How sad is it that my ipod has more variety than the local radio station's?

Good afternoon all!

Taking a bit of a break from work to rant about something that's been bothering me for a while.

I know it's getting tough out there for radio stations to play music that's going to make everyone happy. I get with new performance taxes and a changing audience and blah, blah, blah.

I have 882 songs on one Ipod and 36 on another (I inherited both when my kids moved up to the MASSIVE ipods that hold about 10 million songs.) This means I can get through three solid days, twenty four hours a day, no breaks, no commercials, and NEVER HEAR A SONG TWICE.

I've got oldies, 80's, opera (you read that right) Christian Contemp, Alternative, college rock, disco, folk, movie soundtracks, top 40 from about 4 decades, and a couple of tv theme songs. If I, a middle aged, hopelessly uncool white woman from the burbs can manage such variety, why can't a certain radio station whose tagline is "THE ______ MEANS VARIETY!" (I won't mention the name, I can't afford a lawsuit...)

I don't listen to this station willingly. I am a HOG HEAD and I generally listen to 1029 THE HOG. However, when Bob and Brian leave for the day, and they get to their ROCK AND ROLL, New Girl typically moves the dial down a few to something softer.

Variety, as defined by this radio station, involves playing THREE Taylor Swift songs PER HOUR. Throw in Miley Cyrus, that one Black Eyed Peas song that's out now, and about four commercials and BAM you have an hour. Now, repeat this three times in six hours. I am not making this up. I kept track one day, just for fun. Every other hour, the same three Taylor Swift songs, Miley, the Peas. Same five songs every 120 minutes.

This used to be the home of the NO REPEAT work day. This meant they wouldn't play a song twice in the 8 hour work day. So they would play a song...let's say somthing by Taylor Swift...at 8:55 AM. Then they'd play it at 2. Then they'd play it at 5:05. Technically, not a repeat, since the work day is 9-5. (Who still works those hours, BTW? Isn't it 8-5 standard?)

Anyway, I know why alternate sources of music are so popular. XFM, Itunes, anyplace where we can get music that isn't 3 Taylors a Miley and one Peas.

So, if any radio execs are out there and can't figure out why, why why no one's listening here's a tip: You want older people to listen, don't play Taylor Swift. You want pop, rap, hip hop, rock fans to listen, DON'T PLAY TAYLOR SWIFT. You want males over the age of 12 and under the age of 24 to listen, DON'T PLAY TAYLOR SWIFT. If you want girls who like the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Lautner and the whole Twilight Saga to listen, well then play Taylor Swift. My daughter will listen endlessly. Of course she's thirteen and has no money and is too young to really be interested in your advertisor's products, but she'll listen to those three songs over and over and over and over and over...as often as you want to play it.

I have nothing against Taylor Swift. I like her songs. I would like them a lot more if I didn't hear three of them three times a day.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put on some Dropkick Murphy's followed by Barry Manilow and the theme song from JAG. THAT'S VARIETY!