Random Thought for the Day - Radio

I like music.

I love listening to it, really listening to it.

I've ranted before how much I miss having a proper audio system. The Saturday morning concert was a ritual I picked up from my Dad.

Get out of bed
Got to the CD wall
Figure out what kind of mood I'm in
Pick an appropriate CD

Make a double Americano espresso, breakfast
Grab the paper out of the mailbox

Sit

Hit play on the remote
Listen

I would have a similar ritual at the end of a hard day during the week.

After cooking dinner I'd pull my chair into the sweet spot in the living room, find the perfect CD to soothe my weary soul, light some candles, turn down the lights and just listen.

Heaven.

But here all I've got is my iPod, what few CD's I was able to rip to my laptop and radio.

Here begins the rant for the evening.

Radio - I HATE playlists. Why do radio stations insist the public be subjected to a small playlist of 40 tunes played over and over and over and over. It doesn't seem to matter what format the station is, be it Hip Hop, Alt Rock, Country, Retro etc they all have their playlist and you end up hearing the same thing.

Why am I going on about this? Well I was looking for a little taste of home and I Googled a radio station from Vancouver that I used to listen to. I opened the Web Player and surprise, surprise... they are still playing the same tunes.

If I had a pile of money with which to make the world a better place I'd set up my own radio station whose mandate is to not have a set playlist. Your average CD has what 10 - 12 tunes on it? So why just play one? How many of you out there purchase a CD because of a song you heard on the radio. But then when you get it home you discover track 7 (between you and me track 7 is ALWAYS the best). But no one else is playing this, they only play the 'single'.

My station would be called Radio B sides, or something witty like that.

Hmmmm, I wonder what would be involved in setting up a webcast radio station?