I’ve been listening to the radio a lot recently. There are three radios in my house: one in the kitchen, one on the bedside table, and one in my home office. From the soothing sounds of BBC Radio 4 Extra at night, Seattle’s KEXP and Kerrang! during the day, to whatever happens to be on Radio 6 Music when I’m making dinner, the radio has been my constant music companion in the last year or so.
It has also, over many stretches of time, even replaced my streaming services for listening to music daily. Don’t get me wrong: Apple Music (interspersed with Tidal for work) with its curated playlists and my saved library are always near my fingertips, especially when I’m on the move. And to give credit to Apple Music’s algorithms, their top picks and weekly recommended playlists are very, very good. As someone who likes to listen to the same things over and over again, I like how its algorithm has learnt my habits and stays within my genres when recommending music I might (and will) like.
The algorithms used by streaming services are very clever: they attune to your most-played artist and genres, and even quickly start showing related artists when you listen to something new. They may throw in an unexpected or wildly different artist or track sometimes, but with no context given, it’s easy to skip it.
That is one of the issues with streaming services, however; it’s too easy to skip over something you’re not familiar with or don’t initially like, and it’s too easy to stay within the safe confines of what you normally listen to. This means I might well end up missing out on something I will like, and with no one to tell me otherwise. Whereas listening to radio stations, with their various DJs and human-curated playlists, throws you out of that recursive algorithm loop.
Radio DJs offer more of a conversation; it's more interactive. A radio DJ, especially a very good radio DJ, is better at subtly shifting moods and genres throughout a playlist, giving nuggets of information about the song or artist played, offering context, and maybe even snippets of what that song or artist means to them. It’s that personal, human connection that will encourage me to listen attentively, compared with the background noise of a streamed playlist. Radio DJs are also better at surprising you with curveballs, but ones that feel organic or come with genuine context, or at least a good story.
One crucial way that listening to the radio differs from streaming services is that you can’t skip songs. When listening to the radio, you are stuck with a DJ’s flow and need to wait it out for the next song if you don’t like it, or you might find yourself getting into the groove with something completely new. Or you can simply switch to another radio station if it’s just not gelling with you after a few songs. But the unskippable nature of radio forces you to listen – much like how you’d listen to a full album on a vinyl record or on CD – especially to songs that you otherwise wouldn’t have given a chance.
Gideon Coe has been sitting in for Cerys Matthews in the past few evenings on BBC 6 Music, and his calming voice accompanying the mix of ambient instrumentals and classical music wouldn’t ever be something I would consciously put on – and subsequently, Apple Music wouldn’t know to recommend that kind of music to me – but it was exactly what I needed when prepping dinner. It was random but enjoyable (a highlight was Tir a Mor by EL Heath), with Coe giving just enough context to keep me interested in the flow of his playlist.
Seattle’s KEXP 90.3 FM station is another favourite, the home of grunge and alternative rock, with shows hosted by experienced, knowledgeable and engaging DJs. They throw in some amazing curveballs. Flight Of The Conchords’ Business Time in the middle of a grunge/rock playlist was a delightful surprise, while The Earthlings’ Zombies From Outer Space and Codename Longboard by The Cosmic Wrays were two alt-surf songs that I might never have heard of, were I not listening to the radio in the middle of the night.
There’s also a sense of community when listening to the radio. For many, it’s a lifeline to the outside world with useful news headlines on the hour, while the presenters, guests and call-ins all offer a level of human interaction when you’re working from home. As every year goes by I miss Shaun Keaveny's “Middle-Age Shout Outs” segments more and more – it was a glorious moment of coming together where everyone listening could share in the same silly and mundane experiences happening in their lives.
With some radio shows like Keaveny's on Radio 6 Music, you didn’t just tune in for the music; you also tuned in for the banter between him and co-host Matt Everitt, for the random sound effects he would employ, and for his grumpy yet dulcet tones easing you into the day at 7am. Legendary DJ Kevin Cole’s last ever “Drive Time” show on KEXP was another moment of music lovers coming together to pay tribute to and celebrate his 25-year tenure, while most of us regularly tune in to specific stations as it's the presenter helming the show whose personality, music tastes and recommendations you've come to love and respect.
Yes, you can also fire up radio shows, podcasts and endless playlists on your preferred streaming services, and many listeners will prefer not to hear any radio DJ voices or news interrupting their streams. But listening to the radio feels more like a two-way conversation, with the best DJs acting more like a wise friend recommending great new music to you in the most enthusiastic manner; it gets you involved with the music more. And when you’re listening to these shows on good radios such as the Roberts Revival Petite 2 or the Ruark Audio R2 Mk4, the music sounds brilliant, too.
Another reason I’ve been enjoying listening to the radio more is that it simply takes the decision of what to listen to away from me. When there’s so much choice available that you sometimes don’t know what to put on, letting an experienced radio presenter take that decision out of your hands is a relief. With the best radio DJs – whether it’s Steve Lamacq, Cheryl Waters, Afrodeutsche or John Richards – whose main job it is to curate an engaging playlist with a good flow, they’ve always done a finer job than me of knowing exactly what I needed to listen to.
So the next time you’re stuck in a musical rut and feeling like you’ve heard it all through streaming, turn the radio on, switch to your favourite station, and let the (human) DJ take you on a journey.
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