There are some people who are nostalgic for the days before cable television and satellite radio when we were all forced to watch the same television programs and listen to virtually the same radio stations. Now that there are so many choices, we’ve lost the common experiences of, say, watching the final episode of MASH or the Who Shot JR ? episode of Dallas. There are times, though, when it’s clear that all the choices we have today are a good thing:
MIAMI — Every year it’s the same — the relentless refrains of “Santa Baby” and “Silver Bells,” those saccharine lyrics that seem to fill every radio frequency, not to mention every speaker in stores and restaurants and offices. By the time Christmas is over, Terri Lynn says she feels saturated.
This year, the 50-year-old Jewish resident of Fort Lauderdale has an escape: She can tune in to Radio Hanukkah.
Though the potential audience is likely rather small, XM Satellite Radio’s Hanukkah-themed station at XM108 is being touted as the first of its kind and one celebrated by the network’s Jewish clientele, who’ve long known December’s airwaves to be filled only with the holly-jolly, jingle-bell sounds of Christmas.
“It’s 24 hours of Hanukkah! I’ll be dancing the hora,” said Lynn, a publicist whose clients include the Salvation Army, the Jewish Federation of Broward County and Habitat for Humanity. “This could be refreshing. Who knows? Maybe non-Jews will start loving these songs too.”
XM108 will run for the eight nights of the Festival of Lights, beginning Friday, not only with Hanukkah songs including “I Have a Little Dreidel,” but also candle-lighting blessings and Jewish-themed specials with celebrities ranging from comedian Al Franken to sex therapist Dr. Ruth to the rock band Barenaked Ladies.
Before all these choices, something like this would not have been possible.
