As mentioned before, a lot of music in Dublin is shite. Like a party in a small room, you’re often thrown into contact with that which is better avoided. Boy bands. Girl bands. Alluringly-clad, uninspired, aerobic, lip-synching pop starlets. Shite, in other words. It’s hard to avoid.
A handful of stations dominate Irish radio. FM-104, TodayFM, and 2FM broadcast from coast-to-coast, spewing out the usual palaver that Sony and Polygram and BMG want to condition consumers to. Sure, they feature raunchy, energetic morning crews just like in the US. And raunchy, wise-ass phone-in shows in the late PM hours, just like on major commercial American stations. Mostly they just spin ads and that formulaic drum-machine crap, though.
Over on the state-supported RTE-1, there’s a pair of vaguely NPR-ish morning and evening news shows on which are worth a listen on occasion. Credit’s deserved for the way they get top government officials on air for interviews, and- state supported station be damned!- stick it to them.
Recent times have even seen the launch of "Lite FM," to nab the easy listening/soft rock demographic. Need more be said about Dublin radio? SHITE.
But I am here to cry, "Despair not, tuning that rental car dial!" There are two stations with a bit of character, a bit of independence and flair.
The first genuinely cool station I found is called Radio Dublin, broadcasting at 100.0 MHz. Radio Dublin’s all-volunteer staff spin Irish and country music. Sounds lame? It’s not. There’s a whole spectrum of artists and songs that are beloved by thousands and thousands of Irish people. We’re talking old-style country here---- Marty Robins’ "El Paso," Johnny Cash’s "Ring of Fire." Ireland’s a major beef exporter, and where there’s cows, there’s cowboys. The playlists mix in Irish ballads that lament just like country tunes.... "The Fields of Athenry," there’s a good example. That tune’s freely available from Napster, so go download it and give its story 2 or 3 listens--- see if it doesn’t get to you. Tuning in to Radio Dublin opens a whole new world.
From the old to the new... Dublin’s only valid source for contemporary music is Phantom FM. Local bands, independent labels. Pirate radio! Playlists compiled by enthusiasts- NOT by programming managers slavering for kickbacks! Phantom doesn’t launch marketing campaigns to label itself ‘The Cutting Edgeä ã â .’ Phantom’s just so real that it cuts.
Listening to the mainstream stations, it’d appear the only new music in Ireland today is that ABBA-covering boyband Westlife. How do you spell stale? W-E-S-T-L-I-F-E. This island is actually teeming with new bands. They crop up like dustbunnies under a giant sofa. Throw a rock anywhere in Dublin and you’re bound to whack some innovative upstarts upside the head. And where is this music available for free, on the airwaves and across the Internet? Phantom. That’s the only source.
Guide Index Red words? Check the Dub Glossary!