My career experience in commercial radio was nominal at best, and I spent most of my "media career" in local television before turning to the dark side and taking a position in the Ministry of Truth for an organization in the Desert Southwest. I'm being purposely obscure here, as my job's public responsibilities prevent me from expressing personal opinions. FarkleberriesUSA allows me that luxury (thanks Lenka).

Anyways, I digress. Radio.

There is a dearth of choice here in the radio spectrum that is downright brutal. One Oldies AM and one Talk AM, a Country FM, and two Hot AC ('Adult Contemporary'). There are some Mexican stations with Norteno music, but that's not really my thing (I did like the Tejano stuff I heard in Texas and New Mexico on the drive out here, though). And that one Hot AC features Delilah every evening (god, to see that woman dropped 500 feet into a vat of boiling saccharine would be too good for her).

Where was I?

Oh yes. Anyways, I had the good fortune to find XHMIX-FM, known otherwise in the region as 98.3, "La Zona" (The Zone), transmitting from the mountains of "La Rumorosa" outside Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico (WinAmp Filename: http://201.130.111.2:8001/.wma).

Now, it's not the outlaw powerhouse sung about by ZZ Top, but it's a powerhouse nonetheless, with a footprint covering large areas of four states in two countries. And the format, well, it's akin to "Jack," but with some actual heart and spirit to the DJ's. Seriously, the playlist is unpredictable. As I wrote this, I heard Bob Dylan singing "Mockingbird," followed by Dire Straits "Twistin' By The Pool," and then Billy Idol's "Eyes Without A Face." Screw iPod . . . I've got the X . . .

But here's the real kicker, and the reason behind the rant. In order to protect me from myself, my government (thanks, FCC) and the local stations that bow to them play only 'radio edits'.

So . . . in order to hear "my own music" uncensored and unfiltered, I have to, in the land of the free, tune in a "foreign" radio station.