In any given month there's always a wheelbarrow load of the new and exciting, but....there seems to be a worrying amount of cheesy trance evilly wafting around the schedules these days!
Now I'm a fan of much 'dance' music, including techno, BUT the 140-150 bpm or so stuff I've been hearing a lot, makes me wonder if Judge Jules has gatecrashed the premises
Admin reply: Thanks for the feedback. There has not been a deliberate plot to change what we play - but in the general ebb and flow of DJ preferences you are always going to get occasional times when particular stuff appears more. One change for next month - we will have a reggae focussed show - picking out new and interesting stuff. Do keep tuning in to the various shows - feedback to the individual DJs is always welcomed by them as well as here on the guestbook.
Thanks for a really great 2011 on Dandelion Radio, you are number 1 on the web or anywhere. Don't let that go to your heads! Polly Jean, the Queen of 2011 too Do you guy's have stickers or badges anywhere for your glorious Dandelion Radio? All the best for 2012.
Admin reply: Thanks for the feedback - and no, it won't go to our heads ... but we might sleep more soundly (apart).
As for stickers etc - we tried asking listeners (via mailing list and elsewhere) if they were interested in branded t-shirts ... but not enough positive feedback yet.
A great festive 50 - the best for some years, to my ears at least. There were only about 5 tracks which I didn't like. Generally there was the usual inverse relationship between quality and chart position but that is something so traditonal now, I wouldn't want it any different! Many thanks to all who helped to put it together and broadcast it. I'm currently enjoying the Best of 2011 show, which is probably better than the Festive 50 actually, so full marks to the DJs for their good taste.
Admin reply: Thanks Simon. The 2011 Review show gave us a chance to do our own "best of". Depending on feedback - and time available from our DJs at the end of 2012 ... we may well do it again.
Thinking about other compilation and themed shows for other times of the year as well.
Do listen to Marcelle's Umlauts Special - every track selected has umlaut in artist and/or song name. Right pain to put together but the result is good.
Many thanks to all involved for taking on the Festive 50 again this year, and thanks to all the station DJ's and backroom guys for giving up their time and going some way to filling the gap that John left behind. Much appreciated and thanks for pointing me in the direction of so much good music too!
Cheers,
Steve.
Admin reply: Thanks for the feedback Steve and other who get in touch via this Guestbook or social media and email. While we would keep doing the shows just among ourselves (like old-style mixtapes for friends) it makes it much more rewarding when we hear from people, especially when they are appreciative.
Sat here impatiently awaiting the Festive Fifty pre-show :-) Thanks for all the great shows all of you have given us this year.
Admin reply: Thanks for the kind words Tristan. Hope you'll enjoy our one-off build-up show playing right now, and that's there's loads of tracks you enjoy in the main countdown show. Have a great Christmas! Best wishes from all at Dandelion Radio.
Just wondering if you guys had considered streaming in AAC instead of Mpeg? AAC, which is what the BBC use on iplayer now, is supposed to give better sound quality than Mpeg for any given bitrate. Certainly BBC iplayer listen again radio shows sound better on my laptop than they do on my DAB radio, connected through the same amplifier.
I love Dandelion Radio and just want it to sound as good as good as possible.
Admin reply: Thanks for the suggestion.
We did look into this years ago and went for MP3 via SHOUTcast for maximum compatibility with various players. Back then there were a number of hardware-based Internet radios that could not play AAC. Things have improved since then (however, even now there are issues with proper playback of AAC+ on some devices ... they ignore the "+" bits). So - we would potentially go to 96k AAC and save money or go to 128k AAC and sound better (for those with better speakers and younger ears!).
Plus the software we use for making the final versions of the shows from the hi-fi versions created by the DJs is a version of SoundForge from several years ago and it does not have the ability to save files as AAC. As we run on a small budget, an upgrade to a newer version is unlikely, so this could be the main hurdle if we ever change formats.
Simon, do you have any recommendations of free software that can convert WAV and MP3 to AAC (with ability to modify sonic characteristics) that we could potentially use? (email to station at dandelionradio dot com with suggestions other than Audacity)
Don't let that go to your heads! Polly Jean, the Queen of 2011 too 
