Hitz.fm

First of, I'm reminded of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, or more specifically, the villain telling Ethan that the most difficult thing being him was having to grin all the time like an idiot. 

Then I remember a seminar I attended couple of years back where one of my downline leaders was talking about "Tips to Successful Prospecting" a.k.a. "How To Make Friends." She was emphasizing about how far a smile could get you, how strangers are friends you have yet to get to know. She even got the audience to practise smiling. And then she ended the segment with a warning against over-smiling, saying, "When you smile all the time, for no apparent reason, and at nobody visible, people might think you are ditzy, cuckoo or plain mad." Some of the audience tittered politely and I wondered if she was referring to me (!)

I received the above picture recently in my email and again wondered if the sender was referring to me. 

Which brings me to today's post. 

There is a radio station in my country, target audience: young people, playing the latest hits and helmed by wacky, irascible, irreverent deejays. The radio in my car is tuned permanently to this station especially if I'm driving around the traffic snarls of KL. Traffic jams bring out the worst in me, compound that with absent-minded incompetent women drivers and I'm so reduced to cussing and swearing a blue streak that even the most seasoned sailors would run from me. 

So this bunch of young deejays with their wacky jokes always soothe me, more, they make me laugh like a lunatic, much like that cat above. But I must be careful not to look sideways while cackling like a loon, especially if my car is at a standstill. I've received a lot of weird looks from the drivers of the cars around me. I've been tempted to wind down my window and holler to them to switch radio stations to hitz.fm so that they could be as jolly as I in the face of frustrating traffic jams. 

I've done an informal survey and found most people my age and generation listen to 'Light and Easy' - a station playing songs from our era. While people in their 30s listen to Mix Fm - mixture of songs from their era. I can't abide by either because the deejays on both stations drive me up the wall faster than, say, ineffectual women drivers. My major beef with them is their enunciation and then some of them have a condenscending tone as if they are speaking to a bunch of old fogeys, none too bright. I wish they would be more alive, present and true. There is nothing wrong with speaking Malaysian English on radio, or in the case of JJ, Indian-accented English (although of course, he could do proper English when he wanted). Much much better than putting some strange accent on that is neither British, American, Australian or even Malaysian. 

Some people tell me, "But I don't know the songs they play on hitz.fm." Ain't that a good enough reason to tune in so that we could keep abreast? If I want to listen to music from my era, I could always pop in the CD. 

Some say, "I don't like these modern songs. I don't like rap. I don't like loud music, I don't like fast music." Well, I could tell you there are some beautiful ballads too but at the end of the day it's your decision. 

There's so much negativity, doom and gloom everyday everywhere that it is vitally imperative we have a source of laughter to turn to, or turn on, on a daily basis.