I've written that I'm now an occasional radio listener thanks to my kids. And I'm continually surprised when I hear bands/artists that we've covered years ago get play time on Top 40.

I don't mean to make that observation as a humble brag, like I'm some big dick swingin' taste maker. If you enjoy discovering music that isn't force fed to you, you also have probably made these same observations. And it's not necessarily that the internet has kept us on the cutting edge of good music, but because the music industry is soooooo slow. We are talking about the same music industry that rewarded a 'Best New Artist' Grammy to Bon Iver after he released his second album....an album that was not nearly as critically acclaimed as his first.

BUT how and why do certain bands hit the big time while others don't? They don't even necessarily have to be pop based. If you told me The Weeknd and others were going to be on the radio 3 years ago I would've larfed in your face. The Weeknd? They're way to obscure-o R&B. Hozier? Too slow; Too dark for radio. Lumineers? A hippy folkish band with like 50 members? C'mon; get real.

Walk The Moon?
Sam Smith?
Ellie Goulding?
Macklemore?
Avicii?

This brought on the question: What are we listening to today that could hit the old airwaves a year or two down the road? THUS, I'm going to create a playlist titled: 'Why aren't these guys good enough for the radio?' I'm going to dig deep for songs that are interesting, but most importantly listener friendly.

...friendly enough for our non-music obsessed friends, spouses, girl/boyfriends, and/or kids. Songs that even these assholes will enjoy. (Asshole is a term of endearment in my house). Some artists on the playlist are already relatively popular and might have their shit on XM or commercials. Some artists are more obscure. Fuck, some artist may have had their shit hit the Top 40 and I just didn't know.

Don't be a Frankie Fact Checker. This is for fun. BUT LET ME KNOW IF I LEFT ANYONE OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

Let us look into the crystal ball and remember: it only takes one song.....

Grouplove: I'm not sure if Grouplove has cracked the Top 40, but these guys have it....in the sense that they on the verge of being annoying, but don't cross that line.

Panic is Perfect: SO there is this formula that seems to be working for T-Swift (and others): lyrics that are very rhythmic in the verse and followed by a killer fucking chorus. You know: "Oh-my-God, look-at-that-face" or "You got that James-Dean-day-dream look in your eye." They are very punctuated and con-sis-tent....sometimes hitting on ev-e-ry syl-la-ble. Anyhoo, Panic is Perfect can do that too.

Cold Fronts: If you don't put a tube sock on your junk and air guitar to their song 'Hit Me' there is something seriously wrong with you.

RAC: Similar to Avicii, RAC started off re-mixing songs, but with their last album, full of originals, they've started to go down a poppier path littered with Cherry Bubble Yum and tagged in neon chalk.

Stepdad: I mentioned that my kids are the reason I turned to the dark side; and judging their reactions to a specific song could be a pretty good indicator of success. And my kids lose their shit when Stepdad is on. Figuratively and literally.

Wildcat! Wildcat!: It may be a stretch because of the heavy synth, but shit, their songs are addictive.

Kishi Bashi: Kishi Bashi has had a few songs on commericals and the dude is like Burt Reynolds in Japan. HUGE. Even though his songs can get a bit experimental at times, which I love, he can also lay down a track that you'll grandma will love too. I included 'Bright Whites' in my playlist but also check out 'Q&A' off of his latest album Lighght.

Tanlines: They don't need to change anything. 'All Of Me' is meant for for radio right now.

Rob Cantor: Okay, this dude has the viral thing going for him. You may have seen his song about Shia Lebouf that's racked 25 million views or him singing an orignal song in the voice of 29 different celebrities (which is really a hoax...he used professional impressionist and lip synchs the song). BUT his album is so the terts.

Quiet Company: These assholes from Austin always have BBQ sauce in their beards, but they can rock the fuck out. They work hard and they perform hard...even when there is like 10 people in the audience (like when I saw them). It's not fair.

Lo Noom: Fuck it. I'm going to throw Lo Noom into the mix. The dude sent us his album and Joel wrote about it. AND he's only 17. But this asshole can put a song together better than aspiring shit-heads twice his age.

Bibio: Bibio has been around for a while and is known more of an electronic artist, but if you've listened to his albums you'll know that he's all over the place stylistically. If he wanted to (and took some Ritalin to focus said styles) I think he could create a pretty fucking great pop album.

Big Data: This is another band that got pretty close because they had their shit plastered all over the XM indie stations. It's because of dat groove. LISTEN TO DAT GROOVE.

A Silent Film/Amber Run: I grouped these two together because only one UK bank that sounds like Coldplay and Keane playing twister in a lift that smells like potatoes can hit it big in 'Merica.

M83: I'd consider none of M83's stuff radio friendly right now, but we are talking about Anthony Gonzales. And if Anthony decided he wanted to go this direction he would simplify his shit into a more manageable (and shorter) verse chorus verse he would succeed. NO FUCKING DOUBT IN MY MIND. We are talking about an asshole who writes movie scores and has an arsenal of feelz he can pull out of his pants at any given moment.