My clock radio is set to go off at 6AM. When it does, I hear a local independent radio station, and I spend usually a good half hour or so lounging in bed, listening. Most of the time, this is fairly cool. I hear artists that one rarely hears on the mainstream stations, and I’ve discovered quite a few new acts that have rocketed up into my favorites (e.g., The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, etc.).
Some mornings, it doesn’t go quite so well. One day last week, after an ending bit from Steely Dan (the Kings of what I term “’70s-era Lame Rock”), the station began veering all over the place, stylistically. Swedish rock, Latino punk, 21st century melancholic chanteuse, soul-funk, and later Neil Diamond and Thompson Twins. Any one or two of those would’ve been fine at any given time. But all together? It really felt like a tequila-fueled playlist that equated to hangover barf at 6AM. Thusly, tonight’s comic.
Full Disclosure: I am a financial contributor to said independent radio station. I suppose, consequently, that I have no one to blame but myself. I hope I’ve learned a good lesson from all this.
Good post. Wondering which station you’re referring to?
I actually love it when a mix is so wildly eclectic that you have no idea what might come up next. I’ve been known to make mixes for friends that segue from German industrial-noise band Einsturzende Neubauten into Patsy Cline and then into Dead Kennedys and Stan Getz. To me, that is far more interesting than the strictly homogenized formatting most radio adheres to.
I also know many people, like yourself, who find that head-spinning. To each their own. Heck, my sister-in-law doesn’t like mixes, period – she only wants to hear the full album by an artist, in order, and get your fingers away from that “random” button!
Thanks, Bryan. Honestly, most of the time, I’m totally with you. I love eclecticism, particularly in music. It was just more than my head could take that particular morning…