Many of us listen to the radio. We listen to it when we don't have our phones or other sources of music, a radio is available, and we want to listen to some "popular" songs. This situation usually happens when we're in the car and just about nowhere else. So, this is the fate of radio: it has been permanently relegated to playing cruddy music in a place where there's so much other noise that it can barely be heard. So much for that.
The above description is generally true: most people only listen to bad music with their radios, but the simple yet elegant sound box can offer more than that. There is, for example, news broadcast over the air waves. If we wanted, we could catch up on the latest headlines. Many sporting events are also played with a radio announcer sitting in a nearby booth, so we could make sure that pitiful team we root for isn't losing again.
At this point, I'm struggling, because there really isn't much more being broadcast anymore other than news, sports, and disgusting collections of noises some call music, yet the radio used to offer significantly more. People used to turn to their radios for all sorts of entertainment, namely that thing we are unconsciously desperate for: radio shows.
A radio show is a unique form of entertainment. By providing the sounds of conversation, a radio show allows freedom in the way we imagine a scene, but it still allows the ease of sitting back for easy listening. It's the perfect thing to wind down to. As you try to bring your brain out of overdrive after a hard day's thinking, focusing on the sounds of a humorous, dramatic, or engaging radio show can help to turn off the unnecessary parts of your brain so you can relax properly.
If you're thinking, "that's what television is for", frankly, you're wrong. Television is too severe of a drop in brain activity after lots of thinking. It requires no thinking at all, providing everything that each scene is comprised of. There's nothing left for the viewer to do. If you try to stop thinking that quickly, you'll be plagued by an excess of thought, and you won't be able to appreciate the show you're watching.
The only problem is that people don't appreciate a gradual drop in thoughts enough to care about radio shows. They simply don't want to put in the effort, even if it does assist relaxation better than television. Radio shows, therefore, have all ended. The only decent ones left are recorded on old, stretching cassette tapes, and radios are permanently ruined by a lack of variety, a lack of interest, and a lack of appreciation.
I have mixed thoughts about radios. In some situations I'd agree with you, in others not. The thing is, radios are dependent on having radio stations close to you- if you live in like, rural Texas, per say, you're probably not going to have a lot of stations to choose from. On the other hand, if you live in Chicago, there's everything. Even in Champaign, I'd say there's a fair bit of variety. As music goes, I know there's pop, rock, classic, and country stations all nearby. For news, there's obviously plenty of that. And there are also many miscellaneous talk shows. My dad always tunes in to this car talk show where two guys give advice to callers in a funny way. I wouldn't say it's my favorite entertainment, but I can understand why car owners would find the show interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think what you're looking for is podcasts. They're very much the successors of radio shows, and offer the same benefits as what you outline here. To be clear, I haven't listened to many radio shows nor many podcasts, but the auditory style of storytelling seems to be what you want. Personally, my favorite is Knifepoint Horror, which is 40 to 50 minute horror stories, all done by this one guy, and they're genuinely pretty terrifying. It's a bit more monologue than proper show, though, so maybe not your thing. There are definitely a bunch out there though!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, since I've gotten my license I've basically entirely stopped listening to the radio. I prefer to use an aux cord/my phone to play music that I know I'll like with no interruptions. I kind of miss listening to the radio, and exposing myself to more types of music while I drive. I also think your point about TV not really being a replacement for radio is interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of radio, and though most of what I listen to is music, I disagree with you that the music sucks. I love stations you can tune in to around here like Rewind 92.5, 98.5 The River, and Extra 92.1, which are all specific to my taste BUT there's a decent variety if you look for it. I agree with you, though, that there should be more radio shows. In my family's newer car, we get satellite radio and there's a Radio Classics station that just plays old shows. It's fantastic, especially for long car trips. Also, even though WILL-AM plays a fair amount of news, it has really good programs like The Moth, Wait Wait! Don't Tell Me..., and Says You! I think it's a shame that people don't listen to radio so much anymore.
ReplyDeleteI love how much your voice comes across in this in just the sheer brutal honesty. While I do see what you're saying about how radio used to provide much more to people than it does today, I must argue with your radio show argument. Not that I don't appreciate your claim about "gradual drop in thoughts," I thought that was perfection, but I will bring to the table talk shows. Talk shows are exactly what you're describing here, and they do exist, just not through radio. Also, if you enjoy listening to narration, there's always audio-books. So while I do think you bring a very good argument about how television is "too easy" for your brain, I don't think radio becomes that necessary in our lives today, except when you're in the car.
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