Cup of Coffee

May 2, 2020: Radio Gaga

36 Comments

The Painter got me wondering how much terrestrial radio everyone still consumes. The only one I really do is the local public, though that's way down because pandemic and no driving.

36 thoughts on “May 2, 2020: Radio Gaga”

  2. The only time I listen to terrestrial radio is for local high school games or if I can't find the Twins on the satellite.

  3. I listen to the radio when Im in my truck and when I'm at work. Mostly KXLP, but will bounce around to other music stations.

  4. Pretty much never unless theres a day game while I'm driving for work. Yesterday before I turned on a podcast I listened to Willie on 106.1

  5. I wake up to KMOJ. Then, I'll listen to MPR News when driving to and from work. The rest of the time, it's pretty much always satellite radio.

    Edited to add: when I find myself near St. Cloud, I'll listen to 88.1; similarity, there's another public station I'll find up by Grand Rapids.

  7. Remember yesterday when I was PO'd about the Airforce flying low over my house. Well it seams they littered in my yard as well. *

    the Air Force treats them like "fully functional training missions, designed to maintain the lethality and readiness of Air Force pilots and maintainers," the Barksdale Air Force Base wrote in a statement.

    emphasis mine, of course.

    *not my actual back yard, but my neighbors.

  8. I was bummed about the apparent ending of 1500. It was a nice alternative to Kfan as they didn’t have the toxic personalities like Meatsauce, Common Man, and Barriero. Not a huge sports guy but they were a nice respite from “Trump said this today” on NPR. Tough to talk about sports when no games happening. I’m guessing they will go all ESPN programming. Apparently Mackey and Judd on from 5-6. That doesn’t seem sustainable.

    Besides The Current I listen to KFAI, KMOJ. Will also check in with KQ every so often in evening if I want to get my classic rock on.

    1. If you time your drive right, you can mostly avoid the "Trump said this..." stuff. I aim to always get the weather snippet and closer to the hour/half-hour breaks when they are less likely to air the "lead" stories. Plus, on Fridays it's a good way to catch StoryCorps! I don't listen enough (as in, ever) to know, but are there any non-toxic personalities on KFAN? Kerri Miller is up there with Brian Oake on the list of personalities who immediately make me change the station.

      I used to listen to Mackey and Judd from 9-1 whenever I was driving (and a few years ago, that meant that about twice a week I would catch hours of their show). I never tuned in once they were up against All Things Considered, so I guess... my bad.

      2. Hearing that someone else feels that way about Kerri Miller is nice. I feel like she isn't able to pivot away from her planned out talking points, almost all of which are rote and cliche. The lack of real analysis drives me nuts.

        I will say though, to her credit, I once had a bad call-in experience with one of her producers (or whoever handles the calls), and I shot off a quick complaint. She personally responded to apologize. That was classy.

        1. Miller tries very hard to sound deep (like her laughably terrible attempt to host a national show about discovering the truth about the people of "flyover country" in the wake of the 2016 election), but she just skims the surface of issues from her so stereotypical public radio bubble that it's just painful. I find Angela Davis vastly superior (and really liked Tom Weber, but I'm glad he's found happiness in giving up his gig). Of course, it's unfair to try to compare anyone to Gary Eichten.

    2. Me too. I find it a little grating every time Gleeman tweets about KFAN's ratings. They really aim for the lowest common denominator fan. I don't know what Barreiro even talks about without being able to bash Mauer!

      1. I find it a little grating every time Gleeman tweets about KFAN's ratings.

        2. After he passed through his little pre-midlife crisis, he’s been much more bearable. His baseball takes are usually pretty good.

  9. I never listen to Terrestrial radio. There are no acceptable stations around here.

    SiriusXMU in the car. That's about it.

  11. WDR2 out of Dortmund (as I'm learning German).
    Also mlb.com for Gameday with CCO broadcast for sound.
    Was in to France Bleu Alsace (Strasbourg) around when I was travelling there.

    1. Funny. I'm all radio. I have a little AM/FM in the studio which is either on WWNO (NPR), WWOZ (when not trad jazz.... or just jazz....(I know, minority opinion)) , or WTUL (Tulane student radio). TUL is sometimes hilarious to listen to, and sometimes it is just a bunch a stoned out kids at the helm saying weird shit and playing weirder music. I love it.

      At work we have WWNO on in the woodshop all day. Even when it was all Trump this Trump that. Our offsite doesn't have a radio, so we made a wired boom box out of old exhibition speakers and an amp, and there we'll stream the current a lot. I have grown to dislike Mary Luchia as she often employs some britishish accent thing and it make me crazy. Full disclosure, one of our visitor's service specialists does the same damn thing.

      1. 88.1 (I think it's KVSC) up in St. Cloud is also hilarious as the SCSU station. They're not often stoned, but they really ramble without even considering how to complete their sentences.

        (I'm not much of a fan of Mary Lucia either - really, none of regular DJ's on the Current do much for me which is why I barely listen anymore. I will say, the few times I sporadically check the Twitters, I love seeing that in retirement Bob Collins is going complete scorched earth about everything he had to bite his tongue during his media days.)

        1. I enjoy that SCSU station. I used to pass through from time to time, and usually turned in.

          Since Barb Abney was let go, I've been routinely disappointed by all The Current DJs.

  13. I really liked the satellite radio trial we got when we bought the Santa Fe, but I couldn’t justify the cost to keep it going. I mostly listen to CDs or the iPod in the car, WCCO if there’s a Twins game or I need a weather report, otherwise I split between The Current and KQ, but never when Bernard is on air, I can’t stand that guy anymore.

    1. I don't know if I'd have kept the satellite just for myself, but Mrs. A loves "Willie's Roadhouse" (the classic country station), so that makes me feel less guilty about it.

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