The only person I regularly listen to is Pearl on Sunday Mornings. I thinks she's great. The stuff she plays is just perfect for a chill out Sunday morning. The rest I can take or leave it.

You Dubs do not know how good you have it so stop whingeing.

Here in the radio blackout zone that is the foothills of the Comeragh mountains you can pick up the follwing in order of signal strength.

1. Tipp FM - usual rural local radio stuff, fine if you want local news/talk radio, rubbish otherwise
2. Today FM - Better than nothing
3. Beat - They "yoof" radio station, despite it's name, the ratio of talk to music is not much better than sister station WLR, you actually wonder what the point of it is there is so much of an overlap between the two. It does have dance music show on a saturday night, but these are syndicates shows from the likes of Hed Kandi/Judge Jules and mainly play the more handbag side of house, so not really that interesting.
4. RTE 1/2FM/Lyric, you all know well, can't really pick them up much, not that they're worth listening to.

I was in Dublin last month (I know! Binokular venturing into the pale?The four horsemen of the Apocalyse will be next!), and driving around I have to say you guys are spoiled when it comes to radio. OK, Phantom isn't bleeding edge, it isn't "The Wire" on Resonance FM, but it's more than acceptable for keeping you happy while negotiating the traffic (speaking of which, you Dubs need to chill out maan, if you were cut up by a slightly lost looking old Alfa 75 on English plates, that was me, Sorry!).

Overall, yeah Dublin Radio could be a little better, but it could be a LOT worse.

this is correct... pearl is the only programme i can listen to for more than about 20 minutes on the trot... in fact, i actively seek her program out...

...you get some odd good stuff on other programs as well but not nearly enough... in fact folks like that lunchtime guy and that heavy traffic guy play so much middling (and old) rock music that i quite often prefer listening to some pop on other stations... usually i turn over to some sort of talk radio though to get away from the noise...

I usually make a point of listening to Pearl on Sundays. If I get the chance I listen to access all areas in the mornings (they had Trail Of Dead on last week) and the afternoon programme occasionally discusses some interesting stuff even though some of the music on it is a bit more rawk then I usually go for (and far too much Ash).

Do the listeners still have as much input to the content. i.e. do txt requests get listened to

Ah, I miss Pearl and her Sunday morning show - I used to wake up on Sunday mornings especially to listen to her while having breakfast and reading the Sunday papers. I don't have internet access at home so I can't listen to Phantom on the web just yet - soon, hopefully: and because of the time difference I'll have an hour later in bed on Sunday mornings before gettng up to listen to her!!!

BTW in Paris there are two dedicated indie stations. One of them, Le Mouv', belongs to the state broadcaster. The other, Ouï FM, is independent and commercial and seems to me to have some links with XFM in London. Both have the tricky task of balancing audience-keeping 'classic indie hits' with fresh new music and eclectic programming - and Phantom is no different, as I recall Pete Reed/Simon Maher pointing out on this very discussion board. Ultimately it'll play what its listeners want it to play - which is as it should be, of course - but also introduce new music too.

I always loved Phantom when I was living in Dublin and if the new legal station keeps its enthusiasm and individuality then it'll attract and keep a healthy audience. The best music show on French radio isn't on either of the indie stations but between 10-11pm on France Inter, a sort-of-equivalent of Newstalk. The show is called 'C'est Lenoir', presented by Bernard Lenoir, who simply plays the new music he has just heard and loves, live sessions with French and international acts (Neil Hannon did a fine session before Christmas), and look-backs on various themes - last week he did a special on shoe-gazing; chatted with guest about that scene, played Ride and especially My Bloody Valentine, saying how much he liked Kevin Shields' music, etc. It was a great hour of radio: it reminded me of Phantom.

" Do the listeners still have as much input to the content. i.e. do txt requests get listened to "

Yes, too much. It seems like all that Phantom (and most Irish radio) DJ's have to say it "send us a text". Literally every five minutes. For people (and Im not the only one) who have no interest in texting a radio show, this gets old fast. DJ's should know a little something about music, so they have something to talk (briefly) about in between songs. Instead they need constant encouragement from adoring texters in exchange for some Sonic Youth.

I put Phantom on alot, usually when I don't have the concentration to listen to something of my own and just want music in the background. But I still want to hear something new (or old) that'll grab me. It rarely ever happens though. Phantom claims to be a cut above your average music station but they're not as adventurous as they like to think they are. When they're playing old stuff, its usually "the hit" (last night it was Light My Fire...yawn!) and for new bands they usually stick to one song and pummell that into the ground.

I'm being a bit hard on them, its definitely one of the better stations, but I think I should stop listening to them for a while. Its starting to get to me!!

Oh and another thing. Noel FUCKING Fogarty on the news desk.

Hello all,

As always, fascinated to read any of these discussions, really are informative. As has been mentioned before, it is most certainly a delicate balancing act between commercial sustainability, artistic credibility and not appearing ridiculously musically aloof. Add to that the daily "challenge" of keeping the regulator happy too of course

Would be happy to answer any Phantom 105.2 related questions you might have, or take any criticisms on board!

Just while Im here too, if I may, I would like to plug our Advisory Board which is where we are inviting listeners to submit their views on what works well, and what works not so well on Phantom. Head along to Phantom.ie and sign up if you get a chance.

Thanks!
Simon Maher
Phantom 105.2

Really liking the station, definitely a breath of fresh air.

But I do agree with some of the comments by Peejay that perhaps they are not being adventurous. The old stuff is generally something that is well known and played to death. Also a bit more variety when it comes to new bands rather than hammering their most well known song.

But they're just small potatoes

Prompted by this thread, I was listening to Phantom last night over t'interweb and it's pretty good you know, not perfect, but my idea of a perfect radio station would probably annoy the hell out of everyone else. If I could pick it up down here, I wouldn't complain. So, my only question is, why can't Phantom go national? People outside Dublin like indie too, none of the local radio stations in most counties appeal to that gap in the market.

a question best put to the BCI really

Phantom got me turning off the ipod and turning on the radio in the car for the first time in about 3 years.
A bit less Morrissy and REM and I'd be happy.
Sinister Pete is great in the mornings, as is Jack Hyland.

Something that I am wondering about is how exactly do the playlists work?
There are a couple listed on the website, they are around 62/63 songs long and are all new music.
But Phantom plays a fair whack that isnt on the list too. So is the playlist just a rough guide? And can they not play album tracks when it comes to new music?

i think in general the playlists are fine and suiting their purpose. getting the punters in, and different enough to other station output. that said, i'm not listening very much, there's not a lot for me there, and i'm a huge fan of alternative music. but generally, i'm glad it's there, particularly for the amount of airtime given to local bands, which has been absolutely fantastic, kudos to yer all.

however, i think where there is definitely room for improvement, is more variety in late night specialist shows. follow the late 90's bbc radio 1 output, get a peelie in for properly underground/alternative music, get a kershaw in for yer world music, a westwood for yer hip hop etc.make it a rule that the playlists go out the window and must not contain material played during the daytime or something, though that's prob too extreme.

way i see it, all the young folk that the daytime playlists suit are out at their youth clubs after 10pm, and old farts like me are sat at home with nothing to listen to on the wireless while we read our creation records biogs and supping on our horlicks.

i don't know easy or charged the road ahead for phantom is going to be, but surely in years to come, if you fall foul of regulators or other bodies your remit for staying on air could only be balanced in your favour by saying, 'hey, look, we're a channel for a genuinely alternative music sources that don't get another outlet, you can't chop us!"

give me a job

the playlists are a guideline for the presenters, and the rest is up to them

there are %s that they have to keep (irish music, new music, playlist music, etc.)

at least thats the way i believe the playlists work

i'd love to see what dudley suggested regarding specialist shows. i actually thought that's what Phantom would be like when it came back. hopefully somewhere down the line anyway. 4 or 5 years ago i would've been delighted with Phantom as it is. nowadays i'll just put on the latest cd that comes free with foggy notions or plan b to hear some good music by bands i've never heard of. i would rather listen to a nice dj playing these songs if there was one though. if a specialist show like that was to happen too i'd hope it was on at a decent hour (eg. 10-12 or 12.30) and if it wasn't that there was some sort of podcast / option to stream the show in it's entirity after it's aired.

the best thing they could do is just get all the Pixies and Muse and Smashing Pumpkins CDs and throw them away!

There are a million things i'd change about phantom but at least, its better than fm104/today fm/2fm/98fm/spin/q102/add your own name to the list

the best shows i've heard so far are on the weekend - i really like that Stadium Rock show (good mix of footie and indie anthems), sinead ni mohorda's classics show and the Kiosk with nadine o'regan. Think both Pearl (sunday mornings) and Jim caroll (saturday nights) should be on during the week - both of them are playing amazing music you dont hear on any other show on the station but which you SHOULD be hearing.

Rockchicklet, jaysus if we threw away all the Pixies and Muse and Pumpkins CDs we would be bankrupt in about 15 minutes. Like them or not, these are very popular artists and will always be the backbone of a commercial Alt Rock station. There really are some great shows at the weekends on Phantom, those mentioned above and more but for Phantom 105.2 to survive, it has to appeal to a broad audience with an interest in Alternative Rock.

To answer other questions, the playlist you see on the site is the new music playlist. It covers the current "new" release material. This consists of singles and album tracks divided by category. The next layer down would be a stations "recurrents" which are the popular recent and older tracks. Then its the old songs and the unsigned and "breaking" tracks.

On the specialist shows, we will continue to work on them and on providing shows that appeal to specific audiences. Like everything else, it takes time and as we get more established we can push the boundaries some more. Remember though, that we are only on air 14 weeks and our immediate priority is survival against some pretty big players and then development.

Simon
simonmaher@phantom.ie

I really like Jim Carroll's show on Saturday nights, but I couldn't name any other particular shows as highlights. Those "backbone" bands also get on my nerves a little, but when they're playing new Irish stuff like Evil Harrisons and Heritage Centre, it's worth tuning in every now and again.