26th October 2016, a very grim day for music.
Today is the last day of TXFM and we should all feel sad about it. The tiniest sliver of hope for the promotion of alternative music in Ireland is soon to be switched off, paving the way for chart music to engulf the already laden scene.
For me, TXFM (and formerly Phantom) represents a time in my life when I was figuring out who and what the heck I was. I had just moved to Dublin for college and was waving goodbye to nights spent at the local nightclub, forcefully plodding my way through another chorus of 'shawty having them apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur (with the fur)', in the hopes of it not being noticed that I was dying inside.
A college friend of mine was talking about how he'd won tickets to Electric Picnic every year on a particular radio station that was a reliable source of excellent music. I was intrigued, as I'd never heard anyone talk about a music radio station in such a passionate way. The first time I tuned 105.2 onto my car radio, Arctic Monkeys were playing. I was hooked.
Given that I was studying radio at college, it was encouraged that we listened to more traditional content like documentaries, talk radio and radio dramas. Almost as an act of defiance, I'd listen to Phantom on the way to and from college. I lived ages away, so would have an hour and a half before lectures to work my way through the likes of The Smiths, The Cure, Warpaint, Beck and Daft Punk, while finding incredible new Irish acts along the way. It felt like I'd finally found something that I couldn't complain about.
Phantom made listening easy. You didn't have to sit through twelve songs you hated until the DJ finally played something resembling your interests. My taste in music aligned perfectly with the presenters, I was hearing songs I was subjected to in my Dad's car growing up, but now I found myself actually appreciating them. It was my choice to listen, and I was addicted.
The biggest loss to listeners is the relationships that have developed with the presenters. TXFM DJs have such an edge on other stations. There's a sincerity in their voices that shows they are massively fond of the music they're playing. Their knowledge of the artists is so blatantly not being read from a sheet of paper after a quick Wikipedia hunt while the song plays. Their passion is infectious and a real testament to the community that the station has created.
Today, at 8pm, TXFM will finish transmitting. It's fucking sad. It's sad that there doesn't appear to be an appetite for indie and alternative music anymore. The Irish radio industry is polluted with the same five current songs playing in rotation, with many eventually submitting to the noise. It's not representative of the diversity of Irish people's music interests, it's catering to a very small portion of the public that are complacent with what's put in front of them and that's a massive disappointment.
Tomorrow, many of us will go back to being that awkward teen in a nightclub faking enjoyment through another one of Flo Rida's exports, trudging our way through countless radio stations that yelp over celebrity gossip and awkward presenter interactions, settling when we hear something almost resembling integrity, accepting that it's as close as we're going to get. It's a sad, but at least we've had the joy of knowing that there once was a community of like-minded music lovers out there.
Thank you, TXFM, for giving us much more than a radio station.
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