With a little time on my hands over the Summer Break I thought I'd share some of the radio stations that help create my Summer experience. Yep, I realise this has all the appeal of train spotting for those poor, pallid creatures who have been seduced by their ipods, pads, phones and paraphernalia to thinking radio is totally past it. I beg to differ, with countless stations from all over the planet available on high quality Internet digital radios.Or even via Tune In, on those self same i-devices and streamed to a decent bluetooth speaker.
First stop, Dunedin, New Zealand and the oldest radio station in the Commonwealth. Formerly known as 4XD, Radio Dunedin hit the airwaves ahead of the BBC in 1922. For many years it was the only privately owned station in the country. These days the format is - gotta admit it - Oldies, but hey, if the cap fits...
I haven't spent a lot of time in Dunedin, mainly passing through on my way to and from Invercargill in a past life, but the city has it's charms including the world's steepest street and a fine university. Not quite as far South as Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, nor quite as chilly, but you'd have to concede nonetheless that the climate is fairly 'bracing'.
I like much of the contemporary music, but also enjoy the music which provided the soundtrack for assorted past eras of my life. One of the many allures the internet possesses is the information it offers on guitar heroes, and other musicians from eras past. As a young boy, and a fan of the Animals, attempting to play my Japanese electric guitar through the speaker of my parents' Wolensak tape recorder, I wondered how Hilton Valentine got the guitar sounds for the tasty work he did on the hits produced by the Animals. Now, I can learn all about that, as well as what he did with the rest of his life, and what happened in the lives of his bandmates. Actually, if there is anything which runs a close second to my theological research, it would be continued study of music.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to know that someone living on a different hemisphere is also able to enjoy such resources. Streaming this Dunedin station might be an interesting adventure, because what constituted a hit record often varies widely across the globe. As such, some of the "oldies" might be entirely new to me. I've also enjoyed studying into vintage cars, such as the 1950s model Holdens produced by your neighbors.
BB