Radio Free America
By A few questions, inspired by my tape deck-less journey across America. . .
Is it shameful, when in South Dakota, to sit through a “three spot” of Journey in order to reach “three spots” of AC/DC and the Who?
Why does Christian music suck so bad? It’s more than just the lyrics; the music also lacks even the ghost of an interesting hook.
If I can now distinguish between Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, and Trace Adkins, and, indeed, discriminate among them (such that Jackson > Adkins > Keith > Mcgraw), does it mean that the terrorists have already won?
What, exactly, do I have to do in order to become a morning radio show host? One conversation, just outside of St. Joseph, Missouri, centered on the question of whether the Monkeys version of “Stepping Stone” was overly derivative of Paul Revere and the Raiders version. Another, in Cour D’Alene, Idaho, involved an argument that lasted at least 30 minutes between two hosts regarding whether one of them was “self-conscious” about her physical appearance around men. I kid you not. I can make up nonsense at will; this blog and my teaching career should serve as proof. Why can’t I get a job as a morning DJ?
On the upside, I was able to listen to NPR for a surprisingly large amount of the trip. Also, remarably enough, I heard on a Christian channel an almost coherent critique of Peter Singer, although the critique, at the end, into a blanket attack on leftist academia. Altogether, I rather enjoyed the musical component of my journey. My station preference ranking went something like this: NPR > Variety rock station > Classic rock station > Top 40 station > Oldies station > Country station > Talk radio > Christian station. I didn’t slip below #5 often, which indicates a big difference between I-90 and I-84/I-80. This is unsurprising, given the distance that the latter spend in southern Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.