Sunday, May 12th, Chicago hit 85 degrees. Beach weather. What do many bring to the beach for entertainment?

If this were 1995, the AM/FM CD boombox would be the choice for musical entertainment.

The hottest Chicago radio stations would be heard clear across the beach. It was fun radio and a special time. Unless there are isolated areas where one or two stations serve the community, the days of WLS 890, WLUP-FM 97.9 or dare I say, WWBZ-FM 103.5 "The Blaze." All gone. 890 no plays music and if it did, it would be 50s-70s for the 65 and up audience. The billing would be horrible.

Radio doesn't capture our interest to the point it used to. Personalities have largely been muzzled, commercial breaks are far too long, music is subjective.

In all honesty, is there any Chicago radio station which **anyone** gets excited about anymore? This is not to say Chicago doesn't offer some good radio. It's just very rare.

Pick any beach and what you're likely to hear is clashing musical programming. Someone's playlist is blaring from their speakers. Cars parked at a red light are no different. I can't remember the last time the station I had on was the same as the car next to me.

The same for TV. With countless cable channels and streaming options, few watch anything in mass. The usual Monday morning, "did you watch______?" is largely a thing of the past. It still exists to a small extent. The Sopranos or Game of Thrones on HBO to name two.

We tend to program our entertainment on our terms and no longer from the networks, streaming services and yes, radio.

It's a sad commentary when listeners have to pay for satellite to hear radio the way it was meant to be. Knowledgeable jocks and little to no commercials. Wait. WXRT-FM fills half of that statement.

I go jogging in the morning and when I pass homes with copies of the Sun-Times or Tribune at the end of their driveway, I have to think these are old readers. I'm not bashing anyone who reads a physical newspaper. The fact is those newspapers will eventually die out. It will translate to digital only.

As Bob Dylan sang "The Times They Are A-Changin'"