Apple Radio = The HipHop Channel

So what’s a guy to do when Rdio shuts down? Apart from freak out and tear your hair out and then mourn and cry? What alternatives are out there?

If you’re lucky to live in a country where Pandora is available, then that’s probably your first option. Not because Pandora is any good, but because they bought the last assets Rdio had to offer.

If it’s not available then there’s Spotify. But I don’t really like it. The interface sucks, the music quality is low and they’re short on certain artists.

So, Apple Music sounds good then. OK, I’ll give it a try. Even though iTunes is the worst piece of software Apple has ever made. I mean, this gargantuan piece of shit rivals the worst that Microsoft has ever produced. And that’s a pretty high fucking bar! Microsoft is probably the most mediocre software company in the face of the planet when it comes to quality. And iTunes is really getting up there.

But, shit, I’ve got 20+ years of music on iTunes so it seems like this Apple Music thing might be worth a try. The good news is that you pay monhtly so you can always cancel.

What no one tells you is that:

1. If you enable Music Match, iTunes will completely fuck up your entire library. Going as far as changing song and artists names!
2. Apple Radio is really a Hip Hop channel.

I wish someone had told me that before. OK, OK, I know it’s called Beats 1 Radio and Beats was owned by Dr. Dre, a rapper, before Apple bought it. But Apple promised diverse music. And I, stupidly, believed them.

I work from home and use the Radio feature a lot. Especially to find new music. Every single time I turn on Apple Radio, I hear hip hop. 3 words and then “ugh”. Those are the lyrics to every single song I’ve heard on Apple Radio. With the exception of Elton John’s Rocket Hour (sometimes) and possibly the Alligator Hour, everything else is pure fucking hip hop! All the fucking time!!!! That’s not a radio station. That’s a Dr. Dre promotional, which the station also is. You can practically hear the “Amens” every time the good doctor’s name is mentioned.

If you like hip hop and rap, you’re in heaven. If you don’t. You’re screwed. Right now, as I write this, guess what’s playing on Beats 1 Radio? Yup, you guessed it, “ugh”, some hip hop shit. Even Zane Lowe, who begun playing some really diverse and interesting music got the memo. Now it’s 99% hip hop.

Can we please have some more diversity in a Radio station? Please?