FM radio

First off, I get it-no one listens to traditional radio anymore. I sure don't. I usually listen to XM radio, audiobooks or iTunes. Occasionally I'll listen to a sporting event if I'm driving, but I usually listen to those on the XM radio as well.

FM radio is doomed, and I'm not exactly sad that it's leaving. What used to be local, individualized and independent is now largely corporate, lacking identity and repetitive. Every city has their own musical style. For Nashville it's country, for Boston it's ska, for NYC it's many things but punk comes to mind first off. Radio stations used to be part of that style. You'd have DJ's who were given much more freedom to play music they actually enjoyed instead of what was popular. By giving unknown artists airplay it could be hugely beneficial to their careers and put them on the map. Not so today.

So will I be sorry when the day finally comes where the plug is pulled on FM radio? No. I have some happy memories of listening to it on road trips (WAAF/WBCN in Boston come to mind), but I would never go back to the days where we got the majority of our new music on that format.