by James Dreyer

Created on: March 01, 2011

“Lost in the Fifties Tonight”; what a great song.  I guess that simple statement explains why I like listening to the radio as much as I do.  Through radio, I am able to get lost in the 50s or any other decade.  Music is timeless.  Music goes back to the beginning of time and will continue through out the eons.  Music has no age, therefore, radio has no age. 

Any time and anywhere in the world one can turn on the radio and hear music; music that transports us to another time and place.  We can close our eyes and be anywhere we want to be and be with any one that we want to be with.  Music transports us. 

Granted, we all have different tastes in music.   We each have a favorite genre or favorite genres; we have a favorite song or songs.  Yes, we could pop in a CD or a tape or download our favorites into our mp3 player or other device and listen to those songs over and over again.  But with radio, we hear our favorites, and then we hear those songs that soon become a favorite.  Or we hear a tune that we have not heard in awhile that reminds us of special someone or a special moment; listening to cassettes or mp3’s precludes us from hearing anything other than what is “programmed in” by us. 

Radio and radio personalities introduce new music to us.  We hear new artists and new songs via the radio.  There are pod-casts, but these are a direct descendant of radio.  

Listening to the radio is a past time that has been enjoyed for years.  Prior to television it was the entertainment medium of choice.  It was virtually the only way that entertainment could be brought directly into the home.  The radio was, and is a source of news.  Radio dramas were the precursors to television soap operas.  Movie stars and stars of the stage made radio come to life for us. 

Radio still plays an important part in our lives today.  We can listen to the news or to music while traveling.  If we have the satellite radio system we can pick the genre we want to hear or we can choose to listen to all sports or all news; we can even choose to listen to some of the radio dramas from yesteryear. 

Radio is still popular because through radio we are able to lose ourselves in music from the past, and through radio, we can make a new “that’s our song” with someone today.  

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