BBC Radio Stations

Besides NPR, the radio stations in Gainesville aren't all that great. But then again, I don't like to listen to the top 40 mix 24/7. Maybe if you like that kind of radio, you'll be fine. Anyways, I just don't dig it.

In the UK, you get the BBC Radio. It ain't just BBC Radio 1, though! There's a lot of them. I asked Steve about them all, and he gave me some descriptions. I don't completely understand the system, so these are the ones you get here (Edinburgh/Scotland), but I don't really know how far their range is. It feels pretty far, but comparatively, Scotland is a whooole lot smaller than the US.

Here they are:
1. pop, top 40 hits, for teens
2. classic rock, for the middle aged
3. classical                                                 
4. talk radio, npr-type, soap operas       
5. sports                      
6. new artists, not the super popular stuff, for music connoisseurs

We've listen mostly to radio 2, though we have listened to some of 1 and 4. Despite it being for middle aged people, I really like it a lot. I like 1 for things on particular artists. For example, a couple of months ago I listened to an hour long recorded story about The 1975 and how they became a band. Obviously didn't listen to it on the radio, but since it was online, I did it that way. Also listened to a story a few months ago about the radio announcer making his own World Cup song (he thought the official one was awful).

Which brings me to something else I wanted to discuss. These announcers. I love them. They're super cheeky (the brits use this word more than we do). They seem pretty involved with their listeners. People call in, and the way the announcer interacts with the callers impresses me. They talk about the music. I've heard one sing along at the end of a song. I've heard a "isn't that song great" at the end of several songs. On the forth of July, the announcer told facts about Independence Day, despite being on the losing end in that war. I just love it.

If I living in the UK, I would probably listen to the radio more. Listening to radio in different countries is great, but what's even better is when you understand the language. Sorry, Ida, but I totally won't be understanding Danish soon.

Thanks BBC Radio!