going radio gaga
I've recently gotten back into radio listening after a long, long time relying on streamers like pandora and youtube playlists. lately I've been less likely to start up a pandora playlist, and I've long abandoned spotify, and started relying a bit more on my personal music collection. I collect a lot of CDs and cassettes, plus have revived an old Zune that I upload ripped mp3s to. but in the past month-ish, I've been focusing mainly on listening the radio again after like, almost 20 years of not really engaging with local stations except in the car.
When I was in elementary school, much of my music exposure came from a local pop station since I had just one CD I listened to with any regularity (American Idiot by Green Day). Dad bribed my sister and me with our very own Aiwa shelf stereos that I'm pretty sure he only got because it was on a big discount. these were the CX-NAJ70U model, and I remember really liking the bright blue light around the volume control, as well as the multicolored lights on the display.
anyway--tech and taste change, so it's been a long time since I've reached for the radio instead of a streamer or a CD player. I've found that I actually prefer it, especially if I need to focus on something else; if I use my Zune or the CD player, if a song comes on that I'm not really feeling, I'm likely to pause whatever else I'm doing to skip to the next track. I did the same for streaming, especially since pandora stations benefit from "training," but found that I'd get less and less variety with time. Plus, I can't stand ads, and won't shill out for a subscription service. (My favorite radio stations are locally-run and non-profit, so their ads aren't as obtrusive as the for-profit stations, and the song selection is way more diverse generally.)
I've found that tuning into a station and just going where the DJ takes me is freeing and has made me a more patient person. Even if I don't care for a song, it's just gonna be a couple minutes before the next plays. If I REALLY don't like it, I can go to a different station with the tuning dial and not have to actually engage with a screen--an action that has a tendency to suck me in.
The radio I've enjoyed the most is the XHDATA D109WB, which can also pick up shortwave and weather alerts. Mainly, I like that since it's digital, I can save stations to its memory for quick access. It's also pretty cute. The other radio I use most often is the XHDATA D220, which lives in the kitchen and accompanies me while I'm cooking or preparing food. Both these get shortwave, but I admit I don't use that feature as much at home--there's too much interference in a city. The sound on both of these is alright--they can get loud, but sometimes bass-heavy songs get a little crunchy.
Lately I've also been eyeing vintage radios. Nowadays, new radios are little more than little black or silver boxes, but just look at some of the designs cataloged on this tumblr blog. Gorgeous! Whatever happened to whimsy in design for consumer electronics? Anyway, it's becoming a bit of a hyperfixation for me lately, so I wanted to make an entry about it!
- Marc