Does anyone listen to the radio any more?

[Diamondback]

Usually news/talk, otherwise it's my MP3 library so I'm not subject to anyone's programming whims except my own.

 

[MisterCairo]

Only in the car....

 

[BegintheBeguine]

YES YES YES

I listen to CHWO AM740 in the house on both the upstairs and downstairs radios. Always. Even if I'm not in the kitchen, it's on. The four pugs seem to enjoy it. Try it, it's online! Neither car tunes it in well so I listen to a bunch of different stations including one college, one from Buffalo and the rest local commercial if I'm not listening to a book on CD or a music CD borrowed from the public library. I don't always know what I want to listen to so I like someone to pick out things I might not know or have forgotten.

 

[Professor]

Back in the late nineties, I had KLAC for "standards" set on the dial, and only at night did I switch to KKGO (later KMZT) for classical. Now, there are no "standards" and KKGO is "pop" country. I listen to KUSC for music, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for classical. Otherwise, I listen to KPCC, where I enjoy NPR, BBC and Patt Morrison. Of course, I wish I had KPCC the way it used to be, when they had programs like Chuck Cecil's "Swingin' Years".

I don't have it myself, but satellite radio has a fantastic station called "Forties at Four"!

 

[Wally_Hood]

I think radio as I knew it when I worked in it -- local, community-driven, substantial -- is dead, and has been dead since the late '90s, at least in the United States. And it isn't coming back.

But I still listen to certain things -- baseball games, for example. I absolutely loathe modern baseball television coverage, the yawping-idiot/ESPN/rock-n-roll approach, and even though some of that has infected radio coverage as well, it's still possible to turn on a ball game on a summer afternoon and enjoy it.
Basically, I'd listen to radio more if there was more on radio worth listening to. Nowadays, aside from the occasional ballgame and the occasional thing on NPR, there's just nothing left on the modern airwaves that interests me. With my own little AM transmitter, I can program my own radio.

I used to watch Monday Night Football with the sound turned off and the radio tuned into the station that was covering the game. This was because I couldn't stand the broadcast team in the tv booth.

The radio covered the exact same action, minus the annoying "hosts'", even down to perfectly timed commercial breaks. The best part was watching the ads with a completely different audio coming in, e.g., Orson Welles pitching wine, but the sound was extolling motor oil.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Local radio is not entirely dead, just depends what part of the U.S. you are in. Here in Los Angeles, there are a couple of community FM stations, aimed primarily towards the Black and Hispanic audience, and a couple of local AM Spanish-language stations which still have a finger on the pulse of the barrio. But pretty much gone are the days when you could hear on KIEV-AM 870, "And when you need an auto shop you can depend on, take your car to Bistagne Bros. in Glendale," or "Make your next stop Pizza Pete's on Glendale Ave., where you can get a slice of pepperoni pizza for only 35 cents." It's a shame, because when I'm in my '51 Packard, I can't tune into any music except Mexican and Korean (not really what you'd want to be eminating from a vintage vehicle...). I could put on the Disney station, but Jonas Bros. and Miley Cyrus don't cut it, either.:eusa_doh: So I end up listening to national talk radio, both conservative and liberal, until I get tired of it ten minutes later. I need to get a FM/Digital player for the Patrician, but then I need to figure a way to mount it properly under the dash...[/QUOTE]

Seconded heartily here.


I have a sound system with a cassette-type adapter that allows me to play my mp3 through the speakers. I hardly ever listen to radio; Cocktail Nation, Bamboo Radio, various radio podcasts, etc. It's like I am programming for my own radio station.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't have it myself, but satellite radio has a fantastic station called "Forties at Four"

We use this channel as the walk-in/between-shows music at the theatre --it's an excellent playlist, and not just the same old swing-era favorites you've heard a million times before. You'll hear Goodman and Dorsey and Miller, but you'll also hear Richard Himber, Abe Lyman and Ray Noble. They don't just stick to the forties, either -- the regular playlist is more like 1935-49, and they'll occasionally dip back even earlier. Highly recommended!

 

[scotrace]

There's a single remaining local AM here that opened the doors in 1950, gained FM later, and the FM was sold off to Clear Channel a few years back and went somewhere else to blend in with the rest of the vanilla fray. I'm glad I'm not there anymore (I left in 1992). It's the Buggy Whip Business.
I remember talking to one of the station managers right after the first iPod came out. He said something like "there it is. Our death knell, if we don't evolve fast."

 

[Sarge]

I don't have it myself, but satellite radio has a fantastic station called "Forties at Four"!

The '40s on 4 or "Savoy Express " is one of the main reasons I subscribe to XM Stellite Radio. They play a good mix of 30s and 40s hit parade music from a large play list of over 1280 songs. With the big play list you not only get to hear the standard fair but you get a pretty good spread of the music from the era. In addition to a lot of great music they also have Ed Baxter's historic newscasts, Bing Crosby radio shows, Don Kennedy's Big Band Jump (on Sunday and Wednesday evenings) and the Record Museum that plays songs from the 20s and early 30s.

Another good channel XM is "Radio Classics" on channel 164. Radio Classics is the 24/7 channel dedicated to playing classic radio programs from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I only listen to the actual radio in the car. I like 89.3 WRDV, which plays mostly big band and jazz from the 30s and 40s. When they start playing too much 60s big band (not into it!) I turn it to 101.5 -- a NJ talk radio station. I <3 Casey & Rossi!

I listen to OTR in my iPod.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"I usually listen here on Saturday & Sunday mornings"

http://www.rtrfm.com.au/shows/nostalgia

 

[Dagwood]

Unfortunately, LA has no swing crooner vintage pop stations, that I am aware of, although they used to have a fun station that played Sinatra swing and Michael Buble but it was too good to last.

They did bring one back in late August 2009 - Retro 1260 A.M.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Does anyone listen to the radio any more, or is it being superceded by mp3s and suchlike? I enjoy the radio, BBC Radio 4 in particular and tend to shy away from popular music stations. Also, with the advent of digital radio in Britain, there are stations such as BBC Radio 7 that re run many of the shows from way back such as The Goons and Around the Horn which are brilliant. Also, don't ask me why but if life is getting to me I only have to listen to the shipping forecast to know that all is right with the world!

I was just wondering if sitting down to listen to the wireless had become a thing of the past? Has video really killed the radio star? And if not, what do people enjoy listening to?

Certainly I usually listen to the World Service for hours each day. I used to listen to the Today program but found it became a little too concerned with political tit-for-tat.
I also listen to a couple of internet radios such as Flaming Oldies, Bop City and Radio Swing.