Posted on 05/10/2010 12:47:22 PM PDT by a fool in paradise
...Internet music services like Pandora, Slacker and Last.fm, already popular with computer and smartphone owners, are being tailored by software developers, consumer electronics companies and even automakers to work more seamlessly with car stereo systems...
...These handsets all have free applications that play customized music channels streamed over the Internet using the phone’s 3G wireless data connection. The services are generally free, although smartphone owners typically pay about $30 a month on top of regular voice service for unlimited data usage.
The attraction is that rather than being shackled to the same old hits from local radio stations, listeners can customize the music channel to suit their tastes. Pandora has about 750,000 songs and 40 million listeners...
...During a test drive when I became irritated by a Beyonce song, I simply pushed a “voice” button on the side of the Pioneer display and told the system to “play the Doors.” Within a couple of seconds, the unit began to play songs from the “Soft Parade” album. The sound quality, while not equivalent to a CD, was as good as typical radio reception and better than some satellite radio stations. And when a call came in, the built-in Bluetooth hands-free system automatically muted the music.
I did discover some limitations, however. AT&T’s 3G wireless service is notoriously patchy in New York City, so there were occasional dead spots when the music dropped out as the cellphone searched for a signal...
However, such limitations may soon disappear as automakers integrate streaming Internet services directly into their cars...
Of course, traditional radio broadcasters have heard the drumbeat of mobile apps. They have responded with their own apps, streaming live broadcasts from thousands of stations to handsets and through them, to cars...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
That’s the whole point of radio. The problem is, the music has become bad in the last few years and the music that is good is not what is promoted by the corporate interests.
I’ll use country as an example. There was a time when what was called on the radio was country and was good. That time has long passed as Nashville executives have decided that selling sex appeal and bad music to teenagers is more appealing than marketing actual country music.
Satellite radio offers a couple of classic, old-style country music stations. Very nice.
Satellite doesn’t have dead spots like internet.
I don't understand. CDs do not wear out quickly. Than can get scratched if you don't store them in their jackets.
Also, it takes only a couple of minutes to rip a CD to a USB device. Many radios today will allow you to plug the USB device directly.
What I have noticed is radio stations adopting the "Jack FM" format of "Playing anything they want" or adopting the decades brand of playing music from a decade or series of decades. Because they're popular, and that's what a large number of listeners want. Neither format requires a lot of prior pre-programming by a radio station program or music director. To fill the gaps, stations air syndicated stuff on the weekends like The Rockin' 70's or The Rockin' 80's or Casey Kasem's American Top 40 of The 80's.
Country music is sounding more like rock music to me. Just the other day, I was scanning across the FM dial and there was a country station playing a new song that sounded something like what Stevie Ray Vaughan would play. Probably because SRV was a heavy influence on that artist. The song reminded me of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's "The House Is Rockin'" from 1989.
Wait a minute, I though video killed the radio star?!?!
There’s lots of great music out there, you just need to go find it. I’m not too up on new country because my taste in that genre is very narrow (Johnny Cash, that’s pretty much it), but I’m sure there’s still good stuff being made in country. There’s TONS of great stuff being made in rock, old acts and new.
Problem is the good stuff isn’t hitting the radio station. Which is a big part of the problem with radio. It’s made worse by how centralized and pre-programed radio stations are now. Back in the day when DJ’s were allowed personalities you might actually get introduced to something good. Now with the computers that do everything, including often doing the DJ talking stuff, it’s all about whose label is in good with which radio conglomerate. If you want to find good music now it takes a little more effort, and step one is to turn off the radio, it’s only useful for EBS.
NYT luddites finally noticing what digital music early adopters have been moving towards since the late 90s.
Their bias isn’t the only thing killing the drive by media.
They are slow on the uptake, too lazy to pay attention to the world around them, and terminally stupid.
During the daytime that's very true because that's when most people are listening. At night you won't hear a disc jockey or commercials on most stations from midnight to 5:00 a.m.
The car I bought four years ago had a plug for my iPod and it had Satellite radio.
I drive about 35,000 miles a year. It is worth the $35 a quarter to get XM. The music I like. The News that I like.
And then I plug in my iPod when i am not listening to that other stuff.
I never even programmed any of the radio buttons. I think I have only listened to the radio twice.
I cant see AM going away.
It is used all the time for local emergency broadcasts
I dont know if it is what you want, but I put CD recievers in our cars that have inputs on the face for aux and have USB ports. We can plug our MP3 players into the aux input or use a USB thumb drive which contain our music collection in MP3 format. My 4gb thumbdrive has 26 CD's ripped to MP3 and over 200 Bible sermons from our favorite preachers.
just a suggestion if you are like me and cant stand radio.
FM What? I know myself I’m either listening to my iPod or streaming audio such as Pandora, etc. Radio is just awful now...
Parking garages. Tall buildings. Overhead trees.
Satellite radio killed the live disc jockey. Not a single show on satellite radio is actually live, with notable exceptions like Phlash Phelps on Sirius-XM 60’s. He takes calls from listeners and does his entire show on the fly.
Yeah, it’s not really country, it’s more like hick rock. Been that way since Garth Brooks, I’d say, though I never was much for commercial country even before him.
Same here, but I sure would like to transmit something to the auto of the teenagers next door...something that would blow their speakers up ; )
I wouldn’t say no one is listening. There are people who work the graveyard shift.
Pandora only lets me fast forward about 3 times. I hate it!
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