Radio has seen a phenomenal return in India of late, what with the opening up of the airwaves for private players. Television and cinema were threatening to make the once-ubiquitous radio-set an artifact of the past, a relic of antiquity. The private radio stations were a breath of fresh air when they started out, and gave the government’s radio stations a run for their money.
And sadly, now each of these radio stations has become a clone of the other, with doubts about what exactly differentiates one from the other. Each station plays the same songs and sometimes even the same song at the same time. The commentary is sad, slapstick and barely managing to be funny, with the notable exception of Red 93.5, which still has a splendid repertoire of funnies, which are a delight to listen in to between songs.
But the point of this blog is not to lament the opportunity that the Indian radio fraternity gambled away. That is for another time and another mood.
Of late, I have become habituated to listening to broadcasts of the BBC’s Radio 2 station. These broadcasts are available on the site http://www.bbc.co.uk, and are an absolute delight. I have been listening in to two shows, Desmond Carrington’s ‘The Music Goes Round’ (broadcasted every Tuesday evening) and Steve Wright’s ‘Sunday Love Songs’ (broadcasted Sunday morning), and both are absolutely delightful, not just with reference to the songs played but the general feel of the show. There are many songs which I have heard for the first time, and have instantly fallen in love with them, songs which one so doesn't get to hear on radio in India.
The Beeb, as BBC is fondly referred to, has always been a paragon of quality and standards. India's radio fraternity would do well to take some lessons. (Although I think FM Rainbow 107.1 is doing a significantly better job than the rest, much better indeed...)
10 comments:
i dont know how do u manage to find time to listen to radio.... its a luxury.... jut cant find time to listen to it......
and if i do manage to catch up with it....its the same old story..
himesh all over.. so it turns me off........
well, you should listen to BBC. It will make you want to listen ever so more of it.
Hmmm, these radio station do get on my nerves, so much that I have stopped listening to them.
But on your recommendations, I'll try BBC though.
Agree with you,
and ya 107.1 has maintained its dignity and standard..
Hey reddy sorry for not commenting for your blogs for long net conn was down!
Radio has become more of a menace to the ears when u turn it on rather than the sweet music that should be playing and elvating your senses.The incessant chatters of the RJs give more headache than pleasure.And as you have mentioned the same song being played repeatedly!
And contrary to ads being played in between the songs it has turned vice versa!
MAy be these radio stations should take a lesson or 2 from BBC!
Well I seem to agree with most of your readers.
Radio stations are filled with yuppies cracking crude jokes, doling out unnecessary facts and too much of stress on sounding perky rather than doing what they are actually supposed to do - Play good music!
I once again agree that, 107.1 FM has the right blend of Hindi, English and regional songs and RJs with a rich baritone and controlled emotions.
Will try and listen to BBC, although it does seem far-fetched listening to radio online.
Well, even I don't fancy listening to the radio much. On one side are these boring RJs, I can't keep switching stations every time a song gets over- just to escape them! Moreover, they don't even play whole songs. Ads in between songs or the RJs speaking in between the songs is a pain.
So I prefer downloading the songs of my choice and listening to them at my convenience.
But yes, I used to listen to 107.1 Rainbow FM. They do play soulful melodies. Especially, I used to like the late-night Karaoke sessions, where viewers could sing along via the phone. I don't know if that show still exists.
Here's a song 'Spirit of radio' by Canada's biggest export.. RUSH (a rock band)
Begin the day
With a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays that song thats so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
Off on your way
Hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact
In your happy solitude
Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price ---
Almost free...
All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
Its really just a question
Of your honesty
One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity
For the words of the profits
Are written on the studio wall,
Concert hall ---
Echoes with the sounds...
Of salesmen.
Nice na? Of what I've noticed AIR channels lack good RJs. The songs played in all radio stations is more or less the same, only thing is that they're played at different times throughout the day. I'll check out this BBC radio you wrote about.
how do u manage to catch time which always keeps flying!
I agree with you.. The RJ's irritate the listeners to the core.. Sometimes its so stupid that it makes u laugh! The other day i was listening to one of the private staions...The show was "Love Guru". People were telling theire love lifes to the RJ, who in turn was supposedly giving advise! He was telling them stuff which even a 5 year kid would know!!! i couldnt help laughing at the stupidity of the RJ!!!
i changed the frequence, just to realise that another private player was iring the same kind of program , but with a diff name! Talk about competition!!!
I used to be ardent listener of Radio City (91,now 91.1),Red(93.5) and Win(94.6) during our engineering days.I liked to listen to songs and solve Maths ;-))
Even at the time,there used to be lots of ads between songs but I used to really like the countdown show on Radio City every sunday night.
However as roops rightly said,these days,it has become "songs between ads" than the other way around and for listening to any of these RJs,you need to have a really high level of tolerance/patience which I do not possess.So,I listen to songs that I've downloaded-be it Hindi or regional, no English for me as yet-on my MP3 player.
And I'll try to check out the BBC radio you've suggested,from home.
Happy listening!!!
- Maya
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