All we hear is Radio Ga Ga

Hey Mr DJ, try playing something original for once. I was sitting in a waiting room recently and was forced to endure an hour or so of Today FM’s finest mid morning spewings.
Now I have perfectly functional radio in my car and for years I used to listen to Ray D’arcy every morning on the way to work, but I haven’t listened to radio regularly for more than a year and my listening habits are all the better for it.
Nothing infuriates me more than hearing the same song blaring out of a radio again and again, and thanks to the wonder of the playlist, that is exactly what Today FM and 2FM offers its listeners.
Whatever is ‘hot’ at the moment, which unfortunately this month means Lady Ga Ga (literally all we hear is Radio Ga Ga), is forced out of the speakers like a pound of lard through a mincer.
What infuriates me more is the amount of music that does not make it to the radio stations in this country. In the US, college radio is the new bastion of musical taste, where plugged-in college students can request their favourite alt-rock, indie or nu-folk band and providing enough requests are received, their music is played.
Something tells me all the mobile phone requests in Ireland wouldn’t be enough to persuade Today FM to stick some obscure folkster like Neko Case or The Decemberists on their primetime shows.
Which exposes the very principle on which playlists sit like a vulgar nude statue upon a laboured looking horse. The originators of the playlist are dictating to us what is fashionable. What we ‘should’ be listening to.
Which is a crying shame, because for me the talking around the songs has become more interesting than the music itself. But there is a solution. Stations like Today FM regularly create podcasts of their shows, but because they are not licensed to play the music they have to edit the songs out, leaving you with just the talk.
BBC radio podcasts from the likes of Simon Mayo and Jonathan Ross work along similar lines, making for condensed shows with no ad breaks, no music, just banter, interviews and some very funny segments.
Mind you, the popularity of radio without music is something we all know already. Newstalk has gone from strength to strength since its launch and who are we to knock a winning formula.