Don't feel so alone, got the radio on

We can stream all the curated playlists we want, but there is nothing quite like hearing something new and wonderful come over the radio while you're driving, and it's so damn good you've got to pull over to find out what it is, and you have to listen closely to get a snatch of lyrics to search it out. 

I listen to 80 percent of my music in the car as I'm driving to work and still have the Pulp CDs I bought 25 years ago on high rotation, but there is always room for something new. The way I find and devour great new music is often ludicrously complicated, but sometimes it's as simple as tuning in the radio. 

There's a few trusted stations if I want something heavy or some glistening new pop or some thick and meaty hip-hop, and they're often throwing up new tunes in between the classics. Sadly, I still listen to a lot of student and youth radio - people I work with just started a fantastic new youth station, and I've had to warn them that a white dude in his mid forties should not be your target audience, but they've got me anyway.

If you're even very lucky, you might stumble across DJs that aren't just obsessed with the sound of their own braying voices, and can give you recommendations, instead of endless shit jokes.

The same technology that has made car drives bearable for more than a century still works well.

Besides, I still get a thrill out of the cosiness of the live broadcast, sharing the moment with a community you never see, all grooving to the same song. I don't get that from the playlists the various algorithms keep tempting me with.