In Thursday’s (2/16) Globe and Mail (Canada), Russell Smith writes, “When the CBC changed Radio 2 in 2007, eliminating most of its classical-music programming and provoking some debate, some commentators, particularly younger ones, scorned the whole discussion: ‘Why are we talking about radio?’ they said. Who listens to radio? Everyone gets their music online now; even in their cars, people plug in their minuscule phones and players. … There are wondrous advantages to Web streaming over radio: There is no folksy chatter (listeners of Tempo on Radio 2 will know how destructive that can be to one’s reflective mood), you can switch channels if you don’t like a piece, and if you want to know the details about what is playing, you just look at the screen. … So why would anyone miss radio? I suppose because one might miss the idea of a person, an educated person, enlightening you in an intimate way, saying: Here is the mood I am in, let me share it with you. … I miss that idea of a narrative in a musical selection, the idea that the DJ takes you on a journey.”
Posted February 17, 2012
