Radio Paradise

What about Internet radio stations?

Being the radio fan that I am, I became a bit of a "ground-floor" devotee when it comes to Internet radio stations. If I get any encouragement, I can offer a lot of information and handy links relating to that milieu. But, for now, I want to pull your collective coats to one of my absolute favorites: Radio Paradise!

One of my best feelings in life is when I see a movie, hear a piece of music, or read something and say to myself, "Geez, that was created just for me." Example from movies: "High Fidelity"

Well, with respect to Internet radio stations, only one (so far) hits that note: Radio Paradise. I love this station for lots of reasons, and here are some of them:

1. They play music that (on the whole) I really enjoy;

2. Not only do they play tracks that I have loved for a long time, but they play tracks that I have never heard before, and (usually) really dig. In this regard, you will find new and exciting artists/albums. In my case, two examples are the groups "Deep Forest and "Chorus of Tribes";

3. Their "play stream" always displays what you are hearing, with the added bonus that if you click on the album logo, you get full details about the album and artists;

4. They have a "play list" option that displays that last six hours of their stream. This is great if you are cleaning the house with your wireless headphones on at full blast and later want to find out what that "awesome" cut you heard was, and what album it was on, etc.

5. Paradise really is a small town in California, where the creators actually live, and from which they do their magic. As an aside, about 12 years ago I did a 100-mile "century" bike ride that went through Paradise.

6. You can get FABULOUS esoteric gear through their site. I love their long-sleeved T-shirts: not only are they totally hip, but the quality of the shirt is A-One. I have a black one and a blue one, both of which people always ask me about.

A final word: Don't give up on them. If you decide to listen, give it at least an hour, and if you still don't dig it, well hell – different strokes for different folks.

~ Tom