response 12 of 41:

Feb 18 23:59 UTC 1999

Also re 7-8.  I have always had trouble getting WDET, even when I lived
in Detroit almost within sight of the transmitter.  In that apartment
(in a very solidly built building), I could not get WDET even slightly
when the radio was in my room.  I could only get it if I dragged the
radio out to the kitchen and perched it on the stove.

On our home stereo, in Ann Arbor, we can get WKAR-FM from East Lansing
easily, but WDET is pretty faint, drowning in static.

It does come in on the car radio (of this car, not the last one), but
during the times when I am driving, WDET is talking, and as mentioned in
#0, I don't care for radio talk when I'm driving.  (In-person talk is just
fine.)

response 14 of 41:

Feb 19 00:30 UTC 1999

oops...charlie parker, dock boggs, and robert johnson.

response 16 of 41:

Feb 19 06:14 UTC 1999

Heh.  I was a fan of Alanis before she got big.  I'm not as much of a 
fan now.  It's interesting to see.  

I'm in an interesting position to analyze radio, since in my situation 
(a bloody jammed tape deck, combined with over 7000 miles of driving, 
mostly 3 hour trips to Columbus, since November) I listen to it an awful 
lot.  It's interesting.  In the earlier 90's, alternative was big.  
Everybody tried to be alternative, to the point that the mainstream 
*was* the alternative.  

When alternative ran out of steam, radio attempted to kickstart a new 
craze.  It didn't work.  Techno is now just another one of the myriad of 
special music tastes that's running around.  In limbo, rock radio began 
to move toward the center, focusing on more "pop-ish" songs.  This got 
tired, so stations split into two groups.  There is now the "easy 
listening" rock, such as the Planet 96.3, which plays things like Alanis 
and Matchbox 20.  And there is "Extreme" rock, with stations like 101.1. 
 These stations tend to play Howard Stern in the mornings and then metal 
type songs during the day, stuff like Creed and Monster Magnet.  Both 
types of stations used to have nearly identical playlists.  Now their 
music is almost mutually exclusive.  

I should point out that I find the Planet extremely distasteful, and I 
find Howard Stern and all other morning talk shows extremely 
distasteful.  I'm a forlorn guy when I drive to Columbus in the 
mornings.

response 18 of 41:

Feb 19 07:29 UTC 1999

I bought a car CD player somewhat more than a year ago (and then the insurance
company bought me a new one, along with several new door and dashboard parts,
a few months later).  I tend to listen to music almost exclusively in the car,
so most of my CDs just live there.

Incidentally, if you buy a car cd player, get one of the removable faceplate
ones, and then remember to remove it every time you park the car.  With my
first car CD player, I thought removing the faceplate every time I parked was
too much trouble, but with the second one I've decided that's much less
trouble than it was to not have the car usable for a couple of weeks while
the door and dashboard were getting put back together.  I've had the second
one for a year with no problems, while the first one I had for only six weeks.

response 20 of 41:

Feb 19 12:48 UTC 1999

        Anyone remember when 89X was a late-night show?

response 22 of 41:

Feb 19 16:10 UTC 1999

RE #20 That was in the late 1980's or early 1990's, I do believe.

response 24 of 41:

Feb 20 01:11 UTC 1999

I used to use Alcon to clean my lenses.

response 26 of 41:

Feb 20 08:02 UTC 1999

I only have six presets, which is really a pain considering all the 
stations I listen to.  I might as well mention the stations.  My presets 
are, in a sequential but irrelevant order, 88.7, 97.1, 101.1, 102.9, 
99.7, 105.1

89X:  all the time anywhere between battle creek and marion, ohio.  By 
far the most prevalent and consistent (that is, there's always music, 
and some of it doesn't suck) station I can listen to.

97.1 has moved almost exclusively to talk during the week, which pisses 
me off.  I plays good stuff on weekends.

101.1 talks in the morning and occasionally plays tired stuff, but they 
have a lot of good stuff.  

102.9 also now has talk in the morning.  The music they play is quite 
good.

99.7 is a Columbus station that I can start picking up southeast of 
Findlay.  It plays Howard Stern in the mornings, but is otherwise a 
terrific station.  They even tell you some of the songs you'll be 
hearing in the next hour.

105.1 plays more music than most and plays it good too.

96.3 occasionally plays a tolerable song.  106.1 does too, but it plays 
a completely different type of music.  I've taken to 104.7, which is 
only two clicks from a preset and plays a good mix of old and modern 
stuff (sometimes I'm in a mood for Jimi and Led Zepplin).  106.6/97.3 is 
similar to 101.1 but for Toledo.  105.7 in Columbus is a strange station 
which plays a wider variety.  Uhhh I occasionally listen to 101.1 in 
Columbus, too, but only when I have no other choice.  Low coverage.

response 28 of 41:

Feb 22 00:16 UTC 1999

I'm still upset that 105.1 is no longer the excellent classical station 
that it used to be.  Grr.  I don't suppose anyone knows a full-time 
classical station in the Ann Arbor area, does anyone?  

response 30 of 41:

Feb 22 01:13 UTC 1999

...CBET also plays more of a variety of classical music (pieces by obscure
composers, or for ususual instruments, or pieces by big-name composers which
don't get played as often, etc.)

response 32 of 41:

Feb 22 02:30 UTC 1999

Yeah, but it's usually pretty good.  I've taken to listening to Canadian
broadcasting more than just about any other station on the radio (that is,
voluntarily).  Some shows to watch for are Yurgan Goff (I'm sure I spelled
that wrong) on weekday afternoons and "The Vinal Cafe," on Saturday morning.
The former is nuts, moreso than most canadian broadcasters, likely to play
just about anything on a whim, and the latter is a show styled in the format
of "A Prarie Home Companion," only a little more laid back.  The host's
ongoing stories about a little Canadian familly could give "Tales from Lake
Wobegone," a run for it's money.
<end plug>

response 34 of 41:

Feb 22 07:43 UTC 1999

I've gotten familiar with the radio stations of south Washington state 
(in the West, Central, and Eastern areas).  It's not incredibly 
diverse-- the big change is when you hit Seattle.

Throughout most of Central and Eastern Washington, country dominates the 
airwaves, with about approximately 3-4 stations in any given area.  I 
live in a cow town, and I think it's toward the higher end.  The other 
formats in these two areas are Top 40/R&B/Dance, "classic" rock, 90's 
hard rock, soft rock, and 80's and 90's.  Without a doubt, I would agree 
that radio takes a niche market for advertisers and plays music that 
will draw in the audience as customers.

Community radio does exist, however.  I can hear plenty of blues and 
folk rock on "The Johnny Amigo" show on the Yakima radio station when 
I'm in town in Yakima. (For those of you who don't know where Yakima is, 
is where those Washington apples you eat are from-- and the Tree Top 
plant is in nearby Selah.)

There is a lone Christian station called "The Force" (98.7) that plays 
around the Toppenish/Wapato/Granger area.  Don't worry about where isn't 
at-- this is basically beer and farm country.

Seattle divvies up their music into jazz, light jazz, rap, hip-hop/R&B, 
and the usual rock categories.  They also have a Christian station.

So I suppose that it's not that much different out here.

Alanis Morrisette annoys me.  I don't find her talented, and I don't 
appreciate her whiny, complaining, life-is-so-bad songs.  She doesn't 
even write her own songs still.  I'll take another look at her if she 
can last 10 more years and she outgrows teen angst.

Whatever happened to They Might Be Giants?  I love their music, even 
though I haven't yet consulted the website to learn all the political 
references of their lyrics.