Simple question really . . . do you listen to the radio? . . . if so . . . do you like what you hear? Is it the music you want or music you are forced to listen to?

Maybe it’s just me . . . or maybe I listen to too much of it, but I personally feel that the whole thing is repetitive. Same ol’ same ol’! I would prefer to listening to more new stuff more often, more discoveries so to speak rather than the same people over and over.

Unfortunately though, and yes, I have been drowning myself in the miasma of self-pity’ . . . I don’t think trends are going to change any time soon. Radio stations are a profit making machine like any other business and must have decided to play the popular music. After all, if its popular it means that people like it and want more of it . . . isn’t it? I think as much as radio stations play what they think people want to hear, by that nature, you sort of have to be famous to be famous if you get my drift. You have to be famous to get onto radio . . . and in a way you need radio to get famous.

All this obviously rests on ones definition of ‘famous’ but I know of a great number of artist, local and foreign who are amazing to the core meaning of the word, but never get onto any radio station by virtue of not being popular enough. Some even have cult like following, I mean if you were to go to some of these live shown in Kenya you would get some very talented artist being cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd . They play varied instruments and singing beautiful music but of course it won’t be the club stuff, the youthful ‘5.00 pm TV’ music so clearly no radio play. I mean when was the last time you heard Mr. Wainaina on radio . . . Aaron Rimbui, Carole Atemi, Chris Adwar, Valery Kimani?? Which is a pity because they really do have good music. Have you ever heard of Asa? . . . Ayo, Lira, Conya Doss, Corrine Bailey-Rae, Chrisette Michele, The Script, Emogen Heap, Vampire Weekend, Mos Def, Raekwon, Katie Melua . . . or even David Guetta before he did a song with Akon and got into local radio.

This is to me is what has led to the misguided notion that right now in Kenya, Gospel musician are the only ones with their act together as they are getting mad exposure. The different I beg to put forward, is that they get the air play . . . across the board!! And with that, the listenership to follow.

Research shows that radio listenership has been on the decline in general . . . more personal music devices, CDs, internet radio and stuff . . . but in Kenya . . . is it that only? It is said though, that people do not listen to radio for the music, but for the presenters . . . well, I believe a survey done like two or so years back declared Citizen radio the most favored radio station in the country, playing benga and zilizopendwa . . . and with some not so exiting Djs . . . but that’s my opinion.

Anyway. . . it is what it is, I think I’m right . . . what do you think??

Get a hobby. Read a book. Change channels.

Listen to Lunchtime Melodies and Sundowner on good old KBC.

Quite on point. Radio is too narrow for my tastes...I prefer to run my own playlist.. I actually listen to radio mostly in the office. Apart from that, radio??? Naaahh. I also agree that Asa should have won hands down. Now this may draw some heat my way, but I did not find anything exceptional in that wahu song. Sure, it was catchy and easy to remember, lakini musically speaking, to me it was just another song... just my two cents

Wow, niado . . . you just nailed it. I remember listening to BBC sometime back and they actually had a program discovering new artists from Africa . . .go figure . . . I can't remember the name of the program for the life of me.

In search of a better station to tune to, nowadays ave found something nice, capital FM UK really works for me when am on the net, personally what pisses me of is the not so useful and very annoying political news,cjui Raila this,kibaki that,and some other idiots who are given airplay and attention whenever they open their foul mouth, we really have not changed much from the days when KBC would bring news always starting with Rais Daniel......and his portrait,can we have a media without politics? Kenyan politics are sickening and we the ordinary people, worship them politicians.

Nowadays listening to a station via the internet is possible coz the prolonged buffering one used to experience before is no more, am not sure what came up.