Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Soma FM: online, commercial-free, independent radio out of S.F.

SomaFM independent internet radio

My favorite radio station for studying and chores is Soma.fm. They've had to fight to keep on the air, and I'm very glad they figured it out because it's a great service -- their selections are spot on.

There are a number of channels on the station, but so far my favorite is Groove Salad. I'm not great about electronic music labels but I'd say Groove Salad is downbeat, ambient or chill. Second favorite is Beat Blender, and third is Secret Agent. I find them all to be great music to study to -- the (general) lack of vocals helps, as that is what tends to be a big distraction when I have to concentrate.

A musically savvy bodyworker friend of mine, Tito, uses Groove Salad for background music when he's doing his bodywork for similar reasons.

I haven't spent enough time exploring the other stations, and I've noticed a few new ones popping up lately. Do cruise around the site you may find some stuff you like.

Enjoy self-starter media outlets and the quality they provide,

Bp

9 comments:

Catherine Just said...

have you hear of http://www.pandora.com

you can create radio stations based on your favorite artists. I've been listening at home for the past 2 weeks. addicted.

Bpaul said...

I haven't been able to play with that enough yet to figure it out. I want to it looks like it could be dandily customizable.

Catherine Just said...

maybe when I come over next weekend we can figure that out over a cup o tea!

Bpaul said...

Kickin'

Anonymous said...

awesome.

Just as a note, it's not just Soma that's been hurting. As I understand it, pretty much all Internet radio stations have had to reconsider their mortalities due to the recent actions of the Copyright Royalty Board.

more info at http://www.freepress.net/netradio/

On a side note . . . Hey B, did you get my mix CD in the mail yet? ;-)

Bpaul said...

I haven't, but I'm not at home yet tonight. Will be a few more hours :-). Would be nice to get a present when I arrive home.

Stu Farnham said...

I wouldn't mind the royalties if they went to the artists. The current situation with the record companies is like that of music publishers and black musicians through the first 2/3 of the 20th century. Little or none of the profit for their art went to the artists.

Now, wrt SOMA.FM. I checkd it ourt yesterday and, once it started playing I could not get it to stop. I killed my broswer. I went into task manager and shot anything remotely related to audio. I finally had to log out to make it go away. Very odd.

Marty said...

Bought a Sirius radio last week. It RAWKS! 5 or 6 heavier rock stations, album rock, early alt, 90's alt/grunge, metal and the best part....The Playboy radio channel!

Bpaul said...

Stu, that's weird. I know they have multiple players available... you and that audio on your computer I swear.

Marty, you had me til Playboy radio. What the HELL could be on Playboy radio? How much of breathy dimwit boob-job talk can one take?