At one time, radio filled in my day. Not so much music as Tiger games and various radio talk shows (but not political ones). In the car, it was always on. Even five years ago, I listened to NPR most of the day at work.
Now, not so much. I tend to cart around my boombox and listen to audio books.
Where did my love of music on the radio go? Why do most radio stations play music that I don't like now when I can find lots of great music on the NPR site for instance.
Why are all the general interest radio shows gone?
Do you listen to the radio much?
24 comments:
Patti - Radio has changed dramatically I think. I listen to music a lot because I'm a music person. But as far as music that's not commercial? I think that's gone to satellite radio. To get the innovative music, the talk shows that aren't political and so on, you have to look very hard on the 'regular' band of radio or go satellite.
When I grew up Top 40 AM radio was always on, and I continued listening to a variety of things for many years. Now, hardly ever. If I'm in the car by myself I have the radio on, but that's about it. Sometimes when I'm working I'll have Pandora playing on the computer, but that's not really the same.
For a while there it seemed like every time I found a station I liked, it changed format a month later. Maybe I just gave up.
I listen to NPR's Morning Edition in the morning and the local oldies but goodies station in my van. If I'm driving my husband's car, which has satellite radio, I like to listen to the 80s New Wave channel. It never occurs to my kids to listen to the radio--they have I-pods and they also listen to sites like Pandora. Yes, another medium slides toward irrelevance.
When I was a commuter, NPR was my morning and afternoon companions. Moreover, I had the classical station on most of the day (which, at the time, was the same station). Now, I commute once a week and, when I do, I'm listening to an audiobook (or Christmas music) in the morning. In the afternoon on those days, I'm jamming to loud rock and roll. During the day, I'm more prone to listen to my own music on random, to create my own radio. Plus, radio stations here in Houston, other than the three public ones, basically aren't that good. So, I ain't missing much.
Not as much as I used to. NPR was a favorite, John Boy & Billy week mornings(still catch it occasionally). The profusion ans ease of music everywhere makes radio pretty much a relic these days.
I've only ever listened to radio for music, and occassionally short sports shows (football). I listen to Satellite radio a lot now on my drive and they generally have pretty good music.
Only listen for a few minutes each morning and night driving to and from work ... can't handle the bullshit on sports radio for long and the commercials ruin the music end of it. Usually slap in a CD and listen to it at some point during the drive.
I prefer silence to any form of commercial radio. There's a good classical station in LA that has a relay out here in the desert, but when they get to talking over-preciously about the composers or playing bombastic symphonies, I hit the off button.
NPR readers and personalities have gotten to sounding too smug over the years. But [old man grumbling] I may have just come to hate the sound of people talking.
When I lived in Massachusetts, I listened to the Loren & Wally Show. Now I basically listen to NPR although reception can be a bit spotty here. I don't make an effort to listen to the radio except while driving, but I do try to catch Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Diane Rehm's Friday news hours, and Ira Flatow's Science Friday. Music remains in the realm of a few cherished CDs and the internet.
No, do not listen nearly as much as I used to do. My local oldies station basically cut out the early 60's in favor of the 80's and I do not want to hear that (sorry, Deb). The two djs I used to listen to most days from 9 to 3 are both gone (one has since died). Also, since Jackie is now home all day my schedule is different. We're much more likely to listen to CD's than the radio, except in the car.
Jeff M.
Diane listens to NPR all day long. Like James, I grew up listening to Top 40. Now I listen to radio when I'm driving around. Most contemporary music is unlistenable so I'm usually tuned to an Oldies station or a classical music station.
My commute is a 10-15 minute walk (depending on urgency and ice) or a 5 minute drive to the school and then work. I usually have the radio off on morning drives.
My walks are accompanied by audiobooks.
At work I listen to iTunes or BBC6. I used to listen to Little Steven's Underground Garage (weekly radio show) online all the time.
When I had a Sirius subscription I listened to Howard Stern religiously at work (wearing headphones).
Phil has to have the radio on in the car so usually we listen to a classic station out of Canada as we can't get public radio from Ann Arbor on that radio.
I guess no one gets the pleasure I got as a kid or young adult, or even earlier, my parents got listening to radio shows. What I know about classical music, I learned from the great Karl Haas.
I tried Satellite, hoping they might have more variety-but doggone it they didn't have too much more. Only one or two classical stations for instance.
Well, of course, I listen to radio and radio-esque podcasts for most of my working and commuting day.
There is no shortage of good music on the radio waves, if one has any college or public stations handy (and even the rare commercial one, though the commercials annoy me much more than the '70s FM DJ hum of NPR/PRI/APN sorts...perhaps except when they are Ira Glass-level precious--too often Garrison Keillor-level, as well). The tendency toward artlessness on college and Pacifica/community radio can be refreshing.
I listen to a lot of spoken-word material, as a result...my major deviation from the public sector (including BBC) would be Philly's WURD, which has some interesting chat shows in the morning drive and later. Again, the commercials are enervating, but (for them, probably not a good thing) relatively sparse.
There's a jazz station in Seattle, KPLU-FM, that I listen to for most of each day. Even when I'm writing, since the majority of the pieces played don't come with lyrics.
Cheers,
Jeff
We only have jazz at nights. Classical days, jazzy nights. Nothing good outside of NPR for me. The other talk shows are all right wing.
Jazz? I will now plug a fellow Gustie, Kurt Elling.
http://youtu.be/xg33xJCck4E
Love him. He comes through Detroit once in a while.
As a kid I listened to the AM top 40 stations - WABC, WMCA, WINS before it became all news. At night I'd scan the dial on my transistor radio and pulled in stations far from New York, including CKLW in Detroit/Windsor.
On the way to Florida we surf the dial for stations like WOGL in Philly.
Jeff M.
CJAM 99.1 FM any good?
Sitting in the dark with a transistor radio pressed to your ear while you slooooowly turn the dial to see what distant stations you could pull in is a thrill non-geezers will never know. Oh, for the nights when the atmosphere was just right and the skip was good!
DXing (distant monitoring) is still possible, as there are still clear channel (as opposed to Clear Channel) AM radio stations (hell, I used to do the same with particularly UHF tv stations)...but most new radios do have digital tuning dials, making the little slips off beam harder to catch up with...(and you sure can't do it with digital television signals, which too often can barely be picked up within their designated transmission area).
In the car it's right wing radio - unless my wife is along - fascinating what those folks have to do to please and keep their audience. At home is radio from the internet -bluegrass music.
I only listen in the car. Oldies rock and talk shows.
As a teen I used to tune in on Sunday nights, when the local NY stations were silent, and the best reception I got was from WWVA, Wheeling, West Virginia. I didn't make me a country fan, though.
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