A great festive 50 - the best for some years, to my ears at least. There were only about 5 tracks which I didn't like. Generally there was the usual inverse relationship between quality and chart position but that is something so traditonal now, I wouldn't want it any different! Many thanks to all who helped to put it together and broadcast it. I'm currently enjoying the Best of 2011 show, which is probably better than the Festive 50 actually, so full marks to the DJs for their good taste.
Admin reply: Thanks Simon. The 2011 Review show gave us a chance to do our own "best of". Depending on feedback - and time available from our DJs at the end of 2012 ... we may well do it again.
Thinking about other compilation and themed shows for other times of the year as well.
Do listen to Marcelle's Umlauts Special - every track selected has umlaut in artist and/or song name. Right pain to put together but the result is good.
Many thanks to all involved for taking on the Festive 50 again this year, and thanks to all the station DJ's and backroom guys for giving up their time and going some way to filling the gap that John left behind. Much appreciated and thanks for pointing me in the direction of so much good music too!
Cheers,
Steve.
Admin reply: Thanks for the feedback Steve and other who get in touch via this Guestbook or social media and email. While we would keep doing the shows just among ourselves (like old-style mixtapes for friends) it makes it much more rewarding when we hear from people, especially when they are appreciative.
Sat here impatiently awaiting the Festive Fifty pre-show :-) Thanks for all the great shows all of you have given us this year.
Admin reply: Thanks for the kind words Tristan. Hope you'll enjoy our one-off build-up show playing right now, and that's there's loads of tracks you enjoy in the main countdown show. Have a great Christmas! Best wishes from all at Dandelion Radio.
Just wondering if you guys had considered streaming in AAC instead of Mpeg? AAC, which is what the BBC use on iplayer now, is supposed to give better sound quality than Mpeg for any given bitrate. Certainly BBC iplayer listen again radio shows sound better on my laptop than they do on my DAB radio, connected through the same amplifier.
I love Dandelion Radio and just want it to sound as good as good as possible.
Admin reply: Thanks for the suggestion.
We did look into this years ago and went for MP3 via SHOUTcast for maximum compatibility with various players. Back then there were a number of hardware-based Internet radios that could not play AAC. Things have improved since then (however, even now there are issues with proper playback of AAC+ on some devices ... they ignore the "+" bits). So - we would potentially go to 96k AAC and save money or go to 128k AAC and sound better (for those with better speakers and younger ears!).
Plus the software we use for making the final versions of the shows from the hi-fi versions created by the DJs is a version of SoundForge from several years ago and it does not have the ability to save files as AAC. As we run on a small budget, an upgrade to a newer version is unlikely, so this could be the main hurdle if we ever change formats.
Simon, do you have any recommendations of free software that can convert WAV and MP3 to AAC (with ability to modify sonic characteristics) that we could potentially use? (email to station at dandelionradio dot com with suggestions other than Audacity)
Added: Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 10:35 AM
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Name: selena
From: augusta taurinorum E-mail: Contact
Really enjoying Mark Whitby's october show - great music from a wonderfully varied selection genres. Truly keeping it Peel!
Added: Monday, October 24, 2011, 02:10 PM
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Comments:
Name: John
From: Stowmarket, Suffolk E-mail: Contact
We are developing an arts centre in Stowmarket to inspire artists and the audience to appreciate all forms of art and music. We are working closely with John Peel's family who live locally. It is great to see other like minded people. Our web site will be up soon and would encourage you to visit and come by the centre for any of our future gigs.
