Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Radio: MyTalk 107.1

In this day in age, with the evolution and amazing expansion of the internet, YouTube, Netflix, other online streaming sites for movies, television shows and user videos, not to mention cable TV with 1000+ channels, not many people talk about the radio these days.  Sure there's the mention of something someone has heard in passing, but many people simply don't express how they look forward to their favorite radio program.

Will it be the end of radio?  Not likely, at least I hope not.

Fortunately, people still rely on radio stations.  When a long commute takes away many hours of your life, it's nice to know there's a station out there that'll keep you entertained and hopefully lower the level of road rage.

Now, just when you think this was a post analyzing the radio industry, I'd like to write about my favorite radio station.

I live in Washington State, but it may surprise you that my favorite radio station out there is: MyTalk 107.1. 

Q:  Where from does this radio station transmit its signals? 

A:  All the way from the Twin Cities of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Yes, MyTalk 107.1 transmitting live and recorded from St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota is my favorite radio station and despite my busy work schedule, I try to listen to everyday's shows.  

One day I was searching for a good talk radio station.  Using my radio app on my phone, I sifted through hundreds of radio stations from all around the United States.  But then, I remembered listening to an entertaining radio station while driving through Minnesota in 2008.  Before I knew it, I found the MyTalk station.

I tuned in and listened with the intent on giving the radio station five minutes of my time, the same five minutes I gave the other radio stations.  Before I knew it, that five minutes turned out to have accumulated to two hours of my time.  I was hooked.  Thanks Jason and Alexis.

So why MyTalk?  Let me first tell you the schedule I use to listen to religiously.  Beginning at 6AM, Pacific Time, to 8AM I'd wake up with Ian and Margery, which is actually a four hour show but because Minnesota is a couple of hours or so ahead of Washington, I miss the first two hours.  Then from 8AM to 10AM I would be intellectualized with Colleen and Reevers.  I would end the day with the Jason and Alexis show from 10AM to 1PM.

Ian and Margery are a married couple and they bring to me interesting perspectives from both a husband and a wife and I enjoy their chemistry and interactions they have with each other.  I definitely enjoy their relations with their listeners, conducting random surveys and calling or having their listeners call in to give their two cents.  Their occasional couple bantering natural and comfortable and there's just a warm feeling their show provides its listeners.  It's a perfect way to wake up for a long day at work.

Colleen and Reevers introduced a lot of interesting topics from around the world, mostly intellectual and news related with a comical twist.  They brought up important subjects and analyzed them appropriately, especially for a station that seems to not be designed for the news.  But, not only did they bring up intellectual topics, their humor and ways of presenting jokes and stories worked very well for me and was very entertaining.
*Note* I refer to this show in past tense because they are, unfortunately, no longer on air.  Reasons being?  I'm not 100% sure but I think it had to do with ratings, which is hard to believe because I found their show fascinating and intellectually stimulating.  I will miss Reevers' joke of the day and Colleen's smooth, made for radio voice that you don't want to tune out.

Finally, I end the stretch with the Jason and Alexis show, the original hook.  I enjoy their energy, comical styling and stories they tell.  Their show is very upbeat compared to the other shows and their chemistry is just amazing.  I admit their show is my favorite.  Not only are their stories, mostly about the pop culture universe, are fantastic, their back and forth banter makes you almost feel like you're sitting in the fourth chair in that conversation.  The third chair is taken by their daily sidekick Marley.  Afternoon Delight is one of my favorite segments where they tell interesting, true stories of people doing ridiculous acts around the United States.
This is one show you cannot pull your ears away from and the one you don't want to miss a minute of.  If they're not talking about an outrageously hilarious story, you can always count on Alexis's husband Ahnjel(sp?) to throw in his ten cents and speak his mind about whatever he wants.

The station is primarily tailored to women I believe and the theme for all shows is pop culture.  There are other shows that air live, but I they haven't caught my ear, no matter how many episodes I've tried to listen to.  Replacing Colleen and Reevers is Colleen and Bradley, a show which I'll be honest, I haven't been able to listen to and find out if I enjoy this show or not.  If you want the audio spark notes and reviews for the latest shows, movies and music, MyTalk 107.1 is definitely the station for you.

Q: Why Lee, how do you listen to this station?
A: On my phone, but recently I've accepted a new job where I am unfortunately able to listen to it live.  So, I rely on the MyTalk website at MyTalk1071.com to listen to the on demand streams.

Radio is far from dead and if you search hard enough, you will find a station you like.  I'm all the way in Washington State listening to a radio station all the way in Minnesota whenever I can, too far for my car radio to pick up, but live or recorded streaming from its website is the perfect solution.

*Apology Note*
After a quick proofread of this… article you can call it, I've determined that my writer's block is still pinning me down.  I apologize for the amateur writing/grammar/words, etc. well I am an amateur anyway, but I'm Steven King-ing this post because it's been a while since I've written a true post.  (I once read about one of the methods Steven King has when he has writer's block: POWER THROUGH, don't stop writing and edit it later).
So I powered through it, but I don't have time to edit it, because I have a full time job to pay the bills, and it doesn't help that it's midnight and I'm getting pretty tired.

Which brings me to my next topic: Being an adult really has a balance of awesome and suck.  Next time, maybe . . . No promises.

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