Broadcasting Live... from my bedroom

Once upon a time, the radio presenter was a god-like being whose disembodied voice had the power to make or break the careers of musicians, who could bring joy into the heart of a listener, who was an all-knowing being with a special talent. And that talent, was, of course, being on the radio. Only the favoured few got jobs on the radio.

As time went by, the number of radio stations increased. More stations meant more radio presenters were required. But radio presenters were still unusual beings. (After all, think how many D.J.s you’ve met yourself – I bet the answer’s only one or two).

Is being a disc jockey such a hard job? After all, surely all they do is sit there and play their favourite records and intersperse it with a bit of inane chatter? (I can exclusively reveal after having done it for 20 years that it’s nowhere near as easy as that – but that’s another story – check out an earlier article on this site, “Pilots of the Airwaves”, which talks about what DJs do for a living.

How to Do It Yourself

Thanks to the technology of the internet, now anyone can have a go at being a DJ. You might like to try programming your own radio station at Sonicnet ( http://www.sonicnet.com/radio/home/index... ). You can pick from dozens of different pre-programmed formats, or you can log in and design your own radio station. Choose your own songs. You could have all Bee Gees all the time (!!). Or Beatles back to back. Or Leonard Cohen every other track (which is probably extremely dangerous for your sanity). It’s entirely up to you. You are the programmer (and you don’t have to worry about a DJ – the tracks keep on coming without anything but the occasional station break). This site uses the Windows Media Player which you’ve probably already got on your system.

The Groove Site (http://www.groovesite.com/custom.html ) is even less complicated. You just choose a keyword, which can be as broad as ‘funk’ or ‘male’ and the site comes up with a playlist. As I write, I’m listening to a Dutch R&B band I’ve never heard of, but they’re really rather good. And I would never have heard them without this (and who says the internet is killing music sales??). It’s quite hit and miss, but none-the-less enjoyable. This site uses RealAudio which you will have to download from the RealNetworks site.

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