....this is "Radio Redundancy"...this is...

A short entry about listening to radio, normally, German radio tends to be pretty good. Every state has several, usually high-qualiy public radio stations (think of NPR/PBS, just one for every state of the US). However, poor me here in Hamburg, I am living off an inherited boombox, which only seems to be able to get ONE SINGLE radio station without static noise: "Radio Energy". Unfortunately this radio station is a great example of what could be summarized as falsely understood Americanisms in Germany, as it has the annoying habit of trying to do what people think is "modern broadcasting", which means: every minute of programming is constantly interrupted by their jingle: "Radio Energy: The BEST Radio Station for the BEST city". I remember this WAS exactly the same jingle before I left.

Obviously, some things do not change, even when they're suck really badly, I wonder who, with a sane mind, can listen to this???? A few weeks ago, short after my arrival, when I had just missed the "Gossip" Concert, they obviously had declared "heavy cross" (at the time my favorite song on the album) to a "local hit", resulting them playing it literally EVERY 10 minutes (NOT exaggerating!) and on top of that to prove how knowledgeable they are, they always announced the song as "Beth Ditto with Heavy Cross", OK that IS the name of the singer, but isn't it a band? At least on the album it says "Gossip"??? But what does little Thomas know, compared to the ultimate hipsters of "ENERGY"??? The repeated association with REALLY dumb and annoying programming ruins the song for me. In the morning, when I'm rather sensible (early hours are not for me) they have the "Toastshow" and the jingle "The toastshow with Max and Matze" repeats in 35-seconds intervals ad infinitum: "The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah-The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah-The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah-The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah-The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah-The TOASTSHOW with Max and Matze-blablahblah-The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah--The toastshow with Max and Matze-blablahblah--blablahblah--blablahblah--blablahblah--blablahblaaaah-Max and Matze-blaaablahblaah"-interspersed are fragments of "Heavy Cross by Beth Ditto" and some embarrassingly rudimentary news-flashes (hey, don't get me wrong! usually Germany has great news programming, some of the best in the world!!).

Hard to stand at 8am. Now I do not use the boombox-radio anymore, but rather listen to "Deutschlandfunk"over the internet (!) from my laptop (!!), which I also have done from San Diego sometimes, its kind of humorous how some things repeat themselves.... But, honestly, I have NO IDEA, why this fucking radio seems unable to receive anything more than one radio station!!! And, Dude, I have the goddamn BROADCASTING tower straight view from my balcony?????

Anyway, lets not talk about it anymore. Radio Energy is the worst radio station on air anywhere I have lived so far. Actually, looking back in my blog you will find these were the very people taking a picture of me at the "Disco Boys" concert. No wonder I had a fishy feeling about these people! Had I known, I might have "explained myself" to them.....and given my regards to "Max and Matze".