Quite possibly my favourite song lyrics of all time:
The spirit of radio by Rush
Begin the day
With a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays the song that’s so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
Off on your way
Hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the Spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact
In your happy solitude.
Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price
Almost free…
All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
It’s really just a question
Of your honesty
One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity
“For the words of the profits,
Are written on the studio wall,
Concert hall
Echoes with the sounds…
Of salesmen.” [repeated]
Legend has it that Neil Peart wrote this song as a tribute to Toronto radio station 102.1 CFNY. It was a ground-breaking station that often introduced new artists that the corporate stations ignored. The station’s tag line was “The spirit of radio.” CFNY resisted turning their programming into a formulaic game show like most other stations had.
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