I'm bringin' radio back ... and you should, too.

Since I refuse to get technologically inclined like the rest of the American collegiate population and purchase an Ipod, I’ve had to find other means of whetting my musical appetite when I’m spending unhealthy amounts of time in campus computer labs. What I’ve found is at the very heart of my purist ideals: the radio! And not just any radio, BAGel Radio.

BAGel is an Internet radio station, so it puts me just at the edge of submission to the ever evolving technological musical world where my scratched compact discs and shattered jewel cases become obsolete. The station touts itself as one of the best sources for indie, pop, alternative and rock music. To prove it, they won the 2005 College Music Journal Specialty Music Director of the Year Award, making it the first Internet station to receive such an award -- and with good reason. The music is outstanding, and there are no commercials and barely any talking to distract the flow of song play.

BAGel’s got everything from the well-known British singles band “The Smiths” to more obscure rising indie groups like “Citizens Here and Abroad.” According to one of their slogans, the selection of music is guaranteed to help you “out-snob music snobs,” which I always strive to do.

The station has made itself extremely accessible, too. I stumbled upon BAGel while using an iMac in Coor Computing Commons at Arizona State University. Another way to access the station is through its Web site, or even from its blog on this very site, Blogger.com.

I’m not quite sure where the name came from, but between songs, band members from commonly aired groups promote the station by stating their bagel of choice. Here's a little video clip of The Flaming Lip's frontman, Wayne Coyne, doing one of these shout-outs for the station after a show. My personal favorite is an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. Yum.