If your playlists are getting stale and your listening habits are diminishing, it’s time for some new things to listen to. Perhaps listening to the best independent and community radio stations in the US could help. If you agree, check out LDial.
Besides being a great source of independent listening pleasure, it’s also a really good web site. Check it out.
P.S. The author of the site writes about the design, here. Smart stuff.
In an age when the default design approach for devices tends towards minimal and digital, it’s great to see devices that go in a different direction. Take this device:
If it weren’t for the dial, you might have a hard time determining it is a very fun FM radio. I love it. It reminds me of Italian design from the 1980s.
Or take this analog device:
It’s a brilliant way to know the weather outside! I highly recommend you go here to really get a sense of well it is designed and all it can do.
Check out the link for the radio as well. It’s also innovative in it’s design.
While generally I don’t like promoting devices on Kickstarter, I make an exception for the beauty above. As Yanko Design says, this steampunk radio, speaker and clock comes with a display made from real nixie tubes!.
It’s very cool. Over at Yanko Design they have lots of beautiful pictures of it, plus links to the Kickstarter.
Love it.
I absolutely love this City Radio, shown above. You push the button and it play music from the city listed. So cool. Love the analog design too. It reminds me of the best of Dieter Rams and Braun.
Part of the reason I love it is because it reminds me of the old radio my grandmother had. As a kid it had all the cities of the world listed on a glowing panel, and as I would move the dial a needle would go back and forth and play music from different parts of the world (depending how good reception was). That just amazed me then.
If you have technical skills, and old radio and a raspberry pi, you can make such a thing for yourself. Just google “convert old radio raspberry pi”. Of the links I found, I like this and this and this.
I learned about Slow Radio here: I Listened To Slow Radio For A Week, And Here’s What Happened – HelloGiggles.
What is slow radio? According to that piece:
… it’s basically programming that moves at a very casual pace. It immerses you in sound to help you stay grounded in the present.
Is slow radio music, meditation, a catalog of sounds, or a podcast? The short answer: Yes. When you turn on slow radio, you won’t find any one thing in particular. One episode, you’ll get lost in ambient nature sounds. The next, you’ll hear slow-paced conversations about music. After that, you’ll take a trip through a soundscape on a bustling street in Japan.
Sound good? The BBC link to it is here.
Smart People I Know 