"You hear whatever’s scheduled for that moment."
February 1, 2021 5:35 AM   Subscribe

Mike Pennisi built a "magic radio": "Years ago, I had this idea for a gimmicky MP3 player. It wouldn’t have a screen or any buttons; instead, it would play music and podcasts on a pre-defined schedule. I’d build it into an antique radio so that using it might feel a little like listening to an authentic radio station." The project has given Pennisi "a better appreciation of how friction can enhance an interaction". Source code and tips for getting started are available.
posted by brainwane (18 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
I like this. One of the things that the random-access/easy-skip era has done in is the joy of chance processes.
posted by sonascope at 6:02 AM on February 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


OH MY GOD this is so exactly precisely what I need in my life. There is nothing I hate more than choosing a playlist in the moment of the impulse to start listening; I just want to hear some damn music. That alone keeps me from listening to music when I want to 60-70% of the time. I wonder if this can be made to work with streaming services...
posted by MiraK at 6:21 AM on February 1, 2021 [3 favorites]


How about one of those old-fashioned "world receiver" radios with cities printed directly on the scale? I don't know if they were common in the US, but in Europe models like this Philips Menuet were pretty common. It could be hacked to give you an Internet radio transmission from each city. I liked to read the scale when I was little for some international flights of fancy, but I can't really remember if I ever encountered a functioning exemplar.
posted by Harald74 at 6:27 AM on February 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


How about one of those old-fashioned "world receiver" radios with cities printed directly on the scale?


You make me want something like Radio Garden but on a real globe.
posted by otherchaz at 6:42 AM on February 1, 2021 [3 favorites]


Oh, this would be so sweet if you could integrate Radiooooo into it; having two functional knobs for "COUNTRY" and "DECADE" would be really great.

I listen to so many of the shows on my local LPFM station, x-ray, out of synch with their broadcast times, that I'd love to build a-time-shifted-but standard way to listen to them. This is a really cool project.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:43 AM on February 1, 2021 [7 favorites]


This is very cool. When iPods came out you could have your music & podcasts in one playlist & it amused me to think it was my own little radio. I wanted to make little radio jingle breaks but my friend who knew how to do that didn't get the joke.

I still think about listening to music in the same way. I use smart playlists in iTunes so it only gives me songs I haven't heard in 20 days & then I have one that includes instrumentals & one that doesn't. No decision fatigue, just hit a shortcut button. Anyway I really want to check this out.
posted by bleep at 8:02 AM on February 1, 2021 [3 favorites]


I feel the same exact way about streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, etc. They need to have "TV channels" curated to the user, but has short breaks in between shows. As a long-time Plex user, I've been begging for this feature for years.

It's counter-intuitive to the typical streaming experience, but a lot of people just want to press a button and have the "Friends, The Office, The Simpsons, And Other Easy-To-Digest Familiar Material Channel" appear. Or "Serial Killer Shows Just Playing All Day Channel". You get it.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 8:43 AM on February 1, 2021 [5 favorites]


furnace.heart, I had never used Radiooooo before and now I am in love. THANK YOU.
posted by brainwane at 8:44 AM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


If you're looking for a similar mix of 'programmed podcasts and single episodes for discovery', The Podcast Radio is on digital radio over the UK and streaming worldwide at thepodcastradio.co.uk.
posted by ewan at 9:05 AM on February 1, 2021


Jumping on the "thank-you-furnace.heart" bandwagon! Your mention of Radiooooo has led to brighter days random (but curated) music.
posted by jkrobin at 9:49 AM on February 1, 2021


One of the things that the random-access/easy-skip era has done in is the joy of chance processes.

Except the time my big honkin' MP3 player, in random mode, still played Living Loving Maid after Heartbreaker
posted by Buy Sockpuppet Bonds! at 9:54 AM on February 1, 2021


? why not just turn on the radio?
posted by yinchiao at 10:01 AM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


I have a handful of mood-specific playlists that I would love to have available this way. What an awesome project!

The notion of using an FM transmitter in the same box as a functional FM receiver is so smart, I want to hug the guy -- but I am too busy planning my own version of this for next summer...
posted by wenestvedt at 10:03 AM on February 1, 2021


? why not just turn on the radio?

ads
posted by bulgroz at 12:16 PM on February 1, 2021 [3 favorites]


On that radiooooo I clicked on Canada and gave a few decades a go. It's better than I expected.
posted by zenon at 1:41 PM on February 1, 2021


Sounds like something I'd love to listen to The Old Codger on!
posted by Catblack at 3:55 PM on February 1, 2021


+1 for the Mr Show reference in the article. (snaps and pop and that shit)
posted by symbioid at 6:07 PM on February 1, 2021


I randomly stumbled across the best radio dial ever, look at it around the 3 hour mark (!).
posted by Harald74 at 5:43 AM on February 11, 2021


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