Whenever I step into my car, I rot a little bit inside. Maybe it’s just because I’ve grown up, or maybe the radio music has genuinely declined. I used to adore pop music on the radio when I was a kid. I have fond memories of going up to Bogus back in 2013. I hated being in a car with nothing to do, but the radio music always staved off my boredom and made me feel like an anime protagonist.
Nowadays, I still turn on the radio, but I just feel bored and uninspired. You might ask, why don’t you listen to the Boise State Public Radio News on 91.5 FM? Well, the sound of those interviewers talking gives me a headache and makes me feel nauseous. You might also ask, why don’t you just play music from your phone? Well, I’m too lazy. That’s why I push through the pain that is the radio. I’ve endured for years. I don’t want to hurt the radio people’s feelings, so I will only be giving my constructive and highly filtered feedback.
My main stations are 101.1, 102.7, 103.5, 105.9, and 107.9, so let me know if there’s a better station out there to listen to. 101.1 or Wild 101 plays edgier music than the other stations; 107.9 Lite FM plays “the best variety from the 80s, 90s, and today”; and the other three stations all play generic and repetitive pop music. Although these stations are generally unentertaining, I quite like 107.9 Lite FM for playing the Delilah Show at night. Her voice is basically my comfort food. She’s just such a sweet and wholesome woman, and she’s probably the reason I’m not an evil person. I also think that 107.9 exceeds the other stations because it plays Christmas music in November.
The fundamental problem with these five music stations is that they play the same music over and over again to the point where I’m losing brain cells. Why do they play a cluster of 4-6 songs, and then play ads for 10 minutes straight? If I’m driving to school, and I tune on to a station, I might just never hear a song. That’s just brutal. Personally, I think the set up should be that they play 2 songs, and then play an ad, and then play two more songs. Also, I think that most people don’t listen to radio shows and would much rather prefer to listen to music.
My general strategy when I’m listening to the radio is to bounce between the five stations and hope that someone is playing okay music. Often, there’s no okay music. I don’t know how these silly gooses decide how to choose music, but maybe they should consider surveying some high school and middle school students about what music we actually want to hear. They should also limit the amount of times a song can be played each day. I’m an economist, so if the radio people listen to my advice, they’ll probably start making some serious money.
