Foxy \ Jewel??

I originally tuned into this one on my Wi-Fi radio, where it's named Foxy, something that left me a little lost when I tried to track it down online. It seems Foxy 88.5fm changed it's name over a year ago to Jewel (or "The Jewel of the dial", do you see what they did there...)

Ok, I know I said no more local radio stations, but they TRICKED me with there oh so snazzy single word name, lack of the strange letters US and Canadian stations seem to be made up of and not even a hint of an FM in their name... It was a while before I worked it out and by that time I was in too deep.

So anyway, what's Foxy like? Well like there name, the musics a bit stuck in the past. If I can liken it to a cheap compilation albums, and I think it's a fair analogy , this one would be titled "Second Love". Most of the content seems to be love based pop from a range of era's with a fairly high focus on rubbish covers. It's not pretty, there are some recognisable voices and some recognisable songs, but rarely together on the same track. For instance, Neil Diamond - a good singer, some great songs under his belt. The way you look tonight, a great song, from a great era. Neil Diamond singing The way you look tonight... just doesn't work...

On the technical side, the connections good from both Wi-Fi and PC is good, no issues / dropouts. For the most part the DJ keeps the chatter to the minimum only really coming in every 3-4 songs. again the same with the ads. Although these almost make the station worth listening too, they're the equivelant of shopping TV in their content (Tummy tuck jeans? Sleep apnia?)

The Site is minimilist, a link to listen to the radio and half a dozen other links to things like a gallery or local traffic information. Definitely nothing to write home about.

Even the amusing adverts (do YOU know how much waste your bowel retains without wonder clear powder?) can't save this station from an overall rating of DROP-IT. It's just too bland, it times it feels like they've gone out of their way to pick dull tracks and soporific voiced DJ's. Unless getting to sleep really IS a problem for you, avoid.

Kudos to Revo

I'm not going to make a habit of posts about Wi-Fi radio hardware BUT...

Thanks to Revo who got my little Pico Wi-Fi up and running within a day of me contacting them! It wasn't a complex problem, but I'd braced myself for a typical UK customer services battle (stage 1 getting them to accept responsibility, stage 2 getting them to fix it...) They volunteered the fix before I'd barely even got the problem out (the radio wasn't charging). My replacement charger arrived the next day and got me back up and running.

Always nice to find this kind of attitude - Thanks

Clare FM

Ok, I admit it I generally choose which stations to review based on whatever whim takes me as I spin my little Pico's dial. This one was entirely personal, I had an feeling it would be a local radio station in County Clare, Ireland, but it's also the name of my wife (obviously without the FM bit...).

So station choosen, how did Clare FM get on? I had high hopes after my last foray into commercial territory with Brisbane's Best Mix getting my highest rating. I'll keep this short and sweet, Clare FM is everything Brisbane wasn't, and most definitely not in a good way.

Skipping quickly over the music, which was for me, an overly light take on the current pop songs and some of the eightes most vacuous hits, nothing different from any of your local stations and certainly nothing to make it stand out against the thousands of other choices on the dial. The biggest issue for me was the almost claustrophobic localness of the DJ's banter, it was like a radio version of The Framley Examiner, except without the satire. I tried to pinpoint why the Brisbane station felt exotic and the Clare station felt provincial and I couldn't. So it could just be too close to home...

Connection from the wifi radio was good, but the PC seemed to pick up a tinny vibe every time I tuned in. Nothing too serious but noticable if you wanted to tune in on a permenant basis. The Clare FM website needs some toning down colour wise, but is a servicable if basic front end for a small commercial station giving you a way to access the station, a basic schedule and some attempt to provide additional content.

I'm pulling back from giving Clare FM the bottom rating on the basis that they're no worse (although no better) than dozens of local commercial stations out there. They have however pushed me away from reviewing commercial stations, I think there's too many good internet only stations out there that need my attention... So back to the rating, Clare FM gets a DROP-OUT rating, please only listen if a.) you live in County Clare or b.) you lived their and need a nostalgia fix.

Whole Wheat Radio

Whole Wheat Radio, or WWR for short is a bit different to other stations reviewed so far, with only a few stations under my reviewers belt it's a little too soon to say it's a unique proposition, but its pretty rare

So what is it? Take a look at the URL linked to above for a bit of a clue, the page it links to is a wiki, a user built website. In a nutshell, that's what WWR is, a user built radio station. The site is built by it's community of listeners, tracks and even shows are requested by the listeners, it's so Web2.0 it's even won a web2.0 award...

Ok, so background to one side, what are you actually getting, music wise? It's a little hard to quantify all in all and the closest their website comes to specifying their genre is to say "We tend to appeal to grownups who don't take life too seriously". As weird as it sounds I'd say they're probably spot on, the eclectic mix provided does appeal to someone with a broader appreciation of a number of musical tastes. As I listened, the music swung from light rock to light blues to a bit of country finishing with a samba. Always fairly light and low on the more challenging aspects of these genres, but in no way a bad bit of music. There seems to be little chance of a mainstream bit of music appearing on the playlists as they cover around 3000 independent artists which the seek out via their wiki.

On the technical side, the radio came through clear and strong both via the PC and Wifi radio, I guess that their 6 years of operation from the town of Talkeetna in Alaska has ironed out any of the teething problems newer stations might suffer with. Again a 24 / 365 station with no DJ's and minimal advertising, the station really allows you to get the most music per hour.

The website is HUGELY informative as only a Wiki can be, the Nth detail about artists, songs and even their listeners are available. They even want their listeners to add to their station logo gallery (I did like the one with the moose though..). Standard features such as a chat room and upcoming events are of course available as well as oportunities to buy the independent music you are listening too.

Sometimes I know the overall rating for a station before I start the review, but this one has rather crept up on me as I stepped through the stations features for you. WWR was going to get 1 rating lower, as the music can tend to lack professional polish and end up a little cheezy / lounge singer for constant listening, BUT I love the fact that they're sticking 2 fingers up at mainstream music. So for their musical credentials, their community based content and no issues delivery WWR gets a TURN-ON rating.

BeatlesRadio.com

I thought I knew what I was going to get when I tuned into BeatlesRadio.com, with a little over 200 songs recorded by the fab four I did worry that an entire station to them would get a little repetitive. As it turns out although there is a heavy Beatles presence on the playlist there is also a fair amount of other tracks played. These mostly seem to break down into music of a similar style from the Beatles era, covers of Beatles songs and solo work by the members of the band (although you might be relieved to hear I didn't stumble across any of Ringo's stuff...)


So what's it like? Not too bad to be honest, I like a bit of Beatles every now and then and this deliver if not exactly what it says on the tin, something near enough to it that you're not disspointed. After all with a slightly generous average track time of 4 minutes, you'd have to repeat their entire back catalogue every 14 hours, all Beatles, all the time woul wear thin pretty quickly. They've got a good mix, the music from the era blends in well, as does the solo work. The covers gives the music a bit of a twist just giving a different slant to a song you've known for a while.


Connection wise I never had an issue. They seem to classify themselves as a stream, so there's a slighty odd american who introduces the station everytime you tune in to it, but it only lasts 10 seconds or so and then its straight into the music. BeatlesRadio.com is online online only, so no DJ's as such and only really advertises its own and sister radio stations \ websites. After a week or so listening to commercial stations I must say I find the lack of ads and introductions refreshing.

The supporting website is pretty detailed with a lot of supporting information and services available for the average Beatle fan. Picture and video pages are a nice touch and a forum to provide the community a voice is also available. They also seem to have a good line in merchandise, some connected to the station, some just Beatles memorabilia.

Overall it's a well thought out station, it provides a die hard Beatles fan enough to keep them happy while not boring the rest of us with an endless cycle of the same songs. Backed up well and with no connection issues I give BeatlesRadio.com a TURN-ON rating.