h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I had the extreme misfortune to spend an hour and a half in a taxi on Friday night, listening to the most downloaded tunes of 2010 on heart fm. It was most depressing to think that the unrelenting stream of R and B drivel that was played is what is most popular in this country.
Petty hates; R and B / heart fm.

Be happy it was on radio. Having to watch it would have been worse.

PH: R 'n' B not referring to the kind of music that Chuck Berry & co play(ed)

Petty hates: Heart FM's attitude towards its listeners. I sent them an email a while back asking how they can justify the "more music variety" slogan when they play the same stuff every single day.

The reply basically boiled down to "the public are stupid and don't know what they want so we give them the same thing over and over and just tell them it's varied because they say they want variety, but they really want the same thing over and over".

your radio, your LP shelf.
PH: one LP stored in some other sleeve...somewhere.

"The reply basically boiled down to "the public are stupid and don't know what they want so we give them the same thing over and over and just tell them it's varied because they say they want variety, but they really want the same thing over and over"."

They're right though- if they played non-hit stuff, album tracks, interesting indie music, etc, the listening masses would switch off. It's a sad fact that the majority of warehouse workers, home workers and other folk who have the radio on all day in the background, just want to hear songs they know over and over again. I know; I worked in such a warehouse once and any time something new and interesting was played someone would change the station to something playing 'the hits'

Yep. There's a reason 6Music nearly got shut down - it didn't have enough listeners.

I get it. I like hearing songs I know, but I'd like more variety than you get. I listen to Absolute Radio (formerly Virgin radio) because it has more vairety than any other station I've found. It's digital only outside London though, so I can't put it on in the car.

listens to Planet Rock. I call it Planet Boring.

Yeah, I'd love to listen to a radio station that played album tracks - even obscure ones. The oldies stations I've tried listening don't deviate far from playing Beatles number ones, famous number ones and any Motown hit. Gets very boring very quickly.

RE TSO 11 don't get me started. Ugh.

Dearest, *I* could get you started - once. But if I´d behave like a radio station, doing my best trick for the 79th time within 30 minutes...wouldn´t you cancel the marriage?

Petty hates: flamingoes, wear-wolfs. EVIL... Imagine a wear-flamingo!No don't it may happen.

I've read a book with were-swans in. Does that help?

I'm a were-human, but no one notices.

PH: its / it's.

Ladies, beware tb - he´s a weremathematician. When the moon is full he sits on the roof and does square roots in French.

I used to be a werewolf, but I'm alright naaaaooooooooooow...

Sho! I´ve read about your public transport odyssey and laffed my hairy behind off...have you ever tried to get from Düsseldorf to Meerbusch?

Düsseldorf to Meerbusch is very easy. Either the S-bahn to Meerbusch osterath or the U76 tram between Düsseldorf & Krefeld. Or the U70 which runs only at peak times.

I did that journey a lot in an old job (Krefeld -> Düsseldorf) and it was a doddle compared to my recent trials & tribulations.

terribly sad that I know that, I think