We're Breaking Up
Receiver 1

recorded by Michael Rodgers
October 2003, London

www.twothousandand.com

I remember hearing about a musician friend who had just made an album. He took it to a shop to ask if they would sell it, and they responded with a lecture on how there is too much music being made.

Radio in London is strange, with little pockets of beauty and vast areas of disappointment. The frequencies are like any other property in London: very cramped, highly pursued, and overpriced. What surprised me when I moved here was that for a city of this size, with a population more diverse than that of New York, you encounter scores of stations that sound the same.

A 'permanent' (eight year) broadcasting license in London requires tough financial requirements are met, audience levels maintained, etc. Most stations outside the commercial radio sector have to settle for 'restrictive service' licenses, running short-term before handing over to the next applicant in line. Unfortunately so many of the stations unable to achieve long-term licenses are those that might break the monotony of the large dance/pop stations that are secure in their stake on the FM dial. Bigger stations can pay the royalties for airplay and other financial duties required by regulating bodies, and thus maintain their position.

Pirate radio seems a welcome option out of this unbalanced system. Authorities hunt down pirate stations for stealing from broadcasters who pay good money for their license, and for disrupting frequencies reserved for public services, yet dozens of pirates in London operate relentlessly. In fact, commercial radio owes much to pirate radio, as pirates forced the creation of BBC Radio in the 60s, and in the 80s promoted the expansion of competition and the diversification of programming. The disappointment comes now that pirate radio is dominated by incessant dance music, more concerned with self-promotion, competing with other pirates, and boasting to the music industry. Pirate radio as a tool for change becomes a marginalised agenda. For most pirates the big argument against the mainstream is that they are years behind the pirates' style. This situation is further complicated as commercial radio stations now compete to sound more 'underground' than their rivals.

All this noise is constantly passing through the air around me, and through my body. It's invisible, but it's there, and I can't hear it without an antenna. When I think about it my mind buzzes. I think about how many tourists' photos and security cameras I pass through every day in this city. I think about the relentless and obscene pursuit of space for advertising, and the amount of graffiti I see just showing off someone's name. I think about the number of voices talking around me. Maybe I don't think enough about my own space. Maybe if a space belongs to everyone, it shouldn't belong to anyone.

- Michael Rodgers, 2003