I can hear clearly now, the same is gone
All of my FaceBook jokes about mariachi radio stations lurking, ready for the attack aside, listening to the radio as we travel up the coast is a joy for the simple reason that the further up the 101 we go, the further we get from Clear Channel’s dominance. This is not to say that there are no Clear Channel stations in Santa Barbara and SLO counties, but there certainly seem to be a lot less of them.
True, many factors in these regions contribute to sketchy reception causing stations to come and go and occasionally two stations to appear on the same frequency within miles of one another (hence the effect of mariachi stations “jumping out at you” when you least expect it), but the stations you do hear frequently rock. We tuned into a great station in Paso that played classic rock, but not the exact same stuff you hear on Clear Channel’s limited play list. We still heard Led Zeppelin, but it was Tangerine and Gallow’s Pole instead of Black Dog. We still heard the Rolling Stones, but it was Girl with Far Away Eyes, which I had not heard in years, instead of Satisfaction. Not that I am knocking the more popular songs, but it’s just nice to hear something different once in a while.
And less Clear Channel means that stations do not have to fit so neatly into easily marketed boxes. Two of our favorite stations were “country” stations that played a nice mix of country, classic rock and blues. As a side note: This is how I became a country music fan in the first place. On trips to Cambria, listening to the mixed stations in Paso Robles and listening to the straight country stations through the Gaviota Pass when the only alternative is mariachi music, I got hooked on Gary Allan’s amazing voice, Brooks and Dunn’s sense of fun, and the fact that Montgomery Gentry just plain rock, steel guitars and all. But I digress…
Another real benefit, if you’re a fan of random humor or just plain non cookie cutter personalities, is less censorship. We enjoyed DJs saying stuff that even Mark and Brian and Kevin and Bean would dance around or joke about the program manager beating down their door over. Nothing really dirty, it was more the kind of humor that Clear Channel station marketing departments tend to say Gosh, I don’t know how that’s going to go over with women over 45 or Gee, that might stress out the environmentlists over. The example that comes to mind is relatively tame, but Mortgaged and I were both cracking up over one station’s Labor Day weekend salute: It’s Labor Day. Time to honor the everyday Joe. The 9 to 5 working man. With a bottle of Wild Turkey. And a $20 hooker…Hey. She’s a working girl too.
Now if only they had a sports radio station up here I’d be in heaven…of course if they did it would probably be a Giants station. Oh well, nothing’s perfect.