As Rich mentioned, Planet Rock is closing down. The owners give as their reason that ‘digital "was not an economically viable growth platform for GCap Media"’; I suspect that this is only true in the same way that there is a worldwide market for about five computers, and nobody could ever want more than 640k of memory.

Rich also mentions that it’s the only radio station I listen to—not only that, it’s the only reason I even own a radio, digital or otherwise. A big chunk of the music I listen to, I first heard (or first really took notice of) on Planet Rock—U2, Pink Floyd, the Who, Wishbone Ash, King Crimson, Talking Heads, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. Pandora (also R.I.P., for all intents and purposes) and Last.fm aren’t the same, since they recommend music based on what I’m already listening to; Planet Rock always introduced me to more classic rock and metal. It’ll be a shame to see it go.

Incidentally, I finally got around to listening to the Supertramp album I got for Christmas (Breakfast In America). I was a little wary, since all I’d heard was the title track (which I’m not a huge fan of), but the rest of the album is pretty bloody good; Take The Long Way Home is a constant fixture of my mp3 player.

Various news sites have reported Pete Doherty’s recent driving ban, describing him as a “rock bad boy”. I’m not even particularly certain who he is, but I’m pretty certain he cannot be described as a “bad boy” or a “rock musician”, or even a “musician” at all. You don’t get to be a “rock bad boy” unless you’ve destroyed your instruments and equipment on-stage (bonus points for doing in before the gig is over), driven a car into a swimming pool, and trashed your hotel room.