I work in a radio station and I'm always fascinated to know what makes people listen to a particular radio station. What kind of station do you listen to, and why do you like the programmes on it? And what about programmes you dislike?

Good question, I'm almost jealous you've put it here rather than down in the music section, but it's no problem.

I listen to one station with my kids, the top station in France apparently, for their lively banter and silly routines every morning on the way to work. Then I immediately turn on the other channel with the BBC news and international programming. I also like Radio Nostalgie here in France as it has the best selections of things I listened to when I was a kid.
Imagine me belting out, "I'll be a dandy and I'll be a rover, who knows what tommorrow might bring..." ooops, I've got it wrong.
Then the minute the kids are back in the car, it's back to the top of the pops.

I don't listen to the radio too much, but when I'm at work, I always drive my co-workers crazy with my favourite station: it's a German one! I got to know it during a summer vacation a few years ago and when I found out that I could get it over the internet I immediately started listening it all the time. I like it especially because of the hosts. The Dutch ones are way to much in love with themselves to make a decent show, the Germans are better!

BBC Radio 2 through and through ...well, apart from Sunday afternoons when the type of music definitely isn't to my taste.

Depending on what time we wake up it's everything from Sarah Kennedy in the morning to Johnny Walker in the evening ...then it's telly time.

I really used to like the Headline Hunt contest that Ken Bruce did daily (no longer unfortunately). This was where you had to think of a funny headline for a particular news item.

I got my name on the radio quite often with this and even won it once! The prize was the record of the week and a signed photo of Ken Bruce (Wow!)

I listen to a station that plays music from the 1940s up to about the 1970s. It's my favorite station, and I listen to it often.

There's another "oldies" station in town, and I can tell you why I listen to the one I do over this other one.

Basically, it's the variety and the lack of chatter. The one I listen to has a wonderful variety of music - from the Big Bands to Frank Sinatra to Elvis.... And, the station doesn't play the same songs over and over again. The other station does. There have been times when I've wondered if they only have about 5 songs that they rotate around in different orders. You can listen to that station and hear the same song played at least 4 or 5 times a day. I hate that. Get enough music that you can play, so you don't have to repeat songs over and over again!

My station also doesn't have a lot of unnecessary chatter to it. I listen for the music - not for people talking incessantly! In the mornings, we have a wonderful DJ that is hilarious. But, he knows the exact balance of his talking and playing music. He knows exactly when to shut up and play another song. The other station in town is always talking. That, or having commercial after commercial. I know advertising is important and the way that the station pays for itself, but when that's pretty much all you hear (plus those dang 5 rotated songs! ), you get pretty fed up with the whole thing!

In the evenings, at 6:00, they tap into the local tv station and simulcast (is that the right word?) the news. So, anyone who is on the road from 6:00 - 6:30 can be listening to what's going on on the 6:00 news on tv. This has been a great addition to the station, as it help commuters be able to still keep up with the news while sitting in traffic.

Have my radio on right now and am listening to it. I think that's one of the signs of a good radio station. When you want to keep it on - at home, at work, in the car, and wherever you are. When it becomes something fun to listen to wherever the listener may be, the station has succeeded!

(dreamy sigh)

Right now, they're playing Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways." Beautiful. I'm telling you, they know the way to my heart.

Personnally, I mostly listen to rock music and here near Montreal, the radio station that plays the most rock is 98,5 COOL FM. The program I like the most is the Buzz Extreme. It's the 30 more popular songs of the week, from #30 to #1. In it, they always plays two new songs and last year's #1. ... That's it for me.

This really would be better suited to the Music Cellar forum, so I'm going to move the thread to there. Please follow me there!

Oh Linda how sweet! We haven't had a radio station thread in a long time here.

I thought your station sounded great.
MY international one makes me feel at home here, he has a lovely voice, and when he does the occasional show for us expats, he is the most intelligent speaker and very kind to people who call in, that I am just floored.
It's not easy here to keep expats happy either!

I used to have a real oldies station too. I mean twenties and thirties stuff. One of my favorite things. Which is why I did a quiz on really wide periods of lyrics.

I hate the one the kids like because they call people up and do jokes...I detest those. They'll do those contests and the person is never home!

I, too, like a station that plays music from the 40's to 70's. But my most favorite radio program is an auto repair call in show on PBS: Click & Clack, The Tappet Brothers starring Tom and Ray Magliazi (sp?). Very funny, and one learns things in spite of oneself.

It is amazing -- I had problems with my car and knew exactly what was wrong because of listening to their program. When I took the car in, I told them just exactly what needed to be done (really acted the part of a knowledgeable person). Wonder of wonders, they didn't treat me like a woman who didn't know which side was up on a car. They did the work, were very straight-forward, and I know I saved myself some money.

Yeaaa for Click & Clack!

I listen to Triple J in the morning. It's kind of alternative rock and the presenters (Adam and Wil) are really funny. It helps me wake up a bit cheerier than I tend to, and it's the closest I get to staying in the loop with "new" music.

If I listen to the radio after work or on the weekends, I usually listen to Gold FM, which is more of an oldies station. 60s - 90s as a general rule (when I say 90s, it's more like "old" 90s stuff, like John Farnham or Jimmy Barnes - if you guys know who they are !)

I love the older stuff, because it's a lot of the music I grew up with & listen to now (I was supposed to be born in the 60s! ) so i can sing along, or at least have a bit of a dance!

At work I listen to l04.5 CHUM FM because it's the only station I can get! I do like it though because after 9 a.m. there is not a lot of talk and they have commercial free segments. They play current popular rock music. Over the lunch hour they play "Lost Hits of the 80's" which I enjoy very much.

Click and Clack? I loved those guys! What a blast it was to listen to them!
I agree.
In the States I spent three hours on the road about three days per week in heavy traffic, so I'd listen to the PBS stations that carried those guys and their news was tiptop.
Seems to me like they were the only station that realized the rest of the world existed outside the States.

Music wise they were classical for many years and then went to other types of music. Too bad.

I listened to talk radio in Philly for years in the car and one fellow gave financial advice and was the kindest, most considerate person I can imagine! He'd always say, "And thank you for your call." after patiently explaining CDs to older people etc. What a wonderful service he performed.
As a teacher I admired his work so much I once called him and thanked him.
Those years were awfully tough for me in the car, having to drive three hours in the snow and terrible weather and those programs were wonderful.

The music stations were ok, but too much silly stuff with the djs.

My own personal favourite radio station is called Today FM,and my favourite show on it is called Here Comes the Night. You can hear anything on it, the music combines soul, jazz and modern dance rhythms...often on the same song. You can hear everything from Bessie Smith, jazz singer from the 30s, to Kraftwerk, German pioneers of electronica and a whole lot in between. I can't tell you how often I've fallen asleep to that programme with a happy smile on my face. All the radio stations you listen to sound interesting too. I never thought it would be seen as a music thread though, since there's talk and news on radio too. Now I know!

Hmmm...you're right. Maybe I should have left it in the Commons after all. I guess that, because my station plays so much music, I forget that it has talk, too!

Instead of moving the thread again, I might just leave it alone. But, I'll remember this for next time and will think out my thread moves a bit more completely!

Linda, you get the baby ones...so it's ok if we mix subjects.

Depends on what sort of mood i am in. But Triple M is the station that I listen to the most. Lots of good humour and as much smut as they can get away with. Then for the mellow times I go to 97.3, bedtime music.

You lucky ducks! Up here in the frozen north we do not have the luxury of choice!
There is a local AM station (programming shared between our town and the next to us-it's informative but gawdawful!). When I first arrived here 22 years ago that was all there was! Coming from Toronto area I remember well scanning and scanning the dial and thinking all my receivers had a communal breakdown of some sort...as there was NOTHING on the dial! In the large metropolitan areas you could pick up everything!

Over the last 15 years, though, things have improved to the point that we have that station, plus, on the FM dial English CBC, a country station, a French CBC, a First Nations station and one other, I think.........

I only listen to the radio in the car, and I usually only have to drive ten minutes or less to get where I'm going!

lefois, surely you can pick up radio streaming from anywhere in the world! I know that many Aussie stations provide that function.
I listen to a station called WSFM (Western Sydney, Australia) because it plays all the stuff from my youth in the '60's, '70's and '80's- You remember the ones with the words that made sense? Oogadoo, Wimmaway, Doo wa diddy, etc.
Heather, a friend of mine used to work for FunRadio in Paris; does it still exist? I have no idea what frequency it broadcast on.

With the internet I can listen to anything! Some folks used cable before, hooked up somehow(!) to bring in other stations. I was only speaking of what could be picked up on your normal radio, with no enhancements! And that was pretty much NOTHING! And I'm not making it up! Think WAY NORTH, ozzy! ...and many years ago!

We're pretty limited for choice too ... can only get two commercial channels which concentrate too much on country music for my iking but beggars can't be choosers and it's better than the ABC radio which is really boring (except for 2am when all the insomniacs ring up ). They have one announcer on the loal radio that umms and ahhs all the time and you can hear her turn her head away from the microphone to look at the clock or whatever. She would drive me up the wall but I'd have to listen to part of her show waiting for the football to start. They've since cut the football out so now I don't listen to that so don't get to hear her either.

The other bad thing about the two radio stations we get is that they BOTH have John Laws on (The Australians will know and sympathize ... talkback radio, very opinionated, him and the callers). The worst thing is that I find myself listening to him often and even agreeing!! ewww

sorry, lefois, I wrote that at 3am and made the mistake of not reading properly
Jillie, I sympathise with you. John Laws, the 'battlers friend' must find it tough to survive on umpteen million dollars per year. Personally, I never listen to him (or his ilk); it is too depressing...

No problem, oz! I often don't explain myself well!

And Jillian! Sounds like we're in the same sort of radio frequency limbo! Our local station has a Friday morning "interview" session with the dimmest bulb you've ever met (and I have met her!)...She covers all the local "hot" topics! With no training, no experience and no talent, I believe she thinks she's hit the big time! She used to be the clerk there when I first came to town!

The country station carries a talk show in the mornings when I'm at work, and the host is a bit irrascible, but not insufferable!

I had a radio memory come back to me this morning. I do remember, when I lived close to Toronto in the early 60's (would have been an early teen then), lying in bed with my red plastic transistor (in the faux leather black case) glued to my ear....scanning the dial for hours...just trying to hear "She Loves You" ONE MORE TIME!

hehe ... the good old transistors, how would we have survived without them? Honestly kids today with their big boom boxes ( ) don't know what they are missing out on. And as for radio limbo, Lea, do you lose all coverge at night? I much prefer summer so you can get those extra couple hours good reception. (just reading that I have finally discovered how sad my life is )

hey, Ozzz, do you know who is worse than John Laws?? Ray Hadlee. I can't stand him, I used to pick him up on the Net for the footy but would have to turn off preferring ABC for their coverage.

Oh my! You mean, Jillian, we're NOT the radio "dead zone" I thought we were! YES...we still get coverage at night! The problem is they switch to pre-taped "purchased" packages! Nothing to do with out area, or even our province! If something happens on the weekend that you would like to know, like a power failure or forest fire or horrible snow conditions, forget it after about 4pm on a weekend! OH...I know...I suppose it depends on atmospheric conditions, but sometimes I can pick up the all-Chinese channel from Vancouver late at night!