I hate commercial radio.

The playlists of radio stations nowadays are so market-tested, so focus-grouped, that it's become a comical parody. One time I was driving to lunch with a workmate and I commented that a certain station must, by federal law, play a song by Elton John, Steely Dan, and the Eagles every hour. He tuned to the station, and there it was: "Reeling in the Years."

So I was heading in to work very early last week and caught the tail-end of "The Fifties at Five" - that's 5 a.m. - on the oldies station. What a breath of fresh air, free from the predictable drive-time lineup. What stood out (in my mind) was that it was the first time in years I had heard a Platters song on the radio.

The Platters were forging pathways for black artists in American music long before the Temptations and the Jackson 5. The sweet beautiful vocals of songs like "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Great Pretender", and "Twilight Time" are rare diamonds, that stand in sharp contrast to the "music" of rap today. Back in the fifties, those squares considered it a talent to sing with passion and perfect harmony. Thank heaven for small favors.