A Case for Radio from A Face for Radio

Remember radio? You might be surprised to hear that it still exists. Yes, that relic from your childhood, riding in overheated cars with defective cassette decks and melted crayon on the dashboard, is still alive and... well, I shouldn't say well, but it's not sick or anything.

No one listens to the radio anymore. In an era of iPods, iPod car adapters, mix CDs, and in-car bands that sing about free credit reports, the idea of actually turning on the dial and taking a chance on what music you're going to be hearing seems borderline insane. People who text while driving consider the radio dial to be downright dangerous. What happens if it's a song you don't like, or worse, haven't heard before? What if you scroll through all 45 or so stations, realize that half of them are playing the same song, and find that none of them are playing your favorite obscure indie band whose early stuff was really good? Don't even get me started on commercials either, you say.

I'm here to step up to the plate and say that the radio has made many a long drive (and a few workdays) not only tolerable but actually enjoyable. While I am about 107.1% sure that my taste in music is vastly superior to anyone else's (and it's not even close), if left to my own devices I too will tend to listen to the same songs and bands over and over. I don't mean to, but it happens. I just got out of a weeklong stretch of listening to nothing besides Simon and Garfunkel, and while I felt more literate and spiritually refreshed, I also had an unresolved need to get my face rocked off.

That's where radio is great. You don't choose what you're going to hear. The chances for appreciating a song for the first time, gaining a new favorite artist, or even hearing something new and different go up exponentially. Without the radio, I would have never been introduced to songs like "Think I'm In Love" by Beck, "Denial Twist" by the White Stripes, "Love Removal Machine" by The Cult, "Mother Mary" by Foxboro Hot Tubs, "Hush" by Deep Purple, "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" by Primitive Radio Gods, and countless other songs that I listen to frequently now. That's just over the past year or so.

This is where I make a case for all southeastern Massachusetts listeners to check out Cool 102, Cape Cod's fantastically consistent mix radio station. It's pretty much like my iPod on shuffle.

I was aware of this the other night when I was faced with a long drive home after visiting some friends of mine north of Boston. Unable to find an upbeat CD that I hadn't heard recently, I decided to give WBCN (104.1 FM) a chance, and I got this righteous block of music:

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Know Your Enemy" - Green Day
"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay
"Shipping Up to Boston" - Dropkick Murphys
"Hurt" - Nine Inch Nails
"Wish You Were Here" - Incubus
"No You Girls" - Franz Ferdinand
"Smoke Two Joints" - Sublime

Sure, there might be a few predictable titles up there. But at 11:51 at night, with 40 miles to go and the windows rolled down, that was just the kind of playlist I was looking for. Even the Nine Inch Nails was invigorating enough to keep up the energy. This succeeded where another round with Classic Rock Mix That Doesn't Suck, Vol. 2 or Happy Mother's Day Mix 2005 would have fallen short. Radio is super like that.

But if I hear "Crocodile Rock" one more time, I'm totally giving up on it.