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Friday, August 18, 2006

Stereo Or Mono? Decide!

Earlier this week, a very nice thing happened: Altrok Radio was a front-page recommeded web station at Live365. Lots of people tuned in, and lots came back over the next couple of days...but then I think I did something that seemed like the right thing to do, but was in fact not anywhere near correct.

First, some background. Normally, Altrok Radio sounds pretty superior, at least as far as sound quality goes. We use MP3Pro for playback at high quality using low bit rates; our normal 64k stereo format sounds really great without an MP3Pro decoder, and with it, it's roughly CD quality.

But I was on a vacation last week, and without ready Internet access, I realized I had to put as much music into my station as I could, so that it'd be less likely that anyone would notice that it was repeating all week. Since mono files take up less space than stereo files, I changed the station so that it played in mono, at 32K (which, believe it or not, sounds as good as 64K stereo, except that it's not in stereo.) You also don't need as fast a connection to listen to it.

When I came back, I decided to wait a bit before switching back to stereo (it's kind of a baroque process, and I was still unpacking.) So on Monday, when my station got the recommendation, I was in mono, and I saw a bigger listenership than I ever had before.

"Well," I thought, "If those new folks liked it in mono, they'll love it in stereo!" And I changed the station to stereo.

...and they all went away.

So the question is: was that dumb? How would you prefer to hear Altrok Radio? With high quality strereo that takes up more of your incoming connection, or in comparable quality mono that may be more convenient for you?

Let me know...use the Feedback button above to pass a comment along.

By the way, it's Eighties Friday today (as it is every week) so here's who you'll hear on today's extravaganza, all day and on into the night...




ABC, APB, Adam and the Ants

The B-52's, Bauhaus, Blondie, The Bluebells, David Bowie, Buzzcocks

The Call, Jim Carroll Band, Chamelions, China Crisis, The Church, The Clash, Combo Audio, The Comsat Angels, Julian Cope, Hugh Cornwell, Elvis Costello, Josie Cotton, Cult Hero, The Cult, The Cure

The Danse Society, Depeche Mode, Devo, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Thomas Dolby, Dramarama, Ian Dury And The Blockheads

Echo & The Bunnymen, The English Beat, The Europeans

The Fabulous Poodles, Figures On A Beach, Fine Young Cannibals, Fishbone, The Flying Lizards, John Foxx

Gang Of Four, General Public, Go-Gos, The Godfathers, Martin Gore, Robert Gorl

Hilary, Hoodoo Gurus, The Hoodoo Gurus, The House Of Love, The Human League

Icehouse, The Icicle Works, Intaferon, Intro, Inxs

The Jam, Japan, Joy Division

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Leisure Process, Let's Active, Liquid Liquid, Lords Of The New Church, The Lords Of The New Church, Love And Rockets, Lene Lovich

Mad Daddys, Meat Beat Manifesto, Midnight Oil, Ministry, The Mission UK

Ned's Atomic Dustbin, New Order, Nine Inch Nails

The Ocean Blue, Oingo Boingo, Orbital, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

Plastic Bertrand, Plimsouls, Polecats, Polyrock, The Pretenders, The Primitives, The Psychedelic Furs

R.E.M., The Ramones, Renegade Soundwave, Stan Ridgeway

The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Secession, Seona Dancing, Pete Shelley, Shriekback, Simple Minds, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sisters Of Mercy, Patti Smith, The Smithereens, The Smiths, Spandau Ballet, Sparks, The Specials, Squeeze, The Stranglers, The Style Council, Sugarcubes

Talking Heads, The Teardrop Explodes, The The, They Might Be Giants, Tom Tom Club, Tones On Tail, Translator

U2, Ultravox

Violent Femmes, Visage

The Waitresses, Wire, The Wonder Stuff, The Woodentops

X

Yazoo

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Welcome to Altrok.com, also available at AltrokRadio.com and AltrockRadio.com. Here's where the remaining listeners of several fine radio stations have retreated, regrouped, and built a replacement strong enough to stand on its own. It builds on the independent legacy of New Jersey's FM106.3, New York's WPIX and WLIR, Oklahoma's 105.3 The Spy, the pre-buyout mindset of KROQ, WBCN and WHFS and of every other alternative station that was destroyed at a moment's notice - not because they weren't making money, but because there was bigger money to be found elsewhere.
 
We've stood by as truly independent alternative rock radio died. Sure, something called "alternative" took its place, but we know for sure that anything that "tests well" with soccer moms just ain't alternative. (Even if some of us happen to be soccer moms.) So we've taken matters into our own hands.
 
This really is independent alternative rock radio, visible here at Altrok.com and audible at our web radio station. It has the classic music that fired our passions back in the day - or that we maybe only heard about from our elders - but it's mostly made of the new music that does precisely the same for us now. We're paying attention to scenes all over the world, watching the energy build, and waiting to see what it creates. Wherever it happens, we'll make sure you can hear about it here. We've been slowly building all this since 2001, and now that you've noticed us, we're glad you're here.
 
Of course, it's only here because you want it to be here, and it can only stay if you help it along - especially by checking out our advertisers (they support us) and by listening (the more that listen, the more visible we are.) Please use the "feedback" link above to let us know whether it works for you, and what you want it to be as the future unfolds. (And if you need help hearing it, let us know that, too.)