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Comment by neilv | Hacker News Reader

A remaining problem is that you're still listening to whatever they play on the radio.

Local college radio and other small stations tend to be great. Sure the music won't be custom tailored by either "what past-you liked" or neural networks expressly designed to increase Sweden's internal revenue, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the experience of listening all the same. As an extra plus you're likely to get relevant information on local news and events too.

Long live public broadcasting!

Damn you, Sweden! /s

> Sure the music won't be custom tailored by ... neural networks expressly designed to increase Sweden's internal revenue

hilarious take! I have found that any perfect recommendation takes the joy out of music listening for me. I feel like the highs and lows of good vs. bad songs are taken away and then its just a constant stream of background music.

They're few and far between, but a good radio station make this a non-issue. KEXP in Seattle is phenomenal; I listed to them just as much as Spotify or my local collection.

Also a KEXP listener and supporter. Long live KEXP!

Listening now!

While we're plugging:

WFMU (NY)

KALX (UC Berkeley)

KZSC (UC Santa Cruz)

KXT (listener-supported radio from Dallas/Ft Worth)

Radio Paradise (no ads, listener supported)

And many more...

KMHD (PDX)

More listener supported SF Bay Area stations worth checking out:

KFJC 89.7 (Foothill College - Los Altos Hills)

KBCZ 89.3 (Community radio - Boulder Creek)

KPOO 89.5 (SF)

KSQD 90.7 (Community radio - Natural Bridges Media)

KDFC (multiple frequencies) (Classical music)

Yay, KFJC FM where I started my radio career in 1979. It's still a great station to hear "new" music.

https://kfjc.org

KCRW - Santa Monica, CA

Shout out WXPN (Commercial free, Philly local)

and WKDU if you just want that pure chaos experience that college radio can be.

Also Pacifica stations KPFT, KPFA, KPFK, WBAI, WPFW - https://pacificanetwork.org/

There are a lot of awesome radio stations out there. They are vastly outnumbered by garbage but I love listening to my local community stations.

Can't you just use a playlist on some service or your own local MP3 collection or something like that then?

You could, but it's basically an echo chamber of music. I know services offer discovery, but I often switch songs instantly, whereas if its on the radio, I'm forced to listen to it, and songs often grow on me.

Yes. This!

I like my collection, but I want it to grow, and over the years my musical tastes have matured and changed as I've discovered and listened to more varieties of more genres.

Something I've explained to my kids is that you need to know what you don't like in order to better refine and describe what you do like - and this means listening to music that doesn't 'spark joy', because it's educational, and I care about my musical knowledge and journey. Listening to music selected by someone else allows that journey to continue and branch off into unexpected places.

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