Do you listen to the radio?
I don t, and there are multiple reasons for that:
First and foremost, I don t like the music they play these days.
Even though there are stations which will occasionally play a more
eclectic tune, the Swiss government does not, to my knowledge,
dictate any quota, like New Zealand actually requires stations to
broadcast New Zealand music at least 20% of the time.
The result is music made by producers, who stand pop icons with
little clothing in front of microphones, instruct them to move
their bodies in obscene ways, and coach them to croak songs someone
else wrote
en masse in some basement somewhere. All those
songs sound alike.
To ensure a constant supply of pop dolls, they hype television
shows with titles such as Germany s seeks the next superstar ,
when most of Germany actually couldn t care less, and only those
with vacuous brain capacity follow with excitement, because they
wouldn t know what else to do.
Second, I don t have the time or energy to listen to discussion
rounds on the radio, especially not when topic are about
society , which noone can define in the first place.
Wittgenstein always
had it right.
The same goes for most commentaries. If I don t have anything to
do, I prefer to listen to birds in the trees, rather than someone s
polished opinion. The scariest aspect is that those people actually
believe that they have something worthwhile to say, and so
do their producers and the other staff, when in most cases, they
don t. At least not worthwhile to people who have other things
occupying their minds.
I also don t like someone to make a pre-selection of news and
squash that into 5-15 minute time slots, to be read out by
dull-sounding speakers. I d rather skim over articles, and the Web
ensures that I get the information I want much quicker than the
radio stations can transmit them.
And sports over the radio waves makes me come close to aural
epileptic seizures.
I am painting the sky black a bit. I am fully aware that there
exist people with thought-provoking arguments, that some stations
play interesting music I would otherwise never discover, and that
the radio is a source of entertainment in the lives of thousands of
other people who are less privileged than me.
But when the
Billag rang my
doorbell today and wanted CHF 14,10 per month for posession of any
device capable of turning radio waves into sound, including those
radio waves broadcast over the Internet these days, I got a bit
furious.
In the past, they concentrated only on actual radio and TV
receivers. When I moved into my previous flat in Zurich in 2002,
they wanted money because my stereo had a tuner button. I refused
to pay, opened the device, unsoldered the radio coil, and sent it
to them with an angry letter of refusal; they let me off the
hook.
Since then, they changed the law in 2007 (but haven t actually
updated the forms they force you to sign) to include audio players,
cellular phones, and computers, which are all radio-capable. I d
really prefer if they used their funds to revert that trend, or at
least
remove
the loudspeakers from all mobile phones.
But instead, this morning, I skid right into their claws.
As I said before, the radio is also a social support system, and
as such I have less of a problem to subsidise it. However, given
that I strongly disagree with the quality level broadcast, I would
prefer to direct my money towards causes I consider more useful,
and with which I could better identify. Unfortunately, the whole
system is governmentalised to the point where this choice is
taken away from me.
The Billag website helpfully offers answers to the common
questions, including one along the lines of quality. They suggest
that you get in touch directly with the programme directors to
complain about their content, and offer suggestions. Shortly after
I moved to Zurich,
Radio Lora offered
me a radio show. Radio Lora is a private station, but they also
receive subsidies from the monies exacted by the government, so I
am using them as an example here.
I suggested that I concentrated only on progressive and
psychedelic rock from the sixties and the seventies. They refused
the show in the end, claiming that this would not be what their
listeners want.
So instead I now get to pay for content that is deemed more
appropriate.
I can only imagine the pains I d have to go through to be able
to host a radio show concentrating on eclectic tunes on one of the
public radio stations. And even if I succeeded (without becoming a
full-time public radio broadcaster), then I could only contribute a
few hours a week to that content.
If you ask me, the Swiss government is overstepping its
competencies a bit.
NP:
Mono:
Hymn to the Immortal Wind
We handed out flyers and answered questions, and the general
reaction was very positive. The fact that we got covered in
Switzerland s most popular newspaper, 20 Minuten will add
greatly to the reconnaisance factor, so that in the months to come,
us sardines will be immediately recognised, hopefully provoking
thought and chat over the roots of the campaign.
Most of us know the sardine as a dead fish perched into a can
with many others in a way to minimise space. Human-sized, walking
sardines are a great way to increase awareness of the issue of
over-crowded public transport. It was fun to see even the Really
Serious Newspaper Readers unable to suppress a smile.
Talking to friends about the campaign, I ve often been met with
expressions of how absurd such a campaign is in Switzerland,
possibly the country with the best public transport system
world-wide. I agree, but that doesn t mean that we should not keep
working on further improving it. If you ve ever been stuck in a
commuter train during rush-hour, standing around in stifling heat
and jealously eyed those that managed to grab a seat before you,
you ll probably agree that even in Switzerland, we could be doing
it better.
These days, with the financial crisis weighing heavy on
everyone s budgets, and with environmental concerns on the rise, we
are witnessing a never-before level of readiness of the public to
make sustainable choices. Confronting those people with stuffed
trains doesn t reconfirm those decision. Instead, it will make
those people crave their air-conditioned cars and possibly switch
back to polluting the air with exhaust and noise, because it surely
is more comfortable to sit in your own cool car than it is to be
perched in public transport like a sardine.
Thus, umverkehR s message goes mainly to the politicians:
prioritise public transport in your future mobility plans, keep the
prices affordable, and help get people off the road in the interest
of our environment.
You can see more
pictures in the gallery and a short film on
Youtube. We have a separate sardine
blog, a Facebook
account and there s even a chance for you to win travel
coupons: all you have to do is submit an original photo of
anything to do with over-crowded public transport by e-mail or MMS
to