Dialed In

Looks like we've sort of mostly got this internet radio thing running solid. The hiccups in the stream are fewer and farther between, the transitions between shows are a bit smoother, and the schedule is slowly filling up. Range Life is still running like 6 times a week (that's two shows, three times each), but repetition is still unavoidable for us. Hopefully, that will change soon.

So far I'm pretty pleased with how the show is going. I don't really want to get too comfy with the playlist-only format we're using now, because the whole deal with radio, or at least with my enthusiasm for it, is to be there, in the studio, slapping the records down (or sliding the CDs in), spinning them, and making it all fit together on the fly. While it would seem easier to assemble a show at home in front of my computer, with the ability to change and add things or rework a setlist to meet time constraints, really, I think it's a handicap. The thing that's missing is real time. When you're playing one song after another, no matter how many tracks out you've lined up, it's still the song that triggers the next song, and so on. Connections are made in those 3.5 minutes you're sitting there listening to the track you just put on, and that's how a show gains personality.

Still, though, it's going well. I'm finding it easier to transition between pretty different types of music and to bring in the freaky alongside the stalwart. I'm trying to take the "Indie rock and all its tangents" description to heart, using standard indie rock bands and tracks as the foundation, but being sure to depart from that foundation often, when appropriate or intriguing. I'm working in the old stuff and trying to keep up with the new stuff. Operating largely on mp3 and m4a files makes it a bit easier, as trading music is filling the gaps until we get some content rolling in.

So, take a listen. Gimme some feedback. Make some requests. It's nice to know I'm not broadcasting into the void.