New Hope for Radio

For those of us who have not embraced the monthly fees and parking garage uselessness of satellite radio and are frustrated with the endless radio airtime taken up with advertisements and promotions instead of commentary or music, the solution is here. Known generically as "Jack" radio, KCBS here in Los Angeles has gone to the format, which seems to be characterized as having an unusually large playlist and no DJs. Advertisements still run, but far less than usual, and there is no idle chatter every 11 minutes from the "talent." Plus, the playlist is genuinely broad. One might call it "eclectic," if that term had not come to mean "weird." I've tried "eclectic" a few times, when I wanted to pretend to be sophisticated. Unfortunately, I can only take so much of Ani DiFranco. The "Jack" rotation generally consists of anything that has been on a rock Top-40 list in the past 35 or so years. Like a combination of classic rock and Star stations, you get Guns-N-Roses mixed with Echo and the Bunnymen, Michele Branch and Dire Straits. It sounds a little weird, but oddly enough, it works, if you are no too smug to admit that you like popular rock music. Thankfully, the playlist is large enough to avoid the endless ZZ Top repetitions endemic to classic rock stations or the non-stop Matchbox 20 love-fest of a Star-type station. Everything in moderation; not a bad deal, especially for the price.