I got lucky and grew up in a place and era rich with community radio. It ends up that the Monterey Peninsula in the 80’s had more than you could handle. Hell, I probably still have crumpled pieces of paper sitting around of bands that I need to look up because my cassette and, then, CD budget just wasn’t rich enough to explore all the music that was coming out of my boom box. Napster really juiced that experience, Spotify legalized it, then I washed up on the shores of Spotify’s discovery which is ok as these things go but so flat that the same artists are continuously recommended and there is so little real exploration.
I never really abandoned radio, Sonos has been a godsend because it makes digital radio so easy, and now I find myself listening to WWOZ many nights, David Byrne radio others, but ever since the New Yorker profile I’ve been a weekly listener to Iggy Pop’s BBC6 radio show “Iggy Confidential.” He has such an eclectic ear that now accounts for most of my new music. How’s that for going back to the roots?