Okay, so I said that radio in southern Illinois sucks, and honestly, it's more of a matter of radio sucks, period.

Addressing just the southern Illinois aspect first, for those of us who are not fans of country, and need something other than classical music in the car, the options used to be one of a couple of classic rock stations (though I use that term very loosely), or one of a couple of "alternative" stations (again, loosely). Well, in the middle of March, one of those alternative stations became Jack Rock... or something like that. But it's basically a pop station now. (As an aside, I think we had some other pop stations before this, I just don't know this for certain.)

So my options just became "or death." :)

Well, not exactly. But in the mornings, all three of the somewhat acceptable stations play syndicated talk shows. I LOATHE syndicated talk shows. So this means that in the mornings, my options are no music at all, or a CD. Then, once there's a CD in the car stereo, why bother taking it out for the very brief drive home from work? Or on the short jaunts around town? Or, particularly, on road trips, when the stations are just going to fade out halfway through the trip anyhow?

Additionally to this, the type of music that I really like is goth music. Yes, I have a special fondness for bits of classic rock, all 80s pop/early alternative, and 90s alternative rock. But goth music is what I really like. Now, when you listen to an "alternative" station these days, what you're mostly getting is emo crap. This extends beyond the southern Illinois stations (which are emo crap / metal) even onto things like internet radio stations... unless you can find yourself a good goth internet radio station... and then, most of the time, you're listening to OLD goth music. Whether this is because there aren't many goth bands putting out new music, or because their new music is hard to find, I'm not sure... but I think it's the latter, turning the whole thing into a very vicious circle.

So I listen to my internet radio, and I discover bands that are kinda catchy... though they have an annoying tendency to be emo or emo-esque, as just about everything that people are putting out for the mainstream market these days falls into that category. And thus I end up listening to emo crap, and bemoaning the fact incessantly... but dealing with it anyways, because the other options are limited.

Having recognized all of this, I really am going to try harder on the whole "discovering new goth bands" bit. Because that's what I WANT to be listening to. And that is, in the end, what I'm going to like.

::..::

In other news, I had a great weekend, particularly with the listening to about half of the BBC "Hitchhiker's Guide" radio show in the mornings, while we were having breakfast and otherwise getting ready for the day. I am astounded as to how much of that series I remember. I'm also pleased with that fact. :)
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