I have spent the better part of this week in and around South California and, boy let me tell you something, I have learned a lot. Keep in mind that this is in just a generic sense, so I suppose it is more of assumptions or things I have come across repeatedly, which I will now claim as things I know – like an explorer on the top of a mountain with a flag claiming this for England… only no England.
Things I have learned… from listening to the radio in South California:
- You can find at least 15 radio stations in your choice of English or Spanish (comparative to the one french channel back home, I prefer this). Quite often I would locate a great song by scanning the radio and then when it had finished the announcer would come back and it would be Spanish. I may need to learn Spanish after this trip because those channels had some great music.
- There are two religious channels (that I could find), but I thought there would be more, AND there is a whoppin’ one country station (that I could find). Apparently So Cal-ians are like me and don’t need more of either of those >.>
- Every Channel (which I could understand) has a name that consists of one-damn-word; ALT FM, ME FM, ROCK FM, DAZE FM — the last two are made up, I couldn’t remember it was too late. Not sure why everything needs one word though… and I guess it’s the same back home, but these ones coincide with the genre they are playing where as we have “Juice” and “Silk” and “Sun”…
- Advertisements are more inclusive of all kinds of people comparative to those back home. The ads are directed towards humans rather than titles (for the most part) and do not make assumptions about the type of person you are (for the most part).
- In a fifteen minute drive, I am more likely to hear more music than commercials because there are less of them and because of the high variety of channels I can switch to.
- Perez Hilton is father, which is awesome because it showcases how little I know or care about daily lives of people considered celebrity.
- Despite having so much variety, commercials are 60% the same or the same content. If I have to hear one more “America get your money back” or “its refund season” I may never listen to the radio again.
I am sure that I will think of something else after I post this, but for now that is it. I started writing this post last week when I was in South California… and now I have been home for a week! No wonder its such a short list.
-A
A. N. Stetzl 