Ok, Canberrans.  Tell me what radio station you listen to and I’ll tell you a bit about yourself.

Let’s start with my station of choice – Mix 106.3 (FM).  According to the Australian Radio Network, of which Mix is a brand, ‘Mix is feel good fun for Females 25-44, with sing-along music and light-hearted content that lifts them above their everyday.’

Geez, all of a sudden I feel like a bit of an airhead.  I knew I wasn’t uber-cool, but nor did I regard my everyday as quite that low.  Worse still, they’re telling me I’ve only got one more year before I’m out?  Jane Hall is only six months younger than me, and Chrissie Swan a couple of years behind that: will these two presenters be ousted from their arvo show (The 3pm Pick-Up) when they hit the outer limit of the nominated age demographic?  Where to for the over 44s, I ask?  Over to AM radio? God help me.

Still, while I’m allowed to, I will continue to tune in to 106.3.  I like the fact that you get to hear all the new songs, plus some golden oldies.  I will admit that occasionally it is a chore to endure Sheppard’s ‘Let me Down Easy’ dozens of times a day and, bizarrely (and way less current) Phil Collins’ ‘In the Air Tonight,’ – which is played with unwarranted regularity.  Man, that song is a real downer; and at 5 minutes and 30 seconds – it’s a lot to stomach.

The ads on 106.3 can be hard to take, too.  Special mention must be made of the latest ad for Brivis: ‘Because your wife’s hot, she needs a Brivis Air Conditioner,’ which is sending me batty at present.  No doubt all the commercial channels are similar on this front, though.

Moving on, now, to 104.7  Let’s face it, if you’re a 104.7 listener, you’re already a fair bit cooler than me.  Here, you’ll find more top 40 hits and a younger demographic.  You have Scotty and Nige for breakfast (hang on, they’re not cool, surely!) and Hamish and Andy in the afternoons.  Part of the Southern Cross Austereo network, 104.7 has been the top rating station in Canberra for the last decade or so.  However, since Kyle and Jackie O’s recent announcement that this will be their final year hosting the No.1 breakfast show (and possibly moving to MixFM), 104.7 may lose its top ranked status.

104.7 is the station of choice for my 11 year old son and his mates.  When we’re in the car, it’s 104.7 or nothing.  But I tell you, if I have to listen to Bruno Mars sing about his body full of liquor and his cocaine kicker one more time I may throw a child out a window.  I’m not so sure that I want my kids learning about making love like gorillas.  And can someone please tell Katie Perry that it’s bloody difficult to make six syllable words in songs sound good?  Her latest song is un-con-dit-ion-all-y annoying if you ask me.  Oh, what a cranky old mother. 

666ABC: Talkback, talkback, talkback.  Local, local, local.  If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of our fair city, this is the station for you.  I must say, as I get older, I find the content more and more interesting.  And do any of you tune into the quiz, ‘Norman,’ on the evening show?  It’s pretty entertaining if you’re driving around town collecting children from various activities.

Triple J: demographic – 18 – 30 years old.  Strongly geared towards new, alternative music – particularly Australian.  You won’t find any bubblegum pop on this station.

But what if you’re over 30 and still listening to triple J?  Well, for starters, you’re way cooler than me.  But if you are beginning to feel that you’re mixing with the wrong crown, there is now an alternative.  May I present…

Triple J for oldies…

Yes, ABC’s ‘Dig Music’ channel is being re-launched, targeting the 30⁺ market:  ‘The listeners who triple J forgot.’  Triple J has worked hard to lower the average age of its listeners and is hence quite happy to palm off the oldies to somewhere new.

On Dig Music, the fossils can expect ‘much Nirvana, Billy Bragg and The Smiths,’ says Dig Music’s content director Meagan Loader.  Sounds good to me.

But back to my son.  Should I really let him call the tunes in the car?  Comedian Dave O’Neill asked last week: ‘When did we start to allow children to choose what was on the stereo?’  He reckons kids need to hear good music in order to become lovers of good music when they’re older.  O’Neill comically announced that ‘Hi-5 are a gateway drug that leads to Bieber and One Direction.’  Well, at least we’ve moved beyond Hi-5 in our household, but I am sorry to say that the Biebster does get the occasional look-in.  That’s cool with me.  He ain’t the devil.  I particularly like listening to a version of ‘Baby’ that I saw on the internet (below).  Isn’t the goat talented?

Is radio a big deal in your life?  Which station do you favour?  Do you only listen when you’re in the car?  iPod at home?