The Delicate Sound

I live in suburban NY - which means I have little or no access to radio stations. I get WNYC which gives me NPR and there is a year-old station called The Peak 107.1 which plays 50% good music in my opinion. They play a decent mix of music aimed at my demographic. i will leave it at that. Classic rock drives me crazy in two ways: it is so predictable that you can almost pick the next three songs and it is occasionally so enticing because it can catch you in the perfect mood. Most of the time, the three classic rock stations in my area play the standards: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Who, Allman Brothers you get the idea. The problem is that most of the time they play the exact same songs: "Wish You Were Here," "Another Brick In the Wall," "Rock & Roll," "Stairway to Heaven," "Kashmir," "Jessica," "Melissa" etc. When they throw a random song at you like "Going Mobile" or "That's the Way" i...

OK - so I bought an iPod. To be totally honest, I cannot understand how I lived without it. I don't commute anymore so I don't have a great deal of time to listen to it - but I find a way. I work out with it religiously. I fall asleep to it - a habit my wife really hates. I turned off the backlight because it is so freaking bright that it would wake her up every time I changed the song or album. I still use iTunes the same way - like a maniacal data junkie. Now I download podcasts in addition to ripping my own CDs. I find that I am tired of what is on my iPod after about a week. I create new playlists every time I take a roadtrip but they too get boring very quickly. Too much music and not enough time. I figure I listen to music - actively listen to music - about two hours a day - an hour in the car and an hour at work while writing documents/reports etc. I listen at home with my wife and kids (more with my kids) on occasion, but usually in a passive type of setting. My son, wh...