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This blogger, Richard Gehr, is not an employee of AARP. The opinions expressed in the blog are not necessarily the opinions of AARP and AARP assumes no liability for the content posted by Mr. Gehr or any other participant

July 26, 2007

Richard Gehr | July 26, 2007

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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.

April 05, 2007

Richard Gehr | April 05, 2007

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Got a sec? Far more intriguing in concept than in execution so far, Radio SASS aims to return to the halcyon days of two-minute radio hits by editing and squeezing tracks down to a snappy 90 seconds because, really, who needs to hear any more? As they put it in their manifesto:

"Today's culture moves at a breakneck, multi-tasking, fast-forward pace. The time is right for a new dynamic way to experience radio. Enter, Radio SASS. This new protocol changes radio history in several positive ways. Listeners get more music, and more variety. Recording artists get 3x the airplay and exposure. Records labels get increased spins, increased sales. Radio gets a new sound."

As the Benny Hill-like character Ricky Gervais portrays in "Extras" would put it: "Is he having a laugh? Is he having a laugh?" Well, probably. But there's more:

"Radio SASS (Short Attention Span System) takes the playlist and musically condenses songs to their essence. Through time compression, you get the memorable heart of each song, with an average length of approximately two minutes with NO self indulgent guitar solos, NO long intros, NO repetition of choruses again and again. Radio returns to the snappy song length of the 1960s."

So how does it sound? With only an hour of radio on their site so far, you'd think it might be hard to tell. But it isn't. Even at ninety seconds a pop, songs like Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move," and the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" wore out their welcome ages ago. And of course that's the point.

I learned of Radio SASS from Stuck Between Stations, a guiltlessly adult music blog whose biggest hit to date is Roger Moore's great rant about how global warming is altering the landscape and threatening the "world's music supply": "British musicians fear that warming trends threaten the supply of angst, guilt and irony, the three pillars of British musical expression, and arguably of all Anglo-Saxon culture." Just another argument for shorter songs: to conserve energy.