Here's an example disconnection: when living in NYC circa 2006, I dreamed of moving to a new corner of the country. In my research of the Pacific Northwest I learned of KEXP, Seattle's most robust, alternative not-for-profit radio station. I streamed their station to my PC at work, and fell in love with this faraway city. I envisioned a sleepy, gloomy metropolis with good music pumping from every city bus. KEXP features live in-studios, album reviews, DJ mixes on podcast, and free audio candy on their website daily. They avoid canned radio-friendly hits in favor of a broad range of artists and genres. I mean, I like Adele as much as the next American, but the local radio slaughters her by playing Rolling in the Deep ad nauseum.
When I uprooted to Seattle, the familiarity of KEXP and its DJs served as a bridge as I settled into my new city. KEXP didn't fail to disappoint (except for Wo-Pop, their weekly foray into world music). Since the station is "listener-powered", they don't air car dealership or 5-Hour Energy commercials. Instead, they do quarterly membership drives, and their connection with the community (and Seattle's deep pockets) is broad. I was a happy supporter of this invaluable cultural resource. When we decided to move to CT, the prospect of saying goodbye to my favorite station bummed me out.
As feared, here in Hartford the local radio fails to excite or educate (ok, NPR does educate). My brother-in-law introduced me to "Somebody that I Used to Know" by Gotye this past weekend and it was the most amazing song I've heard in a while (besides The Black Keys new album, El Camino). It brought me back to my two-glasses-of-wine-and-download-iTunes days as a single Seattle gal. This song came out in December, and this was the first time I heard it? I felt late to the party.
Granted, I can stream KEXP at work on my phone, and I suppose I could download their podcasts for my morning commute....maybe that'll make me feel better about driving to work in my Subaru, off to corporate America. My other proposed antidotes to uncoolness are:
a) visit my sis and family in Brooklyn regularly
b) keep reading New York and Bust mags so I know what's up in the greatest city and the world of hip ladies, respectively
c) return to Crossfit and kick the sh*t out of suburban blues
3 comments:
I heard that song a few weeks ago and I soundhounded it - in order to download it later. That's when I realized that I had soundhounded it 3 weeks prior. Guess I really love it.
now chez moni...
you know that cool only comes to those who delete the word try out of the equation.
oh yeah
i forgot to mention...music in connecticut? lol after all it was the commercial stations that killed music here in the first place. why would we want to listen to any of those stations and reward them. have your cool pals email each other their pandora stations. now that's where you hear cool.
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