Happy Friday

Long have I been a fan of the radio. I grew up in a house in which CBC Radio 2 was constantly on. It was on some much in fact, that there was often no one listening to it. My father would simply leave in on the morning, and when I got home in the afternoon it would still be playing. Throughout this time I never really listened to it and certainly never really appreciated it – likely because the last demographic CBC Radio is targeted to is the under 20 crowd. That all changed this past year due two large changes in my life: unemployment and my first car.

I spent the first 4 months of 2009 doing what I can only describe as living the life. Basically I spent my days cooking, eating, reading and playing video games with my evenings filled with trips to the gym to workout and play squash. During most of this time spent at home the radio would quietly play away. I would only semi-listen to it, but it was there filling my head with music, opinion and news. It was then that I was introduced to one of my favourite ways to spend an hour and a half – The Q with Jian Ghomeshi (from who I stole the title of this entry). Jian is an extremely talented radio host with an amazing insight in the arts in Canada and around the world. Beyond that he often does excellent interviews with many interesting personalities and puts his television contemporary, George Stroumboulopoulos, to shame. He became a bit of a sensation when he skillfully handled an arrogant and possibly drunk Billy Bob Thornton, and uses those same skills everyday to get interesting information and insight from his guests. (This morning he played a replay of his interview with Lenard Cohen)

After my winter of relaxation, I moved to Halifax and inherited my father’s old Saab 900s – I should mention here that I loved that car and mourn its retirement everday. I spent a lot of time in that car touring around the province and filling my days with adventure. Even though it was equipped with satellite radio, I always found myself listening to Radio One. I would listen to the Q in the morning and Maritime Noon and Main Street in the afternoon. Cruising down the coast or to the beach with those familiar voices and interesting topics are some of my fondest memories and a very good summer. Although I do not have my car anymore I have recently taken to listening to the radio here at work. The simulated company and mental stimulation CBC Radio supplies me with helps me get through even the dullest parts of the workday.

I would like to end this entry with a plea for all you reading to go out and try listening to the radio every now and then. We are very lucky to live in a country which such good public radio, free from commercials and stupid, cheesey radio personalities. Unfortunately, the CBC has been under funding attack for the last ten years, likely because many of you who do pay for it don’t even use it. So go and listen to the Q, or Dispatches, or Vinyl Tap (with Randy Bachman) and enjoy what Canadian culture has to offer. And remember in our age of the internet, no one needs a receiver to listen to the radio. http://www.cbc.ca/radio/

-DG

Note: One of the best gems on Radio One is The Age of Persuasion with Terry O’Reilly at 11.30am on Mondays. He tells very interesting stories and anecdotes about the advertising industry and is my favourite show. The entire show is also available online: http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/