For those of you interested in(maybe "disgusted by" is a better term) the way that mass-market radio is programmed, let me share a horrifying secret about radio programming that no one has yet brought up--

Being involved in music, as I have been, over the years I have been connected with lots of radio personalities, and more than a few behind the scenes people. One day, I was taping some old albums in the huge but mostly un-used record library at the radio station where the MAGIC format was created (and it was created, with specifications for everything from announcer style to what commercials are acceptable to an ironclad formula for what type of song can be played when in which hour) and I found a stack of cards with song titles, artists names, each with a number rating----"What are these numbers?" I asked, and was told that these numbers indicated how popular the songs were with the format's target audience--"So you can play the songs that are most popular and avoid the songs that they don't like?" I asked, somewhat naively.

"Well, sort of,we do keep anything off the playlist that they don't like, but it is equally important not to play the songs that they really like too often, either. If you create too much excitement, there will inevitably be a letdown--and that could cause us to lose listeners."