Monday, February 11
Planet Rock to Close - Nooooooooo!
As if I don't have enough going on in my life at present.
The Wildcamping E-Petition is coming along nicely (427 signatories and counting) with occasional effort on my part, alongside other stalwarts, to try and move it along in a positive manner. For its one of my rare jaunts into democratic agitation these days, disillusioned as I have become over the years with the cycnicism of so many failed attempts to p*ss into a prevailing headwind within this apathetic mass termed 'society'.
As Huxley astutely observed back in the 1930s, to quote Wikipedia's summary
".. humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced..... the irony is that all of these things have been achieved by eliminating many things that humans consider to be central to their identity — family, culture, art, literature, science, religion, and philosophy. It is also a hedonistic society, deriving pleasure from promiscuous sex and drug use, especially soma, a powerful psychotropic taken to escape pain and bad memories through hallucinatory fantasies. Additionally, stability has been achieved and is maintained via deliberately engineered and rigidly enforced social stratification"
Sound familiar to anyone out there - what another slice of Soma vicar?
But once more I see I've wandered off my theme - back on the track Johnnie!
One of the delights of DAB Radio was that finally I was able to choose to a radio station that I actually wanted to listen to. And listen to it lots.
After all that is the whole concept behind niche programming. And for radio it actually works at the moment. Unlike the pitiful attempts delivered by digital TV (And if you think reality TV shows are an all time low, wait until the fall-out from the US writers strike finally hit these shores with en-mass series cancellations)
My delight is principally BBC Radio 7 & Planet Rock with diversions across another 8 or 9 stations as the fancy/program schedule takes me.
And then this happens
(Picture courtesy of Planet Rock - go help out please!)
Planet Rock is the main station that all the DABs in the house are primarilty tuned into. I enjoy it so much that certain programs fit around my other life chores, rather than the other way around (Rick Wakeman's Saturday show for instance - excellent entertainment & a great reason to stay in bed on a Saturday morning)
Even the Channel ID links are uniquely entertaining - I kid thee not.
And it seems I'm not alone according to the advertising puff on it's owner's website:
"Planet Rock's audience just keeps growing - it reaches 563,000 classic rock lovers every week, in its sixth successive Rajar rise. Audiences and listening hours are up a massive 33% year on year, as the station's rock-solid brand promise continues to attract, and retain, the core male audience..........Planet Rock is an utterly unique and distinctive environment, delivering an ABC1 male audience previously unavailable to commercial radio"
But not anymore. Today I discover that despite all this 'success' the station is to be closed by its parent company at the end of March due to it being a 'non-core brand. Or in other words the first to get the chop because they're not making their profit elsewhere.
So that's sod the half a million listeners then?
Blimey - its only February and another petition signed already.
If this is the way that the year is going to go I know a nice quiet cave that has got my name on its reservation list for some considerable time to come. Might even find some Soma washed up on the beach if I wait long enough.
John 'Grumpy' Hee signing off for now. I've a radio station to enjoy. Whilst I still have time.Labels: Planet Rock radio
Comments:
By coincidence, I decided this morning to take my DAB alarm/clock radio back to RobotTescos. I'll miss going to sleep listening to BBC7, but the eejits built a clock that is so bright it illuminates the bedroom. I've had to cover the screen with post-it notes.
had the same problem Duncan - ended up with the sony DReam Machine which has a jackplug socket for external feed from mp3/dab and 3 levels of light for the clock - result
had the same problem Duncan - ended up with the sony DReam Machine which has a jackplug socket for external feed from mp3/dab and 3 levels of light for the clock - result
Just back from Tesco's returning item. The chaps at the return desk had fun typing in reason "customer says design of unit is silly!". Apparently they needed the exclamation mark. I showed them the 5-or-so posting notes that I'd used to mute the screen light. We laughed, I got refund. All happy.
Then went and spent money on some work clothes and a couple of 5quid videos: Minority Report (1 security strip), Elvis' 68 Comeback Special (inside security box). Obviously thieves value Elvis higher than Tom Cruise.
Post a Comment
<< Home
The Wildcamping E-Petition is coming along nicely (427 signatories and counting) with occasional effort on my part, alongside other stalwarts, to try and move it along in a positive manner. For its one of my rare jaunts into democratic agitation these days, disillusioned as I have become over the years with the cycnicism of so many failed attempts to p*ss into a prevailing headwind within this apathetic mass termed 'society'.
As Huxley astutely observed back in the 1930s, to quote Wikipedia's summary
".. humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced..... the irony is that all of these things have been achieved by eliminating many things that humans consider to be central to their identity — family, culture, art, literature, science, religion, and philosophy. It is also a hedonistic society, deriving pleasure from promiscuous sex and drug use, especially soma, a powerful psychotropic taken to escape pain and bad memories through hallucinatory fantasies. Additionally, stability has been achieved and is maintained via deliberately engineered and rigidly enforced social stratification"
Sound familiar to anyone out there - what another slice of Soma vicar?
But once more I see I've wandered off my theme - back on the track Johnnie!
One of the delights of DAB Radio was that finally I was able to choose to a radio station that I actually wanted to listen to. And listen to it lots.
After all that is the whole concept behind niche programming. And for radio it actually works at the moment. Unlike the pitiful attempts delivered by digital TV (And if you think reality TV shows are an all time low, wait until the fall-out from the US writers strike finally hit these shores with en-mass series cancellations)
My delight is principally BBC Radio 7 & Planet Rock with diversions across another 8 or 9 stations as the fancy/program schedule takes me.
And then this happens
(Picture courtesy of Planet Rock - go help out please!)Planet Rock is the main station that all the DABs in the house are primarilty tuned into. I enjoy it so much that certain programs fit around my other life chores, rather than the other way around (Rick Wakeman's Saturday show for instance - excellent entertainment & a great reason to stay in bed on a Saturday morning)
Even the Channel ID links are uniquely entertaining - I kid thee not.
And it seems I'm not alone according to the advertising puff on it's owner's website:
"Planet Rock's audience just keeps growing - it reaches 563,000 classic rock lovers every week, in its sixth successive Rajar rise. Audiences and listening hours are up a massive 33% year on year, as the station's rock-solid brand promise continues to attract, and retain, the core male audience..........Planet Rock is an utterly unique and distinctive environment, delivering an ABC1 male audience previously unavailable to commercial radio"
But not anymore. Today I discover that despite all this 'success' the station is to be closed by its parent company at the end of March due to it being a 'non-core brand. Or in other words the first to get the chop because they're not making their profit elsewhere.
So that's sod the half a million listeners then?
Blimey - its only February and another petition signed already.
If this is the way that the year is going to go I know a nice quiet cave that has got my name on its reservation list for some considerable time to come. Might even find some Soma washed up on the beach if I wait long enough.
John 'Grumpy' Hee signing off for now. I've a radio station to enjoy. Whilst I still have time.
Labels: Planet Rock radio
By coincidence, I decided this morning to take my DAB alarm/clock radio back to RobotTescos. I'll miss going to sleep listening to BBC7, but the eejits built a clock that is so bright it illuminates the bedroom. I've had to cover the screen with post-it notes.
had the same problem Duncan - ended up with the sony DReam Machine which has a jackplug socket for external feed from mp3/dab and 3 levels of light for the clock - result
had the same problem Duncan - ended up with the sony DReam Machine which has a jackplug socket for external feed from mp3/dab and 3 levels of light for the clock - result
Just back from Tesco's returning item. The chaps at the return desk had fun typing in reason "customer says design of unit is silly!". Apparently they needed the exclamation mark. I showed them the 5-or-so posting notes that I'd used to mute the screen light. We laughed, I got refund. All happy.
Then went and spent money on some work clothes and a couple of 5quid videos: Minority Report (1 security strip), Elvis' 68 Comeback Special (inside security box). Obviously thieves value Elvis higher than Tom Cruise.
Post a Comment
Then went and spent money on some work clothes and a couple of 5quid videos: Minority Report (1 security strip), Elvis' 68 Comeback Special (inside security box). Obviously thieves value Elvis higher than Tom Cruise.
<< Home
All site material © John Hee - ask before you snatch
