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Is there anything more frustrating than the local radio? Never is this more evident than at Christmastime. In Milwaukee, the only two Christmas songs available are that “Canon In D” thing with the boys’ choir, and “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by freaking Mariah Carey. Yes sir, nothing gets me in the spirit like Mariah Carey. Ugh.
I love Christmas music, but this was killing me. Even better, at nighttime when they might play a few different ones, we have an annoying DJ named Delilah who intersperses each song with over-the-top mushiness and “inspirational” messages. Pandora came to the rescue, and here I am, still using it more and more.
Pandora Radio is a little web application where you tell the service an artist you like and it plays music by that artist and others like it. You can give the ol’ thumbs-up or thumbs-down to songs, and it will adjust your playlist accordingly. The more you rate, the better it gets at picking music you’ll like. You can even add more artists to a radio station for variety and even better chances of getting music you like. For music lovers like me, this service is a Godsend, as it is free and easy to use, and it helps me discover new music. But why else is it so great?
You can make as many stations as you want in Pandora. So I can make a country station if I want by just adding a few country artists I like. As you can see above, I added a Rockapella station to listen to a cappella covers of songs any time I want (I never said I was cool). What about Christmastime? Pandora had a couple Christmas stations created, and you can create stations with your favorite artists singing holiday songs, too. Bye-bye, Mariah, hello Straight No Chaser!
My biggest beef with local radio is the commercials. First, they take commercial breaks like every five minutes. We have a station here called FM 106.1, which is an all-country station, and they actually advertise the “No-Talk Triple-Play” where they play, wait for it… THREE whole songs in a row! WOW. And I think there’s something written in the laws of radio that every station has to take commercial breaks at the exact same time. It bothers me. A lot. If I’m in the car for 10 minutes, I don’t want to listen to commercials for 8 of those minutes.
Yes, I love my Zune with all my heart. But what about the days when I just want to sit back and let somebody else pick the music for me? That’s why Pandora comes in handy. When I’m in the car, some days I’ll just plug the adapter into my Blackberry and let Pandora entertain me. Most are hits, there are a few misses occasionally, but it’s nice to have a variety without dealing with all the crap of local radio. I even get (a limited number of) skips (per hour) that I can use for songs that drive me nuts.
Is there anything more pointless than the radio DJ anymore? I understand if you are on talk radio. For example, I’m a huge fan of Dave Ramsey’s radio show. But in those situations, I want to hear the guy talk, not play music. Delilah kills me. At Christmastime, I was listening to a local station during the day while I ran some errands, and they decided to spend 10 minutes in an interview with Ray Romano. *siiiiiiiiggghhhhhh*… With Pandora, it’s computer-generated and analyzed. I don’t have to listen to anybody explain any garbage to me about anything. I don’t have to listen to people winning money and big giveaways. I just get the music.
If you’ve got a pair of headphones, you can listen to Pandora anytime. First, it runs in a web browser, so if you are near a computer, just plug the ol’ headphones in and start listening. Or, if you’re at home, crank up the speakers! As you can see above, it’s available on almost any type of smartphone. I use the Blackberry app myself, and I love it. Plug that bad boy into the cassette adapter or FM transmitter, and it feels like you’re just listening to regular radio. [Bonus feature: when you get a call or a text, it pauses the station for you to take care of it, and then unpauses when you’re done automatically. Cool!]
Have other needs? Well, some boombox-type devices support Pandora music, and Pioneer has announced plans to bring Pandora to more cars in 2010. In addition, I have recently discovered Jamcast, which streams your audio to different supported devices, including my XBox 360 (see link for full list of supported devices, including PS3 and various DVD players), so that I can play Pandora on my computer and listen to it in my living room on my TV. Slick!
Yup. There’s no better argument than this one. It doesn’t cost a dime. You can pay for it if you’d like, and Pandora One offers some nice features, too. But if you want to stick with free, there’s nothing stopping you. The limitations aren’t ridiculous like some services out there, and you can still enjoy it fully.
Yeah, Pandora isn’t big news to anybody who’s been online for the past few years. But if you’re not all that tech-savvy, this can be a great new discovery for you. Check it out today!
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I just want to take a second to wish all of you a very blessed Christmas Day. Now, get off the computer and get back to spending time with your family!
I listen to Bob and Brian On Demand lately (a Milwaukee-based morning radio show – HILARIOUS), and they have featured a segment this year again called “Holiday Horror Stories”, where readers send in their absolutely worst stories stemming from the holiday season. Stories range from grandpa dying and his bowels releasing while his grandson is in his lap to gifts of used underwear and stuff stolen from the local bar, or – my favorite – a guy spending Christmas with his girlfriend visiting her friends and being forced to “distract” them while she steals their presents, and then blames it on him afterwards.
Anyway, while you can’t really control whether or not grandpa is going to kick it while you’re all together, here are some ways you can tolerate – and even enjoy! – the next few days with your family.
This is the easiest to remember. Sure, you went out and found your mother’s favorite book from her childhood that’s been out of print for 20 years and she got you socks. It’s okay. Let it go. I had a grandmother growing up that, for two Christmases in a row, got me the exact same nondescript bright blue hoodless sweatshirt. Not only was it something I would never wear, she clearly didn’t “get it”. But that’s okay. She tried.
More often than not, people are trying. Cut them some slack. While they may be thoughtless once in a while, many times they really do mean well, even if they’re way off base. Be gracious and thankful. Don’t pitch a fit and demand you switch it to “Yankee Swap” just because you gave an iPod and got an oven mitt.
“I bought Ryan an iPod!”
Eggnog is great. So is a good brandy old-fashioned. Even a holiday beer is a good thing. Note these are singular.
If you’re around people you don’t necessarily enjoy being around, drinking is one of the worst ways to cope. After all, you’re more honest when you drink, and you’re just going to be less tactful at hiding the fact you don’t want to be there. Suck it up and deal with it.
Don’t like talking to each other? Great! That’s where your Christmas movies come in handy. From It’s a Wonderful Life to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, there’s something for everybody. Pop in Elf or A Muppet Christmas Carol. Turn on TNT and catch A Christmas Story for the billionth time. If you need a distraction, ditch the drinking and use one of these to keep everybody sane.
Pictured: Your sanity.
I have three older brothers. The oldest is 35 years old. We’ve got a lot of stories. There is nothing greater than sharing funny stories from the past, whether they are Christmas stories or just plain good ones. Laugh hard and think back wistfully to a time when Christmas wasn’t such a source of stress for you.
It’s hard to have a conversation when the kids are running around screaming. But instead of banishing them to the bedroom, let them run around a little bit. Maybe they don’t have to scream so much, but Christmas is a joyous, innocent time for them. They’re playing with family and new toys, and everything’s decorated. Don’t you remember what that’s like?
Heck, even play with them a little bit! Help them put together the latest gadget they got because they’re so anxious to play, or run around with them! Let them enjoy being children before they grow up and have their spirits crushed like you.
Show some joy. Hug your loved ones. This is a time of peace and love. You’d be surprised how many problems can be defused with a smile and a little laughter.
Most importantly, enjoy yourself. It’s Christmas. God bless you and your family over the next couple of days, and I wish you all safe travels and peaceful but fun times with your friends and family.
In 1996, a group of 10 guys from Indiana University put together a little a cappella group called “Straight No Chaser”. They had some fun, sang some local gigs, mainly doing cover songs of contemporary hits and well-known classics.
In April of 2006, one of the original members of the group posted a 1998 recording of them singing a comical version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” on YouTube, which incorporated various Christmas songs, “I Have a Little Dreidel”, and “Africa” by Toto. It rapidly became popular, scoring almost 10 million hits. One guy who saw it was the CEO of Atlantic Records, Craig Kallman.
Now they have a five-album deal. From a ten-year-old video.
They’ve put out two Christmas albums: “Holiday Spirits” and “Christmas Cheers”, which are both incredibly catchy, and also a quick bunch of songs called “Six Pack”, with a few contemporary radio hits combined with throwback classics.
I’m a sucker for great a cappella music – music that has no instruments – and Straight No Chaser is a new discovery for me. That said, I am already huge fans of theirs. So today, kick back, enjoy some holiday music mixed in with some catchy covers, and crank up the Straight No Chaser. You gotta love these guys! Here are some great covers, courtesy of Lala.com:
And here’s some of their holiday hits to put in the seasonal mood, including their bread-and-butter, “The 12 Days of Christmas”:
Courtesy of Kevin at No Debt Plan:
