Raised on the Radio

[Space Cowboy]

I am just curious as to how radio stations are around the world. Mine is 99.3 The Eagle, and it is classic rock (softly) and dives a little into the 80's (Tears For Fears & Cars). And i swear they have one playlist of about 1,000 songs that they put on shuffle everyday. The only Dylan they play is Knockin' on Heaven's Door, The Beatles apparently only have 5 songs, and I don't want to hear Kenny Loggins telling me I'm All Right everyday. I also think my station is having an affair with Steve Perry. By the way, Mother Nature's Son is playing on my playlist. They play the same 4 Journey songs daily. Every contest they have, Journey is one of the bands I'm having to guess. I've even started a Word document of all the songs that are overplayed and I'm going to send it to them when it's 7 pages long. Post back if you have an interesting, or lousy radio station in your neck of the woods.

----Yoda

Edited December 26, 2007 by Guest

[The Seeker]

I was in Canada once, for three weeks... the local station had a playlist they repeated every 24 hours. I knew it by heart after two weeks. it was somewhere in the woods of Nova Scotia though, far away from everything else, so people probably didn't notice...

(now let's see who will be the first one to make a joke or derogatory comment about Canada )

[TheLizard]

Canada sucks!

The classic rock station out of San Antonio isn't too bad. They're far from perfect though. They rarely delve into album tracks, they play too much hair metal, and every once in a while they'll get stuck on a song that they feel they have to play every day for a few weeks. The classic rock station I listened to in Seattle was much better.

The modern rock station we have here, however, sucks tremendously. It's almost all s***ty alt-metal, and it's the same playlist every freaking day. Oh well, that's why there's internet radio.

[Batman]

Pretty much every classic rock station I've ever come across is pretty bad, and Portland's is no exception. Portland's alternative station is better than most, although not enough that I would listen to it unless my CD player is broken.

[johnnyguitar]

I spent a (fantastic!) week in San Marco Island, Florida, once...the only drag was hearing total MOR rock blaring out of the radio the whole time...you would think that Styx, REO, Free, Stones and Frampton were the only music they had ever heard!

It was both 'cool' and totally 'shite' at the same time....it gave me a great memory of the holiday, but I didn't half want to rush into the bar and shout 'This is all old bollocks....listen to something new'!

Jx

Edited December 27, 2007 by Guest

[Otokichi]

If the Songfacts staff hadn't passed on Great Big Sea a while back, they'd be relocating to the Canadian maritimes posthaste.

The Honolulu radio scene is divided so: MOR Rock, some Hip Hop, and music of Hawaii artists. Due to the topography of the islands, AM radio is alive and well, since valleys and mountain ranges kill line-of-sight FM. One consequence of this is the popularity of Kauai and Maui AM radio stations among folk in Haleiwa and Ka'a'awa, respectively. Satellite radio? It doesn't exist outside the continental 48.

[_Laurie_]

The last year or so I've discovered 107.7 The Lake...very good radio station..very few commercials, no silly conversations with DJ's, and no contests....They play mostly deep cuts from albums that you don't hear on other stations very often...I love it!...Mostly all classic rock and once in awhile they will throw in a few more recent songs also...before The Lake I use to listen to The Fox, and WCMF...which I still do once in awhile...

[edna]

I don´t listen to radio in Spain. It´s more than crappy. They only play spanish stuff or salsa or latin or hip-hop or anything I dislike.

There were three excellent radio stations in the 70s and part of the 80s. The djs were friends who helped the new musicians to air their music and also played the best American/British/Australian music there was.

But now it´s over.

[Jill]

The classic rock station in Atlanta does the same thing a lot of you describe.

Every time I *have* to listen to it (if I'm driving the car w/o sallelite radio or a cd player) I swear they are playing "Wonderful Tonight", "Nights In White Satin", the same three Elton songs, the same three Fleetwood Mac songs, the same three Stones songs, etc. Thankfully I seldom have to listen.

Satellite radio is great; I have it on at home and in the car, and I've just signed onto Pandora.com, so at least I can listen to some unfamiliar "new" stuff I might like so I don't seem like such a geezer.

Thankfully these new outlets give us good stuff to listen to as opposed to commercial radio, which is sliced & diced preprogrammed crap.

When I was young I had the privilege of listening to WABC in New York City; now THAT was fun (although older people at the time probably thought THAT station was crap).

[Ombre Vivante]

There is a radio station here in SoCal that plays all the classic Spanish and Latin American Pop and Romantic ballad stuff from the 70s and 80s. I like that station for being the only Spanish-only station to break format by not playing mexican "banda" and "norteno" crap (quite possibly, the most godawful music in existence - and I use the word "music" liberally).

[lonelyday]

I don´t listen to radio in Spain. It´s more than crappy. They only play spanish stuff or salsa or latin or hip-hop or anything I dislike.

When i was in Spain i listened to a station called Europa FM...we never actually changed the station on the radio to see what else there was. But everyday at about the same time they would play Wonderwall by Oasis...which was kind of nice...but kind of strange at the same time.

That's the problem with radio though...it's always repetitive and with something like a classic rock station you will rarely hear something that you've never heard before or even that you've never heard on that station that same week. And with new music stations new singles saturate the airwaves and are repeated every hour or so which is just plain frustrating.

I've heard that bfm, an indie/alternative station we have here is quite good...but i generally just stick to cds.

[bazooka]

If you're into listening online

• 3wk.com offers three streaming stations (Classic Rock, Indie Rock, 80s/90s Rock) that are not the same old same old. I believe this is all still free, with enhancements for a paid membership.
  
  
  
  
• pandora.com Create multiple stations of your own based on your favorite stuff. If you haven't tried Pandora, you absolutely ought to. It's the Web's gift to all US music lovers. (Broadband required)

[Jenny]

Our local classic rock station, 103.7, is pretty good. This is what I listen to most days at work. Their play list has gotten so diverse that '90's and even music from earlier this decade (e.g. Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down) is being played. I really enjoy the variety, since not too long ago, they would play "My Sweet Lord" about three times a day!

I don't have satellite radio, but I don't commute too far to work, so I mostly play 106.3, the '90's and now. In the morning, it's more urban and Top 40 due to them broadcasting in a syndicated morning show, but after 10 am, it's not so bad, but I wouldn't mind a little diversity.

[bazooka]

Here's the Live Stream from KRSH, The Krush 95.9 wine country radio, that boasts "an eclectic array of Blues, Americana, Rock and Roll, Folk and Singer Songwriters, Rhythm & Blues, Soul and Gospel, Rockabilly, Jazz, Reggae and World".

It often runs a bit "folky" for my personal taste, but they have some excellent specialty programs.

[ledjam9]

There are about two good radio stations in my area. The best is PYX 106.5. It plays great Classic Rock tracks, but they have too many advertisements and their hosts talk too much. Get on with the music!