Radio Paradise

One of the few pages I could find reviewing online radio stations was actually an article in Guardian newspaper. Written by Miranda Sawyer in April 2007, the article is more about the phenomena of internet radio, comparing it with the older style shortwave radio and its plethora of exotic stations. The article does then go on to review a number of stations, culminating in a "best of" list of her favourites. Radio Paradise was described as "A gentle listen, Paradise plays mainstream alternative, old and new, with the occasional twist". Of all the stations she favoured, this sounded most like my taste, so I tuned in...


Dissapointing would be the first thing that springs to mind. I understand that the online radio industry must have come on a fair way in a year, but Radio Paradise just seems dull in comparison to some of the stations I've reviewed so far. Gentle? Yeah I suppose I'd go with that, gentle in the way that the gentle music laps dully against your ears, I guess the occasional twist just got too rare for me. I recognised some of the tracks, but testament to their dullness (how many times can I get that word in?) I can't recall a single one as I write this review. Ok, some new, some old, but truly nothing exciting.

On the connection side of things, there's no issues, they're not new to this so one assumes they've worked out how to balance things there side to serve their listeners.

Ad free, but not beg free, the station exists on donations only and they remind you fairly often (not as often as ad in a commercial show but still fairly noticable).

Their website is fairly well laid out, good links to a forum, pages to buy Radio Paradise branded gubbins but most impressively, a searchable music database. This allows you to "get more info on the artist, share your thoughts about it, see what other listeners think of it, or buy the CD". A couple of clicks to work my way around it and sure enough Divine Comedy's Our Mutual Friend comes up with 6 comments. A REALLY good idea and something I'd like to see catch on.

But perhaps this little foray into the database tells me why the mix isn't working for me. Divine Comedy is one of my favourite bands, but if I was to pick out their best track (as Absent Friends is the ONLY track of theirs Radio Paradise has ever played) I'm not sure I'd pick that one. It's not one of their most catchy or popular tracks, frankly it's not their weirdest either, I just can't see why they picked that track. Expanding this to other artists, are they just playing album filling, also ran tracks?

I didn't study the tracks long enough to decide, but I listened long enough to give them a DROP-OUT rating. Shame as I'd love to see the DB idea appear on other stations, but the music just doesn't keep you coming back for more.

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.