Radio Rant

I'm going to whine now, ok?  It's ok if you don't feel like reading.  I'm feeling bratty.

By and large, Mr. Snoop and I have had a marvelous 3 years in New York.  It has been a great experience.  Let's face it, I never would have lived up here if Mr. Snoop hadn't gotten into med school in this area.  It's been a great opportunity.  And yes, certain things drive me crazy.  Like the way people drive, or any given moment at the grocery store.  But I try to focus on the many positives: the seasons, proximity to the city, great friends, wonderful job, etc. 

But then there's the radio.  Don't get me started on our local NPR affiliate.  Oh but I will.  First of all, there are four week and half long pledge drives a year.  Count 'em.  And the afternoon anchor (Deejay? What do I call it?) is terrible.  She can't get through a single sentence with stuttering or um-ing once.  Neither can I, but I'm not on the radio.  Listening to her do an interview is like stabbing a knife in your ears.  I don't get it.  This station comes out of the city.  Can't you find better talent?  It's New York Freaking City.

But I deal.  First World Problems, right?  It's so tough being privileged and listening to NPR, I know.

Yesterday I was listening to the radio, a station I like, while running errands.  They played Lyle Lovett.  Yes, in New York.  For the second time in as many days.  And the first time I heard Lyle played in New York, ever.  Unheard of.  It was incredible.  I was rocking out the "Private Conversation" and thinking of writing a special happy letter to the radio station for playing my jam.

And then the deejay came on.  This is what he said.  About my boy Lyle.  In a nasty, snide tone. 


"There's Lyle Lovett.  Sounds like something out of a barn!  A little hoedown music there."

--record scratch--

Excuse Me?!  Have you ever actually HEARD hillbilly music?  Who are you!?

And therein lies my problem with New York.  There are a number of people (not everyone, of course) here that have the attitude that anything/one not from the greater NYC area is provincial, inbred, and probably illiterate.  Pardon me, but if your job is in music and you work for a station that bills itself as playing a wide variety of alternative music, maybe you should educate yourself a bit.  There are many different types of music that come out of the South.  Some do sound like they come out of "barns."  But that ain't it.  For a part of the world that loves to think of the South as backward and prejudiced, there sure is a lot of close-mindedness up here.


And no, this post was not really about Lyle Lovett.  Thanks for listening.


PS: If you want to hear "Private Conversation," go here.  It's not a music video but it is the song.