Radio Head-less

Last Spring I found this great coffee cafe’ in old town Battle Ground. They have their own MySpace page and just the right atmosphere in an old house. The community coming in was pleasant and the staff and owner were appropriately friendly (ie; they let me get my work done <grin>). The only thing distracting was the radio station playing through a small set of speakers. Commercial radio has too much talk to really concentrate while one is working.

Yesterday, in my quest to find the best hangout in Columbia County, I stopped in a great little bookstore/cafe combo that is situated in two old houses right on the highway in St. Helens. It had relatively good atmosphere, a couple of friendly girls working behind the counter, and a choice of notebook friendly sitting tables. Other than the noise of the highway, I was happy.

Then the blare of the radio began to seep into my soul. It seemed as if they would play one song for every 15 minutes of talk. Jabber, jabber, jabber, blah, blah, blah, chuckle, chuckle – they were talking about inane subjects and thought they were hilarious. They were not.

After my encounter with the Old Town Battle Grounds Cafe, I sent them a MySpace msg and suggested they make use of their Internet connection and play an online commercial free station. I received no response.

Although it may be illegal (thanks to: lyzadanger) to play commercial radio in a place of business, if you’re going to do it, why not do it with quality?