I find myself tuning out talk radio, as the presidential election gathers steam. Many of the hosts are still insightful and entertaining, but others are just pure and simple shills. Or worse, wanna-be kingmakers. Once I know the topic they are parsing, I generally know what they and their callers are going to say. I don't mind a good discussion, but I find myself having less and less patience for listening to like-minded people gather together and spraymark. And no, I am not "growing" in my political beliefs. I had even less tolerance for Air America, in the months that it was on the air here, for the same reasons.
The only AM station I can listen to for any length of time anymore is 1690, The Voice Of The Arts. Quite a lot of variety. They never take my requests, same as the other stations in the area, but with them I don't mind, since I always hear something new and interesting most every day.
I can't listen to the lone remaining classic rock station, 97.1, anymore. I'm sorry to say that I've heard as much top-40 classic rock as I need to ever again. I'll switch over to it, hear one chord, one note, even one drum tap, immediately recall the entire song, and then switch away. The former 96 Rock's playlist of nu-metal and 90s rock is just one long expectoration. I pity the millennium generation, who have that dreck as the soundtrack of their teen years. And Dave-FM always seems to promise a lot but never quite delivers. Just a lot of tuneless strumming, to my ears. I'm too old, probably. I'd much rather listen to Artie Shaw blowing the doors down, or Frank Sinatra moaning into his whisky sour, than anything from my own past, nowadays.
I couldn't have agreed with your radio comments more. What's scary is that I don't listen to ATL radio. Your takes, though, could unfortunately apply to any market, certainly the one I'm in. What I'd like to ask, however, is if you could expound a little more on what you have to say about Dave FM?
ReplyDeleteI have a vested interest and would really love your further opinion. Thanks.
I'm really probably too old for Dave-FM, truth is. I do hear the enjoyable song every so often, but I don't have the patience to sit through the intervening material of no interest to me (not to mention all their commercials--I think they play about five songs an hour during my commute) There's a quip to the effect that, once you pass age thirty-five, something terrible happens to music. I'm well past the point of following bands, new ones, anyway; although individual songs or sets of chord changes will still catch my ear.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I really pine for is the old Album Oriented Radio format. In this day and age it's just as easy to program your own. But I do miss being surprised in the car by a great old, seldom-heard track. Just not enough of a mass market for it, I suppose.