Team A'Hearn

There was a great article in the Washington Post earlier in the week about the world of commercial radio. While some of the details behind radio programming aren’t a secret, it’s nice to see a story like this get big press. Personally, I think I have uniquely broad musical interests, and am still able to enjoy the guilty pleasures of the latest pop or urban tunes. But the kind of ridiculousness we’re currently seeing and hearing teeters on inexcusable, especially in a major market like Washington, DC. We now have three identical classic rock stations, one inept classical, one weak jazz, no oldies, and tons of fluff. And corporate radio wonders why people are flocking to their iPods and satellite radio. Sure, even my XM is subject to similar screening and focus groups as commercial radio, but extensive variety (and lack of ads) is worth that twelve bucks a month.

Early last week we heard a radio ad for the show Stomp, a theater production involving percussion and choreography using everyday objects in unusual ways. Steph had seen it before several years ago, but I had not – so just four days before the performance, we were miraculously able to get tickets for the Friday evening show. I was really impressed, and enjoyed it a lot; unfortunately we saw it at the Warner Theatre, which proved to be an attractive, but incredibly unpleasant venue.

Yesterday, we decided to keep with the cultural theme of the weekend and saw Monster Jam at the Verizon Center. This actually came about from a phone call from our four-year-old nephew, Liam, about a week ago, insisting we take him to see it. It was great fun for all of us – monster trucks truly are made for the amusement of little boys and grown-up … um … NASCAR fans. Pictures to follow soon if any turned out.