On the Radio

Let’s talk about radio for a sec. 

  On my recent drive across the US, I came across some great radio stations. One, in Fort Collins, was all 90’s so I got reacquainted with Britney and Christina and all of the boy bands. There were 80’s stations and it felt good to sing along with most of the songs. Now strangely, when listening to current songs, even though I would hear some over and over again, I couldn’t remember the lyrics. This got me thinking, as you all know; long drives elicit long thoughts. So after 50 miles or so, my thesis was that our tastes in music  are pretty much set at 15 years old, give or take a couple years. I surmised that this had to do with the emotional tumult of our teenage years when feelings, many of which are being felt for the first time, are so new and raw that music helps internalize as well as verbalize them. I was very proud of my revelation. And even more so when, a few days later, in a Paul Simon interview he stated the same thing: That our musical likes and dislikes were rooted in our teen years. Yeah me!

  Alright, moving on. Driving through Nebraska, I came across the farm report. At the top of the hour it would report up to date prices on farm futures, commodity prices, and spot prices for hogs and wheat. It was an immersive experience for me as I know nothing about life on the range or the farm. As the hours rolled along, I found myself looking forward to the report as I would try to guess whether the prices had gone up or down. I can safely say that I would not make a good commodities trader. 

  Oh and speaking of country radio, their station names couldn't be beat. There were the animal stations: the Eagle, the Coyote, the Bear, the Rabbit, the Frog, (as well as the Bullfrog), the Wolf, the Dove, the Moose, and my favorite, the Bull. When animals ran out, they went to places and things: the Flag, the Prairie, the Claw, the Wave, the Lake and even the Keg. There was even a subcategory of rock: the Dirt, the Red Dirt, the Dirt Pile, the Gravel and the Mountain. All so creative.

  Finally, I have to call out the two DJ names that made me laugh out loud. It wasn’t anything they said, simply their names: Paula Soup and Dawn Johnson. As to Ms Johnson it was even funnier when her co-hosts would call her DJ. So effectively she was DJ DJ. Now don’t tell me that ain’t funny!