Radio Head

I don't listen to the radio. I don't avoid it as a conspicuous act of protest but because I don't see much point in it. Owning 500 different CDs makes it easy to find something suited to my mood _ and there isn't a CD changer in my car for nothing. Why should I listen to the radio's arbitrary choices when I can pick every song for myself? I don't spend money on new car speakers or a surround-sound receiver just to let someone else decide what I should listen to.

That said, I don't understand people who complain about the evils of "corporate radio." Yes, the music is preselected, and no, the DJs don't have very much control over what they play. But if I wanted to run profitable radio stations nationwide, I'd do it the same way. It's a business, just like recorded music itself, and I refuse to blame someone for trying to run his business in the most profitable way possible.

(If you're not into capitalism, though, I realize that we're not even speaking the same language.)

Yes, standardizing playlists and homogenizing the nation's airwaves reduce the artistry of the medium. So does producing identical clothes en masse rather than having a tailor hand-craft each article, so does making cars on an assembly line with interchangeable parts, so does preparing and packaging foods to sell around the world. It's a natural impact of mass-production _ a natural impact of efficiency.

Focus on the negatives of mass-produced radio and you overlook the fact that you're not left without choice. Just as people who appreciate fine clothes still get them custom-tailored, those who want to hear independent DJs are not helpless. Listen up: the rise of corporate radio has not wiped out independence at all. Plenty of non-corporate stations remain.

Where? College campuses.

College radio is the epitome of non-corporate broadcasting _ students with their own eclectic tastes and collections play their music for anyone who cares to tune in. WMFO does this all day long. Work your way up the ladder and you could be broadcasting your music all over Medford.

And why does college radio work this way? Because there's no money involved. WMFO isn't owned by some nationwide conglomerate with budgets and agendas and stockholders. It's not trying to turn a profit, and so it can run itself however it likes. No one's pulling any puppetstrings behind the scenes because there's nothing to gain from it.

What's that? You don't listen to WMFO because it plays music that you've never heard before? You want Eminem and Nelly and Pink and Avril Lavigne? Then quit whining about the corporate radio that you love consuming. In this case, the hard truth is hard indeed. Corporate radio plays the same music nationwide because that's what you want.

Don't be ashamed. I don't think the corporate style is evil. Much as I don't turn on the radio, I have no problem with it; it just doesn't cater to my tastes. And I get surprised, too: I'll hear something in the gym or in a friend's car that I like. I like that feeling because I know I'm not stagnating. I love finding new music that I like, and not listening to the radio makes the radio fresh and new every time I turn it on because sometimes I've never heard any of it before.

Mostly, though, I get exactly what I expect. I hear the same music every time I go to the gym, confirming to me that I'm better off not wasting my time on music that doesn't hit me where it counts. Why listen to a station where you love every third song when you could listen to your own collection and love every moment of it?

Maybe you love the radio, though, but only wish that you could hear something new on it. Again, independent college stations have what you want _ or what you say you want, at least. You won't hear the hottest new pop or the hip-hop from Saturday night's party, but you'll definitely hear something new.

Strike a balance. College is a great time to get interested in new things, and it's also a great time to do what you want to do. Listen to WMFO and see if you find something appealing. Listen to KISS FM and don't be ashamed of it. Listen to your CD collection and enjoy hearing your favorites.

It's simple. Like all entertainment, radio is a consumer-driven market. Vote with your wallet _ or, in this case, your ears. If no one listened to the mass-produced stations, there wouldn't be mass-produced stations at all (and there may be a movement in that direction after all with new specialized satellite radio stations).

If you really don't like what's on the radio, don't listen to it; maybe it'll change if enough people like you make your feelings known. If you just like protesting, please do it quietly; I'm trying to listen to something over here