7 went green and changed their format. Sorry Cerphe. had been listening to Cerphe since 1973. Also like the jazz station on XM and Wynton Marsalis's Saturday afternoon jazz show. Great music and he provides me with a great education.

Paul Farhi: Yep. As noted many times before here, satellite radio has the channel capacity and the time to do what conventional commercial radio (and even non-commercial radio) no longer does.

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Beltsville, Md.: FYI, Rise Above This is actually supposed to be an uplifting song. Granted, the person it was written about committed suicide just after it was written, but it was supposed to be uplifting. And the Saving Abel one is an ode to....well....something non-Post friendly.

Paul Farhi: Oh. I feel so...not uplifted.

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Don't Blame Kurt: Nirvana was cranky, but not depressed.

These current bands are probably depressed because they just realized they're never going to be Nirvana.

Paul Farhi: Nirvana wasn't depressed? A band that recorded this song ("Rape Me")with these lyrics wasn't depressed:

Rape me

Rape me, my friend

Rape me

Rape me again

I'm not the only one

I'm not the only one...

Hate me

Do it and do it again

Waste me

Rape me, my friend

I'm not the only one

I'm not the only one...

My favorite inside source

I'll kiss your open sores

I appreciate your concern

You're gonna stink and burn

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Paul Farhi: Oh, and some news about one of our local guys (Bennett is ex-Clear Channel, ex-Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting honcho). This just in:

NEW YORK - Air America Media has named Bennett Zier, a veteran media industry executive and entrepreneur, as its chief executive officer. In this New York-based role, Zier will help expand and grow the Air America brand by spearheading on-air, online and video initiatives. Zier will lead the executive team, providing the execution of strategic goals and objectives....

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Centreville, Va.: Are ratings for radio stations available to the general public? Once in a while, you see ratings posted in the newspaper, but if you want specifics (i.e., ratings during a certain hour or timeframe), not just overall ratings for station...how does the regular Joe obtain that information?

Paul Farhi: Good question. I'm not sure you can. Arbitron doesn't even make those numbers available to us at the newspaper (we get them from kindly local stations, which pay Arbitron for the data in the first place).

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Re: Nirvana was cranky, but not depressed. : Really? Kurt Cobain killed himself out of crankiness, not depression?

Paul Farhi: Yep. Sad but sadly true.

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Beltsville, Md.: Hey, you want uplifting? There's always Miley Cyrus, in that exceptionally fake/saccharine way. It's not like The Beatles were always happy and uplifting. Not saying one is better than the other, just saying that's all.

Paul Farhi: Oh, I'll say the Beatles were better than Miley Cyrus, even if you won't (such a bold statement! Thank you very much...)...And besides, Miley ain't rock. The Beatles weren't always, either, but they were a lot of the time.

And, dear Lord, I've now written the Beatles and Miley Cyrus in the same sentence. Please forgive...

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Rockville, Md.: The state of rock music these days:

Paul,

I remember back in the day on New York Radio, and here in D.C., when formats and playright will far more heterogeneous; that is, a large sampling of songs by black artists along with more pop and rock songs by white singers and groups These days, other than WASH-FM and 105.9, radio is way too segregated to my taste. I even remember when R and B stations like Magic 102.3 would play somgs by "blue-eyed soul" artists like Hall and Oates, Lisa Stansfield, Average White band, etc., and I still love 102.3, but even those stations are as segregated as the rock stations. I realize that top 40 stations have more of a mix of artists, but they also cater to a much younger audience. Is there any hope for other stations to be more diverse in their programming?

Paul Farhi: I don't think more variety is in the cards. People always SAY they want more diversity, but every time a station tries it ("The Globe" may or may not be the best example, but it is AN example), the public rejects it. Programmers aren't complete idiots--they know that certain segments of the audience want a certain kind of music. Of course, this is all about business--"segmenting" a group of listeners enables your station to attract a certain type of advertisers--but let's get over that already...

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Happiness is a warm gun: An ever so cheerful song.

Are you sure music used to be happier, or did it just sound happier? "Last Kiss" was a happy-sounding song about a guy's girlfriend dying. "Glory Days" was a happy-sounding song about a guy so pathetic he has to talk about other people's high school glory (because he didn't have any of his own -- think about it, he only tells stories of his friends' high school antics in the song) and who thinks life stops after age 18. And there was the afore-mentioned For What It's Worth, War, as well as songs like Blinded by Rainbows, etc.

Not saying I don't get tired of hearing about suburban boy angst all the time in modern rock. Just, er, I'm not sure music used to be much more cheerful.

Paul Farhi: Fair point. Metallica and Black Sabbath weren't exactly peppermints and daisies, either. Darkness is a long running rock theme, to be sure.

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Re: Gloomy Rock: The Boss could be pretty gloomy (Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska) and tell individual stories, though not necessarily about him (unless it was about his relationship with his dad). Although, he did get personal as his marriage was falling apart on Tunnel of Love.

Paul Farhi: I was waiting for the Springsteen example. Thing is, he's NOT just one thing. He's done lots of darkness and dread, but overall his themes are overcoming struggle, having faith, enduring. Check out the story on Bruce in Saturday's paper (in the religion section); a Unitarian minister has just published a book assessing the spiritual themes in Springsteen's music. He covers it pretty well.

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Alexandria, Va.: I haven't thought about Billboard's list in years, not since I was listening to the Top 40 on WEAM 1390 (now home to the Nationals' Spanish broadcasts). So Billboard is still in business? How do they compile these lists? It's not like I can go down to Tommie Summers Record Shop and pick up the latest hot singles.

Paul Farhi: The lists are lot more "scientifically" done than in the olden days. They're based on actual sales, and actual radio plays. Kind of objective. Or at least as objective as the music business, with all its checkered history, can get.

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It's not like The Beatles were always happy and uplifting.: This is true, but I think there's a difference in what the Beatles were doing and much of today's rock music. The Beatles sang about things they didn't like and wanted to change, trying to get people to listen to a message. The stuff we're talking about with today is more of a message that things suck so badly you shouldn't even try -- just be depressed and do nothing, because there's nothing you can do about it.

Paul Farhi: Yes, it's one thing to wallow in a problem, which seems to be more of the current pose. And lest we forget, the Beatles sang:

I've got to admit it's getting better (Better)

A little better all the time (It can't get more worse)

I have to admit it's getting better (Better)

It's getting better since you've been mine

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Silver Spring, Md.:"HD radio will NOT subsume anything."

Well, I can't miss this opportunity to mention that WETA, one of the original testers of HD Radio technology, is not using that technology. Frankly, it's weird. HD Radio is pushed heavily by public radio stations everywhere but not by WETA. I guess since they know they have horrible programming -- the Bells of St. Genevieve will appear sometime this week like it did last week and the week before, etc. -- since they aren't even close to using all 50,000 CDs they claim to have in their library.

WAMU is better in promoting HD because it has unique content, the bluegrass stuff. The only way HD would take off if it has unique local content. Most stations, however, continue to use satellite feeds for the extra stations.

Paul Farhi: Yes. What I've never understood is that since it's a free channel (or channels), why don't stations put some experimental stuff on there and see what happens? No one's listening now, with retreaded mainstream formats, so what would be the risk? As for WAMU, kudos for them for at least keeping a semi-popular (and rarely heard) format around, if only on an HD channel.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Re: Rock radio

I have taught my 2-year-old to say, "More Rock, Less Rock" whenever people start talking on the radio. This irritates my wife who likes to listen to NPR when driving the kiddies about but it's fun.

I'm afraid I must remind 94.7 and 100.3 about the "Pink Floyd" rule, which specifies that songs by this group can only be played after lunch and, preferably, after dark. Morning commutes are tough enough without listening to "Welcome to the Machine." I would call the station but I figure the "programmer" is a PC somewhere in India.

Paul Farhi: Yes, well, NPR is perhaps preferable for kids than "Another Brick in the Wall" (just what you want: Mom and Dad singing along to, "We don't need no edu-cai-tion"). At least with NPR, the kids will just be mystified by the content, not turned into hellions.

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Rockville, Md.: What are future TV commercials going to do if they don't have cheery music to use?

Paul Farhi: Good point. And in related news, as Steve Harvey once said to young people about their love of rap: "Someday, you're going to go to your high-school reunion, and y'all are gonna want some real love songs to dance to."

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More darkness: Used to be that a lot of country music was about life sucking, too. And the blues, of course.

(The other chatter had a good point about "Last Kiss." Same for "Leader of the Pack" and "Teen Angel" (I think) -- there were a bunch of car/motorcycle crash songs back then.)

Paul Farhi: True, but country songs were/are kind of funny about it, weren't/aren't they? There's a wink behind a lot of it...And, ah yes, the teen death songs. I guess those qualify as proto-Nirvana.

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Just what you want: Mom and Dad singing along to, "We don't need no edu-cai-tion"). : And you can follow it up with "You gotta fight... for your right... to parrrr...tay."

Paul Farhi: Even moms and dads gotta love the Beastie Boys on that one.

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Falls Church, Va.: I always thought it was funny when folks criticized all the violence in rap music. Of course when they were younger, a lot of the complainers were singing along with Neil Young:

Down by the river, I shot my baby, dead, shot her dead...

Paul Farhi: But, c'mon. There's far less violent imagery in rock (or was) than there is/was in rap, particularly the classic gangsta stuff.

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Darkness is a long-running rock theme, to be sure. : I think it's a higher percentage these days, though.

Paul Farhi: My point, too.

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Beltsville, Md.: NONONONONONONONONO, The Beatles are about one billion times better than Mizz Cyrus. I was trying to imply that neither sad nor happy was automatically better.

Paul Farhi: Well, I agree there. It's insane to argue that music should be happy. But it's also depressing that it can be so relentlessly depressing, too.

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What are future TV commercials going to do if they don't have cheery music to use?: They are making up their own. I tried to find a song I liked that played in some commercial. Did a little research and found out it was written just for the commercial, no complete song existed, and I felt foolish for liking it after that.

Paul Farhi: I wonder if you're guaranteed a long-term annuity if you come up with an upbeat rock song these days. I think Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" moved from the radio to a bunch of TV commercials within about 12 minutes.

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Fairfax, Va.:"Rock and Roll has always been this joy, this certain happiness that is in its way the most beautiful thing in life. But rock is also about hardness and coldness and being alone ... I finally got to the place where I realized life had paradoxes, a lot of them, and you've got to live with them."

-- Bruce Springsteen

Paul Farhi: Thoughtful, that. But whadya expect from that fella?

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Skynyrd?: Can you please cease and desist from referencing Lynyrd Skynyrd in your weekly chatfest? I believe the great Steve Earle said it best, referring to them as "a bunch of inbred rednecks."

He tells a great story about being in Mexico, listening to a radio station that came in and out, and catching that "Van Zandt died." He thought it was Townes and was inconsolable for days until the confusion was lifted.

That's all I've got....

Paul Farhi: I'll get off the classic rock obsession, but first a brief defense of Skynyrd. Considering their background (rural, poor, Southern), they most distinctly WEREN'T what Earle called 'em. I defy you to find one bit of hatred or even macho posing in what they did. Nothing wrong in my book with being fun, fast, humorous, rebellious and most definitely not full o' themselves.

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Gloomy Rock as a Reflection of Today's World: I heard Jon Mayer talk about this a little in an interview. He said he wrote "Waiting for the World to Change" as a reflection of what he saw around him; said that nobody could relate if he had written "Making the World Change." Of course, then he got Jennifer Aniston, so why should I listen to him gripe about anything?

Paul Farhi: I like that song. I'm just sorry Mayer had to be the guy who sang and wrote it.

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The Airless Cubicle: Paul -- What do you think of the proposal to give over what is now Channels 5 and 6 to FM radio broadcasting? I think it is a good idea, especially if they allow the AM stations to fill those slots first.

Paul Farhi: The FCC has been trying to figure out what to do with those channels ever since it began concocting the plan to move TV stations to digital technology in the mid-1990s. So, this was (somewhat) expected. But I can't think this is going to help radio. Does anyone think MORE radio broadcasting is going to be good for the business? I'd use that spectrum to develop NEW technologies (I don't know which, but I'm sure there's some).

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Wait, what???: I LOVE the Globe! I pretty much alternate between WTMD, the Globe, and Spectrum on my Sirius.

Are people not listening to the Globe?

Paul Farhi: For the most part, they are not.

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Dark songs Equal Angry Ads!:"What are future TV commercials going to do if they don't have cheery music to use?"

Whoa, some morning show recently had a bit on how a lot of commercials are using an angrier message! All of the sudden I feel like a kid connecting the dots and seeing the bigger picture.

Angry Ads

Paul Farhi: Well, if this is actually a trend, it comes just in time for Blue October and "Hate Me:"

I have to block out thoughts of you, so I don't lose my head

They crawl'in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed

Dropping little reels of tape, to remind me that I'm alone

Playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home

There's a burning in my pride, a nervous bleeding in my brain

An ounce of peace is all I want for you, Will you never call again?

the way you never say that you love me just to put it in my face?

the way you never try to reach me, it is I that wanted this

Hate me today

Hate me tomorrow

Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you

Etc.

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RE: Skynnrd: That dude needs to maybe listen to a group's body of work before he trashes them. A southern rock band that sang we should dump all handguns into the ocean?

Hand me my lighter, man!

Paul Farhi: Free Bird!

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Music Trivia:"Teen Angel" was recorded as a joke, wasn't it? The idea that a girl would go back to a car stalled on a railroad track to get a ring. But then, it became a huge hit, when people took it seriously. Talk about laughin' all the way to the bank...

Paul Farhi: Well, sure, it's ridiculous. But it also inspired a whole cycle of teen death pop songs. And who could forget the ultimate, end-of-the-genre, nadir of the form: Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey." Which may be the worst pop song ever.

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Rock today: First off, we can probably blame Springsteen for everything. You're right, he has done some uplifting stuff, but most people know Darkness, Nebraska, even The Ghost of Tom Joad and Magic over, say, Lucky Town. And a lot of newer bands claim him as an influence. I'm betting they were influenced more by Adam Raised a Cain than, say, If I Should Fall Behind or Book of Dreams.

Secondly, the big difference between today's sad rock and yesterday's sad rock: today, people are sad because their girlfriends have left them. Yesterday, people were sad because of civil unrest and societal breakdown. There are exceptions, of course (Arcade Fire springs to mind), but not in the rock top 40. Maybe in other genres, but not rock.

Paul Farhi: I'm betting that MOST people know Springsteen's intermittent radio hits, such as "Pink Cadillac," "Glory Days" and "Hungry Heart" (and probably, because they've been played so often, the "Borns"-- "to Run" and "in the U.S.A."). Not necessarily his best stuff. As for influential, I don't know...

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The Airless Cubicle: Move the AMers to the new expanded FM band.

Close down AM radio and give it to the ham operators.

Paul Farhi: Why? The government gave the AMers free licenses, on which they've been making money for decades. Too bad that the technology is an anachronism, but you've had your day. Give the spectrum to someone else. Or better yet, SELL the spectrum to someone else, for something else.

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Chantilly, Va.: And back in the day, even songs like "Timothy" were pretty up-tempo.

For the young-uns, "Timothy" by the Buoys is the story of three guys trapped in a mine -- the narrator, Bill, and Timothy. They run out of food. They get desperate. Bill conks Timothy over the head with a rock. Bill and narrator eat Timothy. Soon after, they are rescued, with full bellies.

Nope, they don't write 'em like that anymore (to borrow from a classic by Baltimore's own Greg Kihn).

Paul Farhi:"Timothy," by the way, was voted one of the Worst Songs Ever in Dave Barry's reader poll of some years ago. The only pop song I know that references cannibalism...in a good way.

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The Worst Pop Song Ever:"Honey" is up there, but there is no topping "Seasons in the Sun". Noway, no-how...

Paul Farhi: The caller makes a good point. But I'll see your "Seasons" and raise you one "Billy, Don't Be a Hero."

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Paul Farhi: Folks, looks like we better wrap up. As promised, the annual Station Break July Fourth fireworks show (and patriotic mattress sale) will start in a few seconds (we don't need to wait until dark for our kind of fireworks)...Enjoy the holiday, and let's reassemble in a couple of weeks and try this again. In the meantime, regards to all...Paul

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