Baby When You're Gone..

'The TV is on coz the radio is playing songs that remind me of you.. Baby when you're gone, I realise I am in love'.
-Bryan Adams song that I want to dedicate to my mike.

I've always spoken about my jobs in radio as love affairs. When I started off with WIN 94.6 - it was my first crush, the Red FM job after that was just a short fling, then Dubai happened, which was clearly a mistake (but has its sweet memories to last), followed by Fever FM - which clearly was my one committed two-and-a-half year long relationship and hurt like crazy to break up with it. (could actually feel my heart break inside of me when I hit 'send' on my resignation letter) ... but it was time I stopped allowing it to take me for granted.. if you know what I mean. Took me half a year to get over that. In fact, I took a break from radio after that...like one purposely stays away from getting involved with anyone after a break-up. Big fm was a relationship that begun with the head making the choice, but the heart grew in, though I never let it take over me completely.

May be that's the reason I could walk away from my first love all over - to make way for a 'real' relationship this time. I even shifted cities. But I guess, this time round, the mike is testing me and may be even punishing me for leaving it (and my show on a high note) It's acting all elusive. But I too have to make up my mind as to what I want from this relationship now - I am still unsure.

So this song is just to let you know baby, that I am still in love. Do call me sometime. 

Bengaluru ki hawaein...

Listening to radio in Bangalore (the new town I belong to now) is interesting. You switch from Kannada music and talk to complete English and then some Hindi too.

Fever 104 is the latest station to change gears and move into the Hindi space now, after having tried a complete Kannada format. They started off in the city as a Hindi-English station and have changed formats quite a bit in the last few years of their existence. Radio One is the only station here that catered to the Hindi speaking audience here. Now they have competition. They are being hesitant to leave this space here, though in Mumbai and Delhi they have converted into a complete English channel now. (Back to where they began as Go 92.5) And are they sounding great or what! Many say it is their last attempt to shine before wrapping up because they had completely sunk as a Hindi channel in metro markets overall.

However, coming back to Fever @ Bangalore. They are also not sicking to one positioning in all markets now. In Delhi, Mumbai, Kol - they are "All About the Music" - but here, they are trying to own the Bollywood space with "Baap of Bollywood"! Oye fm mind you, is "Sabse Filmy" in other markets. They are not a part of the Bangalore circuit, so Fever has sneaked in this idea for the upcoming Hindi speaking audience here.

The clarity that they will stick to Bollywood and taking a stand with a positioning is great. I just wish they had been a little less noisy and less cliche. But then that's what BOllywood is all about, isn't it? Noise and cliches.

The music by the way is great at 104. That itself could make it for them. Provided the Amitabh and Shahrukh dialogues don't interfere too much.