Random Access

I felt better this morning as soon as I turned on my radio.
They were back: Andy Barrie, Kevin Sylvester, Jim Curran and Jill Dempsey.
The CBC lockout is over and Metro Morning is back on the air.
It seems silly to take solace in disembodied voices of people you've never met drifting out of your car radio, but, nevertheless, the feeling is there.
I guess I'm a product of my generation. I listen to other stations, especially for music, but in the end, I always come back to the CBC.
From programs such as Ideas to Definitely Not The Opera, CBC Radio is indispensable, as far as I'm concerned. It has programming that you just can't get anywhere else. For example, who else gives you the flavours of the pockets of regional jazz across this country other than Katie Malloch in the superb weekend show, Jazz Beat, which has been on the air for more than two decades?
Even their lockout programming was better than the inane patter of DJs playing formulaic formats on so many other stations. For one thing, we got to hear replays of the debates about the best songs of every decade of this century, which featured the expert opinions of people like Mississauga singer Alex Pangman and former Mississaugan Jeff Healey.
The CBC has always been about interesting, informed and authoritative voices. Think Max Ferguson, Peter Gzowski, Lister Sinclair (the sound of his resonant tones added two points to the IQ of everyone who listened to Ideas), Arthur Black and on television, Stanley Burke, Earl Cameron, Knowlton Nash, Peter Mansbridge and, of course, the immortal Howard The Turtle.
We are obviously now headed into a period of public flagellation for the CBC, otherwise known as reviewing its mandate for the umpteenth time.
It will try to get younger and hipper to attract a new generation of listeners, but I really don't think it has to. Quality programming will always find an audience.
On the drive to the cottage earlier this year my 19-year-old son Josh and I listened to a Saturday morning show called GO, hosted by Brent Bambury, which chose the top seven guitar solos of all time as nominated by listeners.
It was vintage CBC. Funny and heartfelt stories from listeners about how certain riffs and songs marked milestones in their lives.
I was thrilled that at least one of my vintage of guitar heroes, Amos Garrett, was on the list. Josh was peeved that nothing by the immortal Duane Allman made it. We agreed that Rambling Man or Jessica should have won.
We were bopping along in the car, having a good time, speculating on the next selection and providing running commentary on the readers' remarks. It was engaging and invigorating, which is exactly what the CBC has always been about.
Let's not let the dunderheads who run the Mother Corp. ever change that.