First used it as background music for a 60s secret agent themed party. Since then it's been a holiday tradition to listen to the Christmas stations. Every year when I find out it's still online it's like a nice present.
SomaFM
61–70 of 170 posts
Re: SomaFM
#62I've been donating to SomaFM for many years, and it is my music provider of choice in my home office (Space Station Soma for me). Some years ago I had an afternoon to kill while visiting San Francisco and Rusty was kind enough to let me stop by and say hello. A quick 10 minute visit turned into one of the most interesting two hours I've spent in my entire life. Rusty gave me the whole tour of the software interface t…
It's been several years but I also had the pleasure of meeting Rusty down at the studio once. My dad has now made it a habit; he's been to SF for work and pleasure four or five times now, and met up with him each time, I believe.
I have been listening to Soma for at least 15 years. Definitely a great place to have bookmarked.
Re: SomaFM
#63Re: SomaFM
#64SomeFM is such a rarity these days, a reminder of how we believed the Internet was going to be. They take recurring donations. Probably the best way to help them and one of the best investments for me, as keeping it up and running is a way to keep these naive ideas alive. The music is curated and is most excellent (for my taste, of course). I have Groove Salad on speed dial in my HomePods around the house (through Tu…
> SomeFM is such a rarity these days, a reminder of how we believed the Internet was going to be. Let me start out by saying that SomaFM is great. But when I started listening to SomaFM (nearly 20 years ago), I never imagined that for only $10/month I'd be able to listen to (essentially) any song whenever I wanted. That's amazing and so much more valuable (to me) than what Soma offers.
But how do you find new songs for you to put on your playlists?
That’s why SomaFM and online stations like KCRW are so valuable. They’re ways to introduce new music and even new styles of music to the listeners.
Re: SomaFM
#65PopTron was my favorite station for years, many good memories there.
Give them a chance if you haven't yet.
Re: SomaFM
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
> SomeFM is such a rarity these days, a reminder of how we believed the Internet was going to be. Let me start out by saying that SomaFM is great. But when I started listening to SomaFM (nearly 20 years ago), I never imagined that for only $10/month I'd be able to listen to (essentially) any song whenever I wanted. That's amazing and so much more valuable (to me) than what Soma offers.
But how do you find new songs for you to put on your playlists? That’s why SomaFM and online stations like KCRW are so valuable. They’re ways to introduce new music and even new styles of music to the listeners.
Isn't that what recommender systems are for? /scnr
Re: SomaFM
#67Radio Paradise [1] is also going strong after 20+ years. Fantastic curation and you can even stream in lossless for free (or at least I seem to be able to from the Android TV app). [1] https://radioparadise.com/
What I like about RadioParadise is that I don't have to pigeon-hole the music I listen to. Sometimes you do want a particular genre, and other times I'm happy to be led by an expert curator. RadioParadise is superb for the latter.
Re: SomaFM
#68Radio Paradise [1] is also going strong after 20+ years. Fantastic curation and you can even stream in lossless for free (or at least I seem to be able to from the Android TV app). [1] https://radioparadise.com/
I love Radio Paradise!
One of the best things about it is how the main mix transcends genres. I consider it basically a rock station, but they'll also play Country, Jazz, Blues, Pop, Classical and miscellaneous other stuff. In a single song set you can easily go from Led Zeppelin to Radiohead to Johnny Cash to Arctic Monkeys to Stevie Wonder to Billie Eilish to JS Brahms to some West African singer you'd never had heard of otherwise. It's great for musical discovery.
Re: SomaFM
#69I made a $50 donation many years ago, and some months later a black t-shirt with SOMA FM emblazoned on it arrived completely out of the blue. To this day, it's the only garment I own (and still wear) with a story attached.
Re: SomaFM
#70SomeFM is such a rarity these days, a reminder of how we believed the Internet was going to be. They take recurring donations. Probably the best way to help them and one of the best investments for me, as keeping it up and running is a way to keep these naive ideas alive. The music is curated and is most excellent (for my taste, of course). I have Groove Salad on speed dial in my HomePods around the house (through Tu…
> SomeFM is such a rarity these days, a reminder of how we believed the Internet was going to be. Let me start out by saying that SomaFM is great. But when I started listening to SomaFM (nearly 20 years ago), I never imagined that for only $10/month I'd be able to listen to (essentially) any song whenever I wanted. That's amazing and so much more valuable (to me) than what Soma offers.
To each their own, I guess. I also pay for Apple Music and have access to all that music, but there is no substitute for curation with a sense of taste and musical direction.
For me, having access to all the music in the world is only marginally better than what I had before when buying CDs (or records even); I don't listen to more music than before. What I really love, instead, is being introduced to a new track that captures my interest, a track that I know I will be listening to multiple times in the future. The quality, and the fact that I would have probably not have found it by myself, or not liked it without the context.
When I was younger, when I had enough pocket money, I would go to the record store, and the problem wasn't how to get a CD, because they had oh so many!, but what CD to get. For this, I relied on friends, radio stations, and the shop keepers. They all had a good portion of the music world in their head, with their own taste and opinion about what's interesting, and I found many gems this way. Automated recommendations don't quite do it for me, nor I have been lucky with other people's playlists; I gotta get acquainted with the curator first in order to trust their curation.
So I listen to SomaFM, and when something gets me interested I go and buy it or add it to my library. Best of both worlds!