The magic of radio...
In a world of huge hard-drives filled with pirated music, a world of Kazaas and I-Meshes, of inexpensive (re)writable media and websites streaming music illegally, of I-Pods and MP3 CDs, what chance does radio stand?
One might wonder, why someone with access to massive amounts of digital media would still want to listen to a radio channel, but the recent boom of FM radio would prevent him from denying the fact that there still is something special about radio.
I was driving around and tuned into the recently launched Radio Mirchi to see if they were in their non-Telugu music time-zone. (I've heard some interesting Telugu music recently, but my lack of knowledge of the language prevents me from enjoying it in its totality.) And they were playing a Naushad special hour. Mohd. Rafi came on with "Suhaani raat dhal chuki... Na jaane tum kab aaoge..."
Now that's a song very unlikely to be on my music collection, but it brings back memories of pleasant times I spent with my dad listening to old songs. It holds a special place in my subconscious, which takes me to a time when I lived at home and life was simple and I could appreciate the poetry in music, even though it was intended for an audience much older than me, even though I hadn't at the time experience emotions being referred to.
That's the magic of radio.... It never fails to surprise you. You might get sick of the deluge of Himmesh Reshamiya music, but then this one song will spring out of nowhere to take you by surprise.
It also makes me feel nostalgic about the days when Antakshari was the most popular game when traveling or just getting drunk. Our leisure activities have evolved a lot in the past few years, but it's refreshing at times to go back to the simple ways of living.
7 comments:
I think Suhani raat dhal chuki brings back memories for a lot of people :)
And yes, I miss the school-bus-mein-guys-vs-gals-antakshari too. :(
Truly said..and some people, like my dad still prefer the radio over even the television. And the reason he gives is "simple". Probably takes him back to simpler times.
"I've heard some interesting Telugu music recently, but my lack of knowledge of the language prevents me from enjoying it in its totality"
If what they play in the evenings is any indication, knowing the language will just put you off the music - trust me, you're better off this way!
I'd rather have a good radio station over tons of mp3's any day.
I find radio frees me of the choices about which music to listen to. The lack of control over what they play introduces me to new music. Left to my own devices, I'd be listening to my standard collection over and over.
So, yes radio brings back memories, it helps you evolve your musical taste. And, it is unpredictable. Of course, it is simple and cost-effective. If you're the gadget junkie type, you have the XM and Sirius now.
That's the charm of the radio to me.
What about launchcast - online radio with customized stations for you? Or any other online radio? I don't think they are the same as our favourite FM but they are better than listening to songs on your winamp/iPod.
FM is cool!!
why no posts???
Cos no time... so much I want to write though.
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