Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Crafty Bastids!!!

so I was driving around today, listening to some crappy pop-current-rap radio station when I noticed something different about my radio display.


I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about... you know.. it's called RDS or something.... where the digital display for your radio console tells you what station you're listening to, and they also show the artist and song name? or at least 80% of the time, the station shows like 80% of the information....

for example... it has taken me 5 trips to Kindermusik class, the grocery store, playgroup and target to see bits and pieces of information enough for me to figure out that the song I've been digging lately is called "Gold Digger" by Kanye West. (please... don't ruin my little world and tell me the song has been out for a year now.... I'd like for once to think I'm still within a 3-month current rule???)


either way... the song got my attention cause it sounded like Ray Charles mixed in as a backtrack... only to find out it's Jamie Foxx who's singing it, which now is making me think that the song IS a year old, cause Jamie played that role in Ray HOW long ago????

but I digress. this RDS thing is nice.... when it works, that is. sometimes the station does not send out the digital info... and sometimes my car only displays partial information. for example... for a while, I only saw "Gold" when the song played... then I got a "KANYE" and "DIGGER" another time.... so detective that I am, I put it all together to figure shit out.


but all hoorays aside for me... the RDS system is nice. keeps me *somewhat* in tune with what's going on in musical America.... or at least the 5 most popular songs of the week, cause you KNOW the radio stations around here play the same shit over and over again......


but TODAY...... the crafty Bastards at my I-guess-you-could-call-it-my favorite radio station stopped displaying info about the music I was listening to. Today... they were sending out promotional information for their station. telling me to listen to the station to win $5000. (which, by the way... came in as a clear and complete sentence.. unlike the partial shit-ass info they send for the songs...)


So I'm torn on this topic. while I think it's ingenious to push out commercials WHILE the music is playing... I find it rather retarded that they're telling me to listen to their station. I mean... what's the point of THAT message when I'm ALREADY LISTENING TO THEM????? Now, if they figured out how to send that info for when I'm listening to a DIFFERENT STATION.... I'd be impressed. They'd probably find themselves in a lawsuit, too, but I'd still give a whup-whup for the set of balls that would take.


but back to my torn-ness. I find it crafty.... but think they should find a better message to pump out. Like shopping at one of their sponsor's stores or something. (capitalizing money monger in me, sorry.....)

But then, I get pissed at the thought, cause I'm like... DUDE.... I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL I'M LISTENING TO!!!!!! and then I think... well, SHIT... if they can send out whatever info they want... why can't the fuckers send out USEFUL information... like the weather or traffic forecast.... and if there's an Amber Alert or hurricane warning or something... will THAT information get sent out????


I'm betting not... which pisses me off. Instead... I get told to listen to their station. Which, naturally, I only get told to do WHILE listening to their station. I mean, I appreciate their eagerness and I think it's great that they're running a promotion that could win me $5000 dollars.... but I honestly would rather just go back to my shitty partial information of what song came out a year ago.......

10 comments:

Mr. Apropos said...

Let me first to agree radio sucks. I can only hope to go deaf slightly before going senile so I can enjoy the silence for a second or two before I start to drool on myself.

Sadly, I don't think that is going to work out for me. I just don't have that kind of luck.

Susie said...

Radio blows. Get an iPod with the car installation and screw radio!

Elvis said...

ok - first up - Mr. apropos is right - radio sucks.

Second - kid - PLEASE* change your freakin font color to something that can be discernable on the gray monster-background you have working. I don't know how Dad reads it, maybe he got his new Braille web device in. As for me, I'm poppin' advils like m&m's after every time I try to understand what in hell you're blabbin' about.

*note: the Wife(TM) made me write please

gina said...

i have that same thing, just didnt know the NAME of it. i rather enjoy knowing the song and who sung it, too!

Carrie said...

your cheerios have now been cleaned up, Der.....

Me said...

I'm not cool enough to have that technology :)

Anonymous said...

carrie-o- have you googled (don't you hate how i just made that into a verb?) the version of gold digger some guys did after hurrican katrina? you should!

Christi said...

You should listen to The End (106.5). I loved that station while I was living up there! 104.7 was good, too, but only for the talking...I loved Matt and Ramona!

Marianna said...

Oh that's a bunch of crap! I love looking at my display, but when I travel to some of these po-dunk towns, I'm lucky to get the time to show up on my display. Talk about time warp! lol

The road from San Antonio & Corpus was dreadful. I actually had to turn off the radio because I couldn't stand to listen to the only station ~ Tejano music. SHOOT ME!

M~

Jewl said...

I didn't even know radios did that now! Then again I never have mine on anymore because the TV is playing some sort of Wiggles song in my ear as I am driving along.