in which we reassert how bad radio really is. i don't listen to the radio. i haven't, really, since the dark ages of middle school tweendom, and i sort of plan on keeping the dial-turning to that shady music past.

so when i read this post by Conor over at San Diego Serenade, not only did it have me laughing embarrassingly loud, but it also supremely caught my interest. he kept an hour-long diary (like last week) of a radio station, and basically proved that radio is committing suicide anyway. in-between astonished ravings about choosing Zombie by The Cranberries and admitting he doesn't like German accents, he hits the big points. mainly:

I was especially goaded on by some of the comments that were left on the 949 diary, asserting that San Diego actually did have better radio than the rest of the country. Of course, this is preposterous. FM radio blows universally. Radio has, to quote Calvin, "Lowered our expectations to the point where they are already met." As in the medium is so godawful, that things like playing a non-Crazy Gnarls Barkley track, or devoting 2 Sunday evening hours to local music is seen as revolutionary and messianical. So let's hold off on the "San Diego radio is better than New York, LA, Austin, etc" claims until we've researched both of our fair cities options, OK?

our local alternative radio station, as the Boston bloggers will know, is FNX. i sort of like them for their omnipresence around beantown music scenes and their willingness to fund a gajillion local concerts - even ones in small-town city halls. but other than that, they're pretty typical. they play a lot of bad emo punk pop mumbo jumbo - stuff that the kids dress in black for, you know - and bands that, like Conor was saying, will not be remembered in 10 years.

as alex previously posted (scroll all the way down), FNX is doing some crazy shit with absolutely commercial-free radio as funded by Snapple, and that's kind of cool, because as i've noted on maybe one single occassion, this gives them more of an opportunity to play older alternative favorites like Tears for Fears (no snickering, i love them) and even a little old old old Beastie Boys (yes, back when they were actually innovative). i think that this commercial-free business is a nod to the increasing popularity of XM and even personalized radio like Last.fm. i think it's also one of the last-ditch efforts to get some listenership.

but, you know. like Conor said. it all sucks.  shan  10:28 AM  |  view comments (0)