Top formats for your car radio selections

Loren Booda

I am somewhat discouraged by my top six car radio selections. One changed from primarily classical to primarily news, duplicating another's National Public Radio and BBC subscriptions. An alternative rock station for 35 years changed to all Spanish popular music programming - maybe I'll pick up some more of the language from what my hispanic friends say is a good way to learn it. The other two, competing classic rock stations are finally incorporating more variety - which I like - rather than repeating the top 200 classics ad nauseum.

What eclectic tastes have you on your car FM programming, and how have they had to change of late?

Moonbear

I wish we had enough different station formats here for my car radio programming to reflect my eclectic tastes! I've got 1 classic rock station, 1 hard rock station (that also plays classic rock), an oldies station (that also plays classic rock), a "mix" station (that mostly plays classic rock), and a pop music station I don't often listen to because it's mostly hip hop stuff, but sometimes has a good song or two. Other than that, I flip through a few other stations; there's another classic rock station that throws in more 80s music from time to time, and two or three country stations that are all still playing the same songs that have been on the radio for the past 10 years, and one of those clear channel stations that plays softer rock that I don't like. Oh, there's the Christian rock station, and then 2 or 3 NPR stations (I can't stand NPR; they talk too much and all in a drone that makes me sleepy...though once in a blue moon, I manage to catch them playing some good jazz music, which is great if they don't interrupt it to talk too much), and one classical music station that plays some of the worst pieces...they play that sleepy classical music, a lot of piano concerto type stuff...I like full orchestra works.

That's it, that's the whole FM radio dial here. I may have forgotten something that's another country or classic rock station. It's really sad when I flip through stations and run into two stations both playing the same song at the same time. Once I actually hit the same song on three stations all playing it nearly simultaneously! I'd love to get a Spanish music station or some alternative out here. Oh, heck, I'd even take techno, just to get some variety. I live for those "flashback" weekends when a station dusts off some old albums they never play, or when they do a "B side" hour.

zoobyshoe

I hate having the radio on when I'm driving. It distracts me. I have to pay attention not to bang that little bone that sticks out on the side of your foot against the driver's side forked log every time I accelerate.

Evo

I rarely listen to the car radio anymore. There's too much garbage that you have to listen to before a decent song comes on. I absolutely cannot tolerate those morning shows with the morons calling in and the idiot show hosts and their lame gags.

I do have unusual taste in music. For instance in the recent thread about favorite songs, I wouldn't listen to probably 99% of the songs listed, even though they're very popular songs by popular bands.

ray b

MP3 players are getting cheaper
so is sat radio with more stations

my radio is set to 65-70s rock #1
50's station plays 50 to mid 60's rock #2
talk radio #3
jazz #4
sports talk / games #5
#6 ?? unused

Danger

First part of that: I agree. There's too much to watch out for. Also, my mood tends to follow the beat, so I end up driving too fast or too slow.
Second part: What the hell are you talking about? There are no logs in my car, forked or otherwise.

Now you're just being difficult.

Loren Booda

No doubt many accidents are caused by inattention of those seeking to avoid commercials, fooled by radio traffic sounds and annoyed by aggressive DJs. Thank God for non-commercial radio. I forgot to mention the Pacifica network "jazz" station which I support, although they play too little jazz and moan too much about the plight of socialism in the world.

zoobyshoe

You must have a more recently made car.

Gale

i have a classical station a pop station, a hip hop station, an oldies station, a classic rock station and an alternative rock station. thats when i'm at home...

when i'm at school, i have a classical station, the spanish station, the show toons station, a pop (mix) station, and a classic rock (mix) station. when i'm at school though, there's lots of different stuff to listen to... so i flip through the stations a lot, and it sucks, cause i have short arms, so i have to lean forward a wicked ton, and it messes with my driving. heh....
oh, funny story.... i remember i took my car to the garage a few months ago, and he was like "do you hear a loud cracking sound when you turn right?" and i was like ... "erm... should i?" and he was like... "oh ya, you keep your radio pretty loud..." and i felt bad, cause ya, i'm a loud teen, and he must've turned on my car and had his ear drums battered.

i like the radio though... comercials suck, but i don't like cd's cause i get bored with only listening to one band, or one genre, or whatever.

Moonbear

Egad! I can't stand the radio on that loud! I can't understand how those kids can even be in the same car as their radio when they drive by with the windows rattling from the music; that would give me such a splitting headache just from the rattling, never mind the early deafness it causes.

Though, most of the reason I keep the radio on in my car is so I don't start to worry about every little noise it makes. I don't drive a luxury car, some sounds are normal.

Like Evo, I hate all that banter on the radio. I've never liked that. I wish the DJs, who seem far too fond of listening to themselves talk, would just shut up and play music. I could never listen to talk radio. Our lab tech always has talk radio on, though in a corner of the lab where she can play it softly and nobody else has to listen to it. All they seem to do is complain. When I listen to that, it just puts me in a foul mood.

I just have this distinction that if I want to listen to people talking, I watch TV, and if I want to listen to music, I turn on the radio. So, I neither like radio talk shows nor TV music videos (or those stations people have on satellite TV for playing music...I know that might sound weird, but it seems odd to me to have music playing from the TV instead of the radio...I guess it wouldn't seem so bad if it was someone with good quality surround sound speakers connected to both stereo and TV).

Danger

Oh crap... I just caught the Flintstones connection. Sorry I didn't appreciate it the first time. (I'd just awakened on what is continuing to be a more screwed up than normal 'morning after'. )

If the engines in some of those rice-rockets had half as much power as the amplifiers, I'd almost be willing to call them 'cars'.

Moonbear

That's what always boggles me. I know those stereo/speaker systems they put in are pretty expensive, yet, they are always in the most beat-up looking, barely road-worthy looking cars. Geez, if you have that extra money, use it to fix the bumpers and replace the balding tires and bad muffler before you start worrying about a stereo system.

Edit: Should this go in the "old people" thread?