In the mid-70's, I had a red, digital clock radio. At night, I often fell asleep listening to it, turned down low so my mother wouldn't hear. Some nights, I'd listen to "Mystery Theater." Other nights, I'd listen to A.M. stations playing songs like "When Will I See You Again," by The Three Degrees and "Oh What a Night (Late December Back in '63)," by the Four Seasons. When I was in elementary school, I called a local radio station every morning for a couple of weeks and requested "Welcome Back," by John Sebastian, until the DJ finally played it just to stop me from bothering him.
In my teenage years - the early to mid-80's, for the most part - I switched to F.M. In junior high, after WKQB ("Rock 106") disappeared, I listened to 103 WKDF (a country station now, due to a format change). By then, I had stereo at home, in my room. Immediately after purchasing my first car - a 1966 Ford Mustang - I had a new stereo installed in it, with extremely loud Jensen Triaxle speakers (whatever that means).
In college - the mid to late-80's - I didn't listen to the radio quite as much. For one thing, the radio stations in Knoxville (TN) weren't as good as those in Nashville. For another, I tended to spend more time listening to record albums then, later, compact discs. I practically lived at a used record store just off Cumberland Avenue on "the Strip" - "Play it Again Sam's," where I picked up semi-obscure albums by groups like the Guess Who ("Canned Heat") for $3.75. I still have all my albums in a couple of crates upstairs, by the way, much to Jude's chagrin.
In the early 90's during my last year in law school, I discovered public radio - National Public Radio, to be precise. I've been hooked ever since. I love politics, news and current events. Nowhere are those topics and so many others covered in as much depth as on National Public Radio. Presently, I have identical Sony transistor radios in the bathroom upstairs, the bathroom downstairs (where I shower), in the kitchen an in my off ice, at work. All four radios are normally tuned to 90.3 (WPLN), Nashville's public radio station.
Then, of course, there's sports talk radio. In the late 90's, I listened to Bob Bell (a Nashville sports icon who recently died) and Bill King on "the Big Dog," 1510 WLAC (an A.M. station). In the 00's, George Plaster dominated the sports talk airwaves in Nashville, first on 99.7 (WWTN) and later on 104.5. I mean, c'mon, it's two things I love - sports and talk - what could be better, right?
In the late mid to late-00's, satellite radio arrived (XM and Sirius) - one of the greatest inventions of my adult life. ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, NFL Radio, etc. 60s, 70s and 80s stations. Jazz stations. Amazing.
In the late-00's, I discovered podcasts. It's radio, really, just delivered a different way - for me, through my iTunes account on my laptop computer, then downloaded to my iPod. Podcasts rank right up there with satellite radio as one of the greatest inventions of my adult life. My iTunes account is set up so that several podcasts are automatically downloaded to my laptop computer every time they're released. I listen to them on my iPod while I'm running, which is a beautiful thing. "The B.S. Report" with Bill Simmons, "Bob Edwards' Weekend," "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, "This American Life" with Ira Glass and "Tales from Lake Wobegone" with Garrison Keillor are in my regular rotation.
I can't tell you how many miles I have run in how many different places, the last few years, listening to one of those podcasts. To say they've helped my pass the time and pass the miles is an understatement. The technology is incredible, as is the fact that there's an unlimited number of podcasts available, for free, on any subject. One of my best, most reliable resources for music, books, movies, etc. are the podcasts I listen to.
For example, on a recent "Bob Edwards' Weekend" podcast, he was in New Orleans for the Jazz and Heritage Festival ("Jazz Fest"). While there for a couple of weeks, he stumbled upon Hansen's Sno-Bliz, a landmark in New Orleans for more than 70 years. At Hansen's Sno-Bliz, they make "snowballs," which aren't "snow cones," not by a long shot. It's believed to be the oldest "snowball" stand in the United States. Bob Edwards did part of a podcast from Hansen's on July 4. On his recommendation, Jude and I took J.P. there for a "snowball" on our recent trip to New Orleans. J.P. loved it and so did we.
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