One Year No Radio
This week I’m celebrating my one year anniversary living without music radio. That’s right…I said celebrating. Don’t get me wrong, I still listen to music, and plenty of it…but since I removed the radio from my daily routine I am no longer bombarded with contests, terribly annoying advertisements, songs on far too high of a rotation or over the top excessive radio personalities. I do listen to the news radio station but only to receive traffic updates and road reports. Other than that…my life has been freed from it.
I spend a lot of time in my car. A LOT. This is because I live in the burbs and have no choice but to commute. Honestly, I don’t mind the commute. It’s my ‘me’ time in the day. It’s the time when I do my best thinking. Good thinking requires music. Because music has the ability to make you think deeper. I love deep thinking. It’s cathartic.
There was a time when the radio was very much needed. When the internet didn't exist. When the only way you could hear a new song was from the AM frequency or the ALL American Bandstand show. But today we have the ability to be our own DJ.
So, what do I do without the radio you ask? Well, I went old school and started making mixed CD’s again. Remember those. They came after mixed tapes and before iPods. I now have an addiction to making mixed CD’s. There are piles of them in the arm rest of my vehicle, in the drawers of my desk and on the CD racks in my house. I like to tell myself it’s a healthy addiction. I wish all car manufacturers had iPod adapters.Seriously...what's taking so long? This is 2010. iPod's have been out for how many years???With no sign of going away...EVER.
Most people I tell this to say I should invest in satellite radio to avoid the constant ads and annoying personalities. Yes, that is an option but here is my problem. I will not be guaranteed that I will LOVE every song that comes on the satellite radio. When I take music listening into my own hands I give myself that guarantee. I’m a stickler for routine…fear of the unknown, living life on the safe side. Why? I don’t like to mess with a good thing. I’m the kind of person who drives the same route every day, signaling into the appropriate lanes and the same point. I leave for work at the same time each morning after giving myself exactly 20 minutes to shower and get dressed then 12 minutes to eat my breakfast. I know I will be fine if I break the routine…but it’s hard. The thought of it gives me anxiety. Oh God help me one of you.
I challenge you to break free from the radio. Bring back the mixed CD, mixed playlist, whatever you want to call it. Love music again because you really love it and not because someone else wants you to hear it. Go on MySpace and Youtube to find new bands, new sounds. Search message boards and other blogs. The world is missing out on some seriously untapped, fantastically talented artists all because their music doesn’t play on the radio.
Here are some non radio alternatives for you to find and listen to:
Bon Iver
Jeff Buckley
Damien Rice
Ray LaMontagne
Thirteen Senses
SIA
Elliott Brood
Paolo Nutini
The Shins
Iron & Wine
Welcome to the better side!
I too have reverted back to the era of mixed cds. you really can't beat a great mellow-acoustic mix. and if i didn't work in a closet sized office - i too would have an ipod docking station or mixed cds on my 'puter...but until then i am subjected to the unruley sounds of AC/DC from time to time on the FM dial. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteWell done.
hehe I am a CBC addict , in English and French! actually a podcast addict or (baladodiffussion in French) or just streaming live. But I don't listen to RAdio with advertisements, crazy jingles , etc. I love to control what I listen to ;)
ReplyDeleteThere's one thing I do miss about am radio in Cape Breton during the summertime was that you could always hear the crackle of the lighting of the squall lines coming from PEI. The crackle always gave you an hour to get the boat up on dry land and the deck furniture inside. Podcasting won't do that i guess....
Lee i love the fact that, if someone didn't know who you are, they'd think you're an old sailor telling sea stories. you know like that time we sailed off the coast of b'muda coming back from jamaica with a cargo load of rum from trade, and boy, that squall had us racing.
ReplyDeletew