It should come as no surprise that my favorite thing about the iPhone are the radio apps. After all, the name of the blog is Radio Hannibal.
There's so much to love about a smart phone and in my case an iPhone. There's the great photos I can take or the great photos I can look at because of the gorgeous screen. Don't get me started on my new Gal Friday, Siri. A gimmick? Hardly. And, of course, there's Spotify and the built in MP3 player providing me with music of my choice on demand.
So why is it I find something that doesn't give me a choice and is not on demand so much to my liking? It goes back to lying under the covers of my bed as a child, AM transistor radio in hand, slowly moving the dial to tune in far flung radio stations from Chicago, New York or as far away as New Orleans. It seemed magical. Heck, it was magical. Especially back then when radio was local and regionalism influenced top 40. I'd hear songs I'd never heard on Cleveland radio and different DJs spinning them.
Now, instead of a transistor radio it's my iPhone and I don't have to wait for night fall when the atmosphere allows for skywaves or skip to occur. My listening choices aren't limited to the eastern half of the United States either. I can "tune in" a station from the other side of the world.
If I wake up in the wee small hours of the morning I can listen to the BBC where's it's morning drive time. On a winter evening I can imagine being in Australia or New Zealand where it's summertime and already the next day.
As far as the music goes, Cleveland's not alone in the fact that there's little innovation or creativity on the commercial radio dial. Corporate greed has ruined radio all across the country. There are those far and few between stations that are still great though, here in the United States and across the globe. I can listen to any one of them on my iPhone. And with 3G I'm not restricted to listen only at home but while driving as well.
Then there's sports. It's true that the NFL, MLB, and NBA prohibit their games from being streamed on the internet so the station is forced to block their signal during the game. It's not so for the NHL. At least for now. They, too, are making an effort to shut off radio streams of their games. It makes it a bit of a challenge to find a station that is streaming a live hockey game. They have an app now, just like major league baseball where you can listen to any game you want but according to the comments it's not too good yet.
When I do find a hockey game on I love to fall asleep to the action. There's something comforting to me in knowing that thousands of people are gathered together and having a good time.
When some major news or weather story hits I'll find a station close to the action and listen live. It's kind of like rubbernecking. And now, my current favorite radio app, TuneIn, has added police and fire scanners. No, I'm not one of those geeks but it could be a great way for a local news blogger to get the scoop on breaking news.
One thing I've also noticed recently is that Clear Channel has disallowed their streams on apps like TuneIn wanting people to use their own IHeartRadio app. The odd thing is that some of their own stations aren't on it.
My love of radio is nearly as strong as my love of music. There's something about connecting with another human being somewhere in the world who is interested in turning you on to some new song. There's also something about hearing news or even commercials from a city you don't live in. I think that has to do with my passion for travel. Call it a virtual vacation.
