Last winter I wrote
about the growth of Internet Radio, and many of you told me about your
favourite online music sources. As a result, I've started listening
quite regularly while I work, enough to have assembled a small list of
favourite stations and tools:
Favourite rock music station: Rock Chicks Radio
- 128kbps Stereo - All the great women of rock, and interactive: you
can get them to add your favourite singer & song to the rotating
playlist of about 300 songs, send 'dedications' that will come up
everytime your favourite song is played, and vote on songs and increase
the amount of play they get.
Favourite African music station: Pan-African All-Stars Radio
- 64kbps Stereo - I love modern African music, especially West/Central
African soukous. This station plays a great variety from throughout the
continent, and they have a very informative website as well.
Favourite Latin American music station: SalsaStream - 96kbps Stereo - Readers know I'm taking Salsa dance lessons (coming very
slowly, by the way, but great fun). But I've loved Latin American music
for years, and this site has great sound and lots of variety.
Favourite folk music station:Omzig Kicks Ass - 64kbps Mono - Scroll down the list until you find 'Omzig'. As much as I like Hober Radio, this one's at least as good. Great mix of old and modern folk.
Favourite eclectic mix music station: Radio Paradise
- 64kbps Mono - This station bills itself as an 'intelligent music'
station and plays a wide variety of consistently high-quality, often
little-know and rarely-heard music.
Favourite classical music station: InLive Katharsis
- 128kbps Stereo - Scroll down the list until you find 'Katharsis' (not
a 24-hour station so if you don't see it, it's off-air). This is a
tough choice, since there are some excellent alternatives from France,
Switzerland and Russia. But this station, surprisingly from South
Korea, has excellent sound and plays not only an excellent selection of
music from Medieval to Contemporary Classical, but seems to pick the
best possible performances of each composition. When it's off-air I
listen to MagnaTune all-indie-performers' Shoutcast Classical Radio station.
Most unusual station: Radio KanKan
- 24kbps Mono - The country of Guinée in West Africa is one of the
least-known in the world, but a source of great music (including some
amazing electric/tribal instrument fusions). This station and its site
play a lot of music and also take a courageous stand against it's
government's corruption. Some fascinating local stories, that tell you
more about the people of this land, caught between the indigenous,
French colonial and Arabic cultures, than you'll ever get in a book.
They're also nuts about football (soccer). In French.
Favourite Internet Radio Directory/Player: ShoutCast with BOOMBox.
The BOOMBox player is free to download. Access to hundreds of Internet
Radio stations (including all of the above), which you can listen to
with one click (no need to go through the station's website). Very
comprehensive list of stations, and well-maintained. Uses ShoutCast as
its streaming system and works best with the sister WinAmp player
(which is also free online). Set up your own favourites list and then
browse through your favourites with one-click.. Identifies the
selection currently playing as you browse. Also one-click recording
capability. No annoying ads. I'll never go back to Netscape Radio or
Yahoo Radio. If you can't find what you're looking for in the BOOMBox
list, the ShoutCast page has more detailed listings and info on the
available stations, as well as popularity ratings and one-glance look
at what's now playing on all the stations on a particular genre.
Sure beats the hell out of ClearChannel. Check 'em out, tell me what you think, and what your favourites are.
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
Last winter 
