No. 45: Do You Hear What I Hear?

No. 45: Spend one day a week on a radio station that I don’t normally listen to.  i.e. explore SiriusXM radio

Boy, I had no idea this would be so entertaining and educational.

I started on Sirius in my kitchen, scanning in Air Musique.  French punk/alternative music sounds a lot like English punk/alternative music- except I couldn’t understand what they were singing. But it is so similar I felt like I SHOULD be able to understand.    After about three hours of  baking and listening I had a splitting headache and a big batch of cocoa almond biscotti.  I wish I had the ear for French but so far, no.

Yum.

Next was Caliente on Sirius in the car. I speak and understand enough Spanish that it was no different than listening in English. I listened for a few days and discovered I like Juanes. No challenge otherwise.

Juanes. Ummm, a bit of a babe. Also, yum.

Then it got interesting. WRN. World Radio Network. English language radio from all over the world.

The first day I listened was the day that Syria tried shutting down the roads to the airport, the internet and pretty much all outside communication. Reporters read live tweets and brief communiqués from short wave radios.  The government was trying to contain its citizens but the citizens were having none of it.  

History was unfolding live right in my car.

 Syria, located. 

Since then I have heard the Korean fashion report for the winter season. In case you are headed to Korea, pack your color blocked clothes, your tone on tone outfits and complete it all with stillettos.  For work. Apparently sex sells all over the world.

And how about a SwedishHoliday dinner?  Click on the  Swedish Radio website and you too can serve Swedish meatballs, pig's foot in gelé and lutfisk to the relatives come Christmas day.  Smoked reindeer is also a must but I don't think even Whole Foods carries reindeer.

Dinner? I don't think so.

Poland has the Top Thirty Pop countdown that sounds just like a US Top Thirty Pop countdown- only from the 1980s. Maybe I was just listening on a bad day.

But the best part?

It sparked a conversation with a darling 70+ year old gentleman who was interested in Russian Radio. While Sirius doesn’t have a Russian station, we found one on the Internet instead.  So No. 45 brought history to my car, sparked a cross-generational conversation and opened up a world of possibilities.

Wow.

Not a paid advertisement for SiriusXM or anything else mentioned here.