4/3/10

Something I just realised I miss!

The other day I was in my car listening to the radio, when an advert came on with a great song from my youth playing in the background. It made me smile, it made me sing-a-long and even groove in my seat - and then I realised this is something I really miss for the first time.

You see where I am now, the only radio stations are either country or rock genres, neither of which I followed when I lived in the UK. So I have no history with the music I hear daily. I am no longer in a situation where a song I grew up hearing or loving will unexpectedly play and brighten my day.

It kind of made me sad to realise I am missing out on these little moments of pleasure and it will be years before I'll get to that point with country music. Although there is the odd exception with a couple of Dolly Parton tracks which were big back home too. But I'm not going be singing along to Duran Duran, The Beatles, Abba or Soul to Soul unexpectedly out here! And I lose the spontaneity factor, which is half the pleasure, with a CD.

The only answer I can see is either Sirius or XM, but I'm not ready to pay monthly for satellite radio just yet.

21 comments:

Pam said...

Girl, does your Mazda have the MP3 option? If so, get you an IPOD or Zune player, load up all your 80's greatest hits, plug it in (mine works through the glove box) ... it is one of the best things about the car that I love. If only it would charge up the Zune while playing ... but I did get a car adapter for that.

Unknown said...

No sadly it doesn't, just went out to check, but thanks for the idea.

Tabitha said...

I know how you feel! I got sick of country when I was in your neck of the woods! If your car has a tape deck, you can get an MP3 adapter. Also, we play Pandora.com on our computer at home for that radio spontaneity, but we can make up the stations that we like. We also have a data plan on our phone so we can play Pandora through our cell phones in the car. We just plug it into our MP3 adapter.

Unknown said...

Tabitha - I only have a CD, stumped again!

Robin said...

There is a car adapter that works through your car's radio. It plugs into your cigarette lighter. It's not the best option, but it does work.

Expat mum said...

Even tho' I'm in Chicago and can avoid the country as and when I need to (often), you can get Steve Wright in the Afternoon on your computer and he plays all of our stuff!!! Just go to the BBC web site, then pick Radio 2 (Radio 1 is now loud and crap), then click on "Listen Now". Heaven!!!
You can mute it when someone walks in the office.

Expat mum said...

OOps, sorry I forgot you were in the car. Oh well, you can get your fix when you're at work!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Sarah---I'm sure there are LOTS of things you miss---if you just sit and think about them. BUT--you don't (which I'm sure is good). IF you 'fretted' over all of the things which are different, you'd be depressed constantly... But--you have made the best of all of the changes in your life. I'm proud of you. I'm not sure I could do it myself.

I hope you CAN find a way to listen to some of the music from your past --which you love... We all need more things to make us SMILE.

Happy Easter.
Hugs,
Betsy

Anonymous said...

Try Pandora.com on your computer. You can create your own radio station, and the music from Britain will pop up.

For example, I typed Peter Paul and Mary, and got the Beatles, the Mamas and Papas, etc.

Experiment with this. It's not in your car, but it will satisfy your craving.

Joe Todd said...

Happy Easter Sarah

Stella Jones said...

That is very easy to solve Sarah. All you need to do is go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio and you can listen live to any of the stations on there....try it and see :)
Also there are many Internet radio stations with all kinds of music and words for you to listen to.
Blessings, Star

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I've had XM for 5 years and its worth it to me despite the monthly fee. There is an incredible variety of music (and talk, but I don't do the talk or sports, or anything besides music.)

Some of the channels have adverts but most don't.

Anyway, when you are ready for it, it is great.

Vickie said...

Sarah: I listen to audiobooks in my vehicle, but DH has SIRIUS/XM in his. I renew his subscription each December as part of his Christmas present. We also have it on our DirectTV package, so can listen to it in the house. It's wonderful! It's not overly expensive, you don't have to listen to ads or constant DJ yammer.
I concur on the adaptor for the mp3 player for the car, too. My sister has that and luh-huvs it.

Jill of All Trades said...

You might talk to the dealership about the adapter thingy...might be worth it. I don't know if I could survive listening to Country music forever. It just doesn't do it for me. I would be investing in tons of CD's...wait I have...LOL...good luck Sarah.

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

I like country music once in awhile, but not a steady stream of it. Luckily we have several classic rock stations that play all the good music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Hope you come up with a solution

Iota said...

We had Sirius for a free 3-month trial, and I did enjoy it (but not enough to pay for it when the freebie ended).

Pam said...

Duran Duran is a GREAT station on Pandora. It gets loads of great 80's stuff coming up. Kymmie is the one who told me about it -- I had been stuck on Beatles and now I can't quit listening to Duran Duran station. Now, I don't know if you can record but maybe you can pay and download and make your own CDs?

Pam said...

Okay, don't ask me why I keep thinking about this. But I am pretty sure you can buy an adaptor for your cd player that you can plug an MP3 player into somehow. If you have the "AUX" feature on your radio, then you already have that capability.

Expat mum said...

You can get Radio 1 on Sirius but frankly, it's a lot of noise these days. (How old do I sound?) But Radio 2 (as you know) and many others, you can listen to on your computer. Bliss!

Expat mum said...

Just realised I've already responded to this. Derr.
We have that plug in thing for MP3 players and as long as you're not in a big city (like Chicago) it works quite well.

Unknown said...

http://www.piratefm.co.uk/

have some local radio - plays all the old 80's cheesy pop - you'll be dancing around your handbag!