I’m old, but not so old that I remember the radio’s Golden Age. For me, The Lone Ranger and Tarzan were TV shows, not radio programs. But I did grow up with Dr. Demento and his Monty Python and P.D.Q. Bach soundbites. I also used to love listening to all that groovy 70’s disco on a little transistor am radio I had that was built into a toy boat. The summers always meant baseball, especially when the games went on after my bedtime. I’d fall asleep listening to the majestic tones of Harry Kalas calling a Mike Schmidt homerun or a Steve Carlton 1-hitter.
Of course, the radio was also good for tuning into school closing information in the winter when a good-sized snowstorm came rolling into our small suburb. “645, 646, both closed, 647 opening two hours late, 648, 649, 650, all closed,” some newscaster would rattled off. When and if your number was called, it was nothing short of euphoria!
Today, I listen mostly to classical music on public radio or NPR because I don’t have satellite radio and can’t stand the frequent commercials on the pop and rock stations. Yes, I own and love my iPod, and, yes, it does plug into the AUX input of my car, but for some reason I still love the radio.
Recently I was in a meeting with Charles Bronfman, one of the wealthiest men in Canada and a great philanthropist. He was relating a story at one point about a teenager he met who said she didn’t understand the point of the radio. “Why would I want someone else to pick my playlist?” she asked Bronfman.
It’s a very interesting question, and one that, perhaps, signals the impending doom of the radio. I don’t know: what do you all think? Will the iPod and its ilk kill music on the radio? What’s so good about the radio that you think it’ll always be with us? What’s your favorite thing to listen to on the radio… Click and Clack, anyone?
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After a year or so without radio, I realized I missed having people on the other end. Now I listen to a few music podcasts. I get exposed to some new music, and it’s nice listening to a familiar voice every week.
posted by jen on 9-10-2007 at 4:19 am
And just where does she learn of new music to add to her playlist?
Radio will be with us for a long time. You can’t watch TV while driving (at least not as driver, I hope), and my stack of CD’s gets stale over time. But on the radio I can get up-to-date road reports, new music, old music, or no music (talk of all stripes). I can listen to the Gospel of Saint John or the gospel of Rush Limbaugh, although the air has gone out of the gospel of Air America.
True, I could listen to most of this on an ipod (if I had one), but it would (a) be after the fact instead of real time, and (b) require me to access a computer to download the podcast and install it on my ipod.
And to close the thought, how would I know that I wanted to listen to a podcast, unless I was already familiar with the podcaster? And how do you suppose I became familiar with him/her/it unless I heard it on the radio?
- Dave.
posted by DaveR on 9-10-2007 at 4:39 am
Testing new music and loading your own playlist takes a lot of time. A teenager may have the free time, but I don’t. And I doubt that more than 1% of the people in my town have iPods.
Besides, a radio station can rotate thousands of song titles. And no iPod will tell you the temperature, or why the interstate is backed up.
posted by Miss Cellania on 9-10-2007 at 5:33 am
Harry Kalas…you must have lived near Philly. His voice is a constant in my life…I can’t remember baseball without him. I also got him to record the introduction of my wedding party!
posted by Caley on 9-10-2007 at 5:52 am
love the radio, It has been a big part of my daily routine since I was a kid. I like not knowing what is going to play next
posted by Rick Campbell on 9-10-2007 at 6:16 am
I love my iPOD and rarely listen to the radio except for XM Satellite Radio.
I use the radio as a news source but rarely for music. I do turn on top 30 hits periodically as a way to search for new music, but I also preview clips on music that has been recommended to me.
I think radio will continue to move away from music and toward talk. Radio stations are going to become more and more specialized.
posted by Karen on 9-10-2007 at 6:33 am
Yeah, you gave away where you grew up!
I’m ambivelant (sp?) about radio. I don’t listen to commercial radio at all. I’m lucky to have a public station that plays a wide variety of pop styles. But, I grew up on ’70s radio. Kasey Kasem’s American Top 40 on Saturday. The oldies show on Sunday night. Dr. Demento on Sunday morning. Maybe it’s just a nastalgia thing that makes it seem special.
I own thousands of titles so my music collection doesn’t get old. I get turned on to music through limited radio, and various print and on-line publications. I am not limited to the narrow approval of modern radio programming. Now, more than ever, radio is just a means of marketing.
My real concern is the potential demise of the physical manifestations of music we purchase. That is, I worry about music only being available as a download. We’ve already compromised the creative possibilities of the album cover (Sgt. Pepper’s being the archetype) with the much smaller CD. The tactile and visual aspect is important to me.
posted by Bassman on 9-10-2007 at 6:37 am
I don’t know what I’d do without the radio. iTunes has an internet radio option that, since I refuse to buy or watch television, has been the reason for my sanity this past year in college.
I wake up every morning and listen to morning edition on my town’s NPR, and come home from class to listen to the BBC’s World News and World Have Your Say.
I do listen to Car Talk on the way to the gym on Saturday mornings…
But there are so many other great stations…I listen to the Defcon Comedy Radio Network when I need a pick me up and the 1920s Radio Network when I need a Charleston or a jazz standard.
I know it’s probably weird, but I love the radio. The fact that Congress is trying to destroy internet radio with requirements for royalty payments, etc. makes me want to cry. (Everyone should go to savenetradio.org)
I’m probably crazy, but having the radio on is just reassuring; i know that there’s someone on the other end.
posted by kay on 9-10-2007 at 6:47 am
Radio’s like a box of chocolates…
posted by Rich on 9-10-2007 at 7:53 am
The greatest thing about radio is that it’s free. There’s no service provider to worry about, no monthly fees that increase weekly, and the equipment to receive it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Matter of fact, my 40-year-old stereo that I inherited from my dad is still working great.
posted by Anita on 9-10-2007 at 8:16 am
It is wonderful to hear that so many mental_flossers are public radio lovers! Hopefully you are all members of your local stations, too. :)
posted by Molly on 9-10-2007 at 8:27 am
My transistor radio was a yellow, Panasonic Toot-A-Loop. MAN I loved that thing!
posted by elizabutt on 9-10-2007 at 8:34 am
When I want to listen to music I usually go to my IPod-like device. When I want information, interesting interviews, wildly diverse sound I tune into NPR (WNYC 93.9 fm is my local station). Their broadcasts are so diverse I can’t even begin to describe it. From ‘Wait, Wait Don’t Tell me to Click and Clack the Tappert Bros (CArTalk) to the Prarie Home Companion to Sound Lab and everything in between. Commercial Radio just doesn’t interest me anymore.
posted by JaneM on 9-10-2007 at 8:39 am
I love the radio, and I’m a teen. I pray that it services. I like it because the radio plays songs that I don’t have, and DJ’s are fun to listen too. I also listen to NPR. I like how they play music that usually passes the mainstream radar. I also like my iPod, but it can’t replace a radio to me.
posted by Emily on 9-10-2007 at 8:46 am
I too, love NPR, especially CarTalk (although I still know nothing and care little about cars.) I have been listening since I was 14, because my father always had it on. As an adult, Dad and I carpooled into work and Morning edition and Radio Reader became a little dad-daughter bonding activity. I remember that we were listening the first time David Sedaris ever read his “Santland Diaries” and we laughed so hard we almost had to pull over. “This American Life” and “A Prairie Home Companion” are faves too.
We have no eclectic radio in Charlotte. Everything is either mainstream pop country,bubblegum pop, hiphop or “alternative” (which has become mainstream in itself.) We have one good public classical station, and used to get a fabulous eclectic station from Isothermal Community College in the mountains, but it never comes through. It’s one more proof that my lovely hometown has become the most unoriginal cookie cutter cities in the South. I finally broke down and got XM. Its my favourite toy, ever . Satellite will save radio if it comes down to needing rescued. But, I think radio has proven staying power. TV never ruined the film industry, and home video never edged out television. I think it safe.
I do contribute to public broadcasting . Sometimes I volunteer to work the membership drive – tons of fun.
posted by Allison on 9-10-2007 at 9:09 am
I’m not one for talk radio, and therefore am not an NPR fan, but I don’t listen to mainstream a lot either. I’ve always been a fan of college radio stations, because they’ll play anything and everything, and there are no commercials. I’ll listen to country as well, especially for the morning traffic updates. I don’t listen to the radio to find new songs, but I do listen to it for it’s variety. I don’t have an iPod, but even if I did, there’s just something about the radio that’s nice.
posted by Meagan on 9-10-2007 at 9:40 am
Going into work every morning and coming back in the evening, NPR is a staple for me. While I’m at work, I listen to the podcasts of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Car Talk since I don’t have the time to listen to them over the weekend.
posted by Humaira on 9-10-2007 at 10:35 am
I don’t have an Ipod but my husband and I have over 800 CD’s. Yet often we listen to the radio especially while driving. We tend to listen to either NPR or the local independent stations. They play a wide variety of music and alot of new and upcoming artists I would never hear other wise. Only every once in awhile if I’m in a mood do I listen to the pop / commerical stations to see what is new out there.
We do have satellite radio but the only time we seem to use it is on long car drives (so we don’t have to keep looking for new stations as we go). I will listen to the internet radio at work as we can’t get a normal signal in the building but I have yet to find a station that is worth while. I also have a customized station on Yahoo!Music I listen to if I want to like everything I listen to.
I remember as a kid growing up in Chicago watching the Cubs or Bears on TV but listening to the game on the radio. In fact I would still rather listen to the game on the radio today but.
posted by beth on 9-10-2007 at 10:51 am
Those of us who grew up during Napster’s infancy and were known for obtaining songs that couldn’t be purchased anywhere in the region are now going back and buying those albums online to obtain better quality versions and upload them to our mp3 players. However, there are many of us who are gravitating to radio and especially “underground radio” stations to fill our needs for hearing new artists. Now that we have careers and kids we simply do not have the time to research new music like before. I think radio is here to stay, though its purpose and delivery format will continually evolve with technology.
posted by Jace on 9-10-2007 at 11:32 am
I absolutely detest the radio, always opting instead for my iPod. Napster has initiated a music revolution, freeing our ears from the mindless top 40 hits of the latest Sheryl Crows and Nickelbacks. Finally, I can listen to whatever I want! And for free! A mind of my own, at last! Where before diversity meant choosing between the pop sensibilities of N’SYNC or the sensible pop of the Backstreet Boys, I now can enjoy all kinds of artists and genres, some so different that they defy any and all categorization. Every once in a while I give the radio another shot. I fumble from station to station, looking for one station not on commercial and when I finally find one I either turn the radio off or switch back to commercials.
posted by Boris on 9-10-2007 at 1:00 pm
Best radio I ever heard was an AM station on a cross-country drive, somewhere in one of the fly-over states.
“Bob in Shakeyville has a set of wheels for a Ford F-150. Call him at 555-1234 if you wan’t ‘em.”
Repeat ad infinitum.
posted by fixedgear on 9-10-2007 at 1:28 pm
Sirius channel 63 Outlaw country is pretty much the only place to hear all the great c&w songs i grew up with and it’s commercial free and i rarely change it
posted by lordstoli on 9-10-2007 at 6:14 pm
I never thought I’d hear MY thoughts and feelings about radio articulated as you have done, David! Indeed! I love radio and am avid NPR listener as well as the classics. I travel the world and tune into The Voice of America when possible. Click and Clack it is!
posted by Maria on 9-12-2007 at 12:00 pm
Maybe radio is just evolving… do you not consider satellite radio, radio?
I do like the radio, unfortunately for me, my local alternative station just changed to one of those “no dj’s, we play everything (everything crappy)” stations. Since then I pretty much gave up and listen to my ipod and download any NPR podcasts I want to listen to.
I think it will be interesting to see what happens as we become an “on demand” society that is accustomed to skipping commercials and listening to iPods.
posted by al on 9-16-2007 at 9:41 pm
I’m one of those freaks that doesn’t have an ipod — don’t like having things in my ears and wires hanging about.
Love NPR — esp Scott Simon’s WE Sat (I *so* missed him when he was on paternity leave!)and Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Talk of the Nation Science Friday, Click and Clack, New Dimensions… but I usually listen on my computer so I can hear it when I want, pause it when I am interrupted, or go back if I missed something. I listen to the radio when driving — have 7-8 stations I flip between if a commercial comes on, and can usually find something interesting. Sometimes it’s nice to be surprised.
posted by cedar on 9-17-2007 at 11:31 am
Radio would have a chance if popular music today was driven by art and not commerce… if labels didn’t sign who they signed and stations didn’t play who they played based on connections, money, and marketability. I haven’t heard a new, talented band on the radio in years. I don’t have an iPoop either; it’s all about the cds.
Post #2 says “And just where does she learn of new music to add to her playlist?”
uh…the internet?
posted by TMo on 10-16-2007 at 2:48 pm