Radio Radio
When satellite radio isn't enough, here are some online stations offering unique and/or unusual programming from around the world. The first in an occasional series.
You don't have to speak French to have your pants charmed off by Chanteurs.org, an Internet radio station dedicated to forgotten French singers from 1890 to now. I've discovered singers like wry Georges Brassens and sexy Nicole Vervil alongside amis vieux like Jacques Brel, Josephine Baker, and Charles Trenet.
It's impossible not to have your mood elevated when listening to Kenya's MTAA FM, which webcasts a constant stream of modern guitar music, African ragga (reggae on Red Bull), and classic afropop. Keep your ears open for Wakilisha's "Swanglish," which somehow blends Spanish, English, and Swahili into something that sounds like nothing you've heard before. Available on iTunes radio.
While New Orleans radio station WWOZ was the city's flagship voice long before Katrina, it has since become an even more important community voice. In addition to news programs, talk shows, and the sort of live music announcements that make Northerners envious, the station plays a unique Crescent City blend of blues, jazz, gospel, zydeco, Cajun, swamp rock, and country. Available on iTunes radio.
If there's a sophisticated Parisian lurking somewhere with you, listen to Radio Nova, un grand mix of hip indie rock with a female flair; laid-back trip-hop; and new African, Latin, and Caribbean sounds spun by global DJs such as Gilles Peterson. All with a typical Gallic sense of authority.