SomaFM
Category: Radio Stations [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission1890 Bryant St
Ste 303
(between 17th St & Mariposa St)
San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 826-9500
79 Reviews for SomaFM
I first started listening to SomaFM back in 2005. I came for Indie Pop Rocks, but it was mostly Groove Salad that's made me stick around for all these years. SomaFM offers everything that the best radio stations should, namely consistent quality but without a lot of repetition. Don't get me wrong, I still do love listening to Pandora every now and then, but when they start playing the same songs every single time I tune in, that's just wrong. SomaFM gets it right, especially on Groove Salad. Without that station as my background studying music, I don't know how I would survived my last two years of college and then all of grad school. Seriously.
I've heard that Secret Agent has some funky beats to offer, too, so I've been working my way into that as well. So far, so good!
Hands down the best non-mainstream streaming internet radio. Playlists are varied and consistent, with DOOMED and DRONE ZONE being my personal faves. Yet another reason why I spend too much on music....the playlist page auto-updates and I just have to have that last track that raised an eyebrow and stroked my cochlea. And who am I to deny my cochlea?
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"Secret Agent" is the greatest internet radio show ever. They turned me on to Ursula 1000, the Stereophonic Space Sound, Amon Tobin, Tipsy, Sex Mob, DJ Food and many more.
When they're not playing spazzy trip-hop they play all sorts of old spy movie soundtracks, spaghetti western soundtracks and old detective TV show themes. Check SOMA FM out on iTunes or Winamp, or just go to their terrific website. Jimi Hendrix once said, "You will never listen to surf music again". Well, at SOMA FM you may never listen to rock music again!
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Soma FM, I heart you with all my heart. Like I want to spoon you, or something.
Um, okaaaay.....heh. ;o)
Seriously, over the years you've gotten me through work, reading, some long nights of paper writing, or just staying up late doing absolutely nothing of any true value while online (aside from listening to you, of course). Groove Salad & Beat Blender serve as my auditory delight... and when I want to switcharoo, I jump over to Secret Agent or Indie Pop Rocks for some fun.
Thank you for being you.
I've been listening to SomaFM since 2002 and it only gets better. My flavor is more "Secret Agent" but the fact that there is such a varied choice should show you how great SomaFM is!
The scary thing is that a lot of the music that's played (at least on Secret Agent and Illinois Street Blues) is stuff that I already own. It's even better discovering songs/artists that I'm unfamiliar with.
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Let's just make it perfectly clear...if I didn't think SOMAFM programmed some FABULOUS stations, primarily "Indie Pop Rocks" and "Groove Salad," would I have worn their infamous black T in my latest video (http://youtube.com/wat...)? Thass right. And in all seriousness, they hung in there mighty strong during the royalty scare approximately one year ago (mid-2007). Hats off to the gang at SOMAFM.
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Oh, yeah! I work in a building with several thousand cubicles. I call it the Collective. SomaFM is fabulous when staring at a screen all day trying to stay awake.
Love the Space Station, Secret Agent, and digitalis feeds. I just ordered my T-shirt.
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I love the music selected by all the wonderfully talented music directors on somafm. I can't afford to give a donation at the time so I'm trying to give in some other way until my financial sit-ee-ay-shun clears up; in shout outs! All you wealthy San Franciscan Yelpers out there give somaFM a try and fall in love like I have. Once I get my stimulus check I'm gonna be all over somaFM and git me a free shirt which is but another ridonckulus incentive for giving them money.
Do it! Do it for the music! Do it for all the poor schmucks like me who really wish we could, but can't!
I LOVE YOU SOMAFM!
http://somafm.com
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This numerous channels on SOMAFM have been on at my house and work for most of the last seven years. Groove Salad is particularly helpful workdays after club nights in San Francisco or Denver, and Digitalis is my new favorite homework station. If you're not listening, you should be outraged. :)
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Indie Pop Rocks and Illinois Street Blues are the best reasons I have for going to work.
Dear SomaFM,
I am not one of those people who hate their jobs or loath the time I spend in my office. On the contrary, I actually love the work and the surrounding work environment. But somehow your (people who run it) tireless work makes my workdays that much better.
Now, I am a big fan of downbeat, etc etc..so I listen to those channels all day...but I do have to say you have quite the great mix for many different tastes. I am truly amazed that month after month you are still there. Whew, thank God other people are making those $50 donations! I'll get you after I pass the Bar I swear! It will be good carma seeing as how you help my days go by as smooth as your beats.
Cheers to you and your exceptional radio. thank you from the bottom of my soul.
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Groove Salad is money. The holiday stream is hilarious. Both are big hits - I've been a listener for years. If you haven't tried it, I urge you to let Soma toss your Groove Salad daily. (Read into that what you will.)
Go to iTunes and click on "Radio," then "Ambient." Groove Salad's near the bottom.
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Groove Salad has been more instrumental in helping me climb the corporate ladder than any stupid old degree. Unfortunately, in school they do not teach you how to possess enough self control to keep you from hurling your phone/stapler/heavy object at coworkers when they annoy you..and most Fortune 500 companies frown upon such behavior.
Thank the powers that be for the ability to don puffy headphones and escape deep into my cubicle with ambient music.
Now that I no longer work in a real office where you have to deal with annoying people, or even wear pants for that matter, I still love SomaFM and this pantsless job even gave me the opportunity to meet and thank Mr. SomaFM himself at SXSW...but with pants, I mean I was wearing pants, my pants were on when I met him...and when I thanked him. Gees. Where are my headphones???
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Okay, so I'm a cheap jerk and listen to it for free. But it is awesome.
Groove Salad and Indie Pop Rocks are my personal favorites. I'm constantly introduced to new bands and SomaFM always has something for my mood. Which is wonderful, because I get so easily bored with my music collection.
For years I dreamed of having people with exceptional taste who would constantly point me in the right direction and give me suggestions they just *knew* I would love. Like a little music-obessed birdy sitting on my shoulder. Or like that friend who is awesomely cutting-edge and always has new music you've never heard of. SomaFM is like having a friend just like that. Except without the insufferable attitude people like that have.
SomaFM is lovely.
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SomaFM, where would I be without you? I need my Secret Agent station to feel like the super spy all those James Bond, Get Smart, and Avengers shows said I could be. There's nothing better than interspersing dangerously ambient music with quotes from supervillains.
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A friend of mine has loved SomaFM for a while (specifically Indie Pop Rocks!) and I was a moron and just recently tuned in.
Thank you, SomaFM, thank you SO MUCH. For making me love life and making the work day go quicker. Heyo!
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I would probably go nuts without these guys. Great, soothing BIG sounds to chill to, great concentration aid for work or when you just need to not rip someone a new one. I do contribute financially to them- payment for wonderful services rendered. Love all the stations, including the new "Doomed" although Boot Liquor is not my personal cuppa tea. Put on your Windows Media Music visualizer and trip out without those pesky drugs. Keep up the excellent work, guys.
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I eat a healthy Groove Salad everytime a sit in front of a computer with enough bandwidth to stream a Secret Agent vinaigrette on SOMA FM. Ambient Chill is my fave music and SOMA has been my greatest educator on the genre. I usually stream from Itunes radio stations.
I need to remember to send them some moolah- they are listener supported. SOMA FM is where I learned about Unforscene, which I am now addicted to.
I love SomaFM. I am a contributing member. Secret Agent cracks me up and I love just ClipHop. Boot Liquor is cool and I've taken a liken to Sonic Universe.
Support internet radio! Subscribe for as little as $1 a month via Paypal. Every little bit counts. Or listen to it free, you cheap bastard.
I wish I could figure out how to take this with me, in the car or something. I love the music though...
I usually listen to Groove Salad, it's funky, cool, and chill... And to think, iTunes was the one who told me about it....
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Broadcasting awesome music even into the boonies, has been a major source of new music for me for the past couple years.
Especially fond of Secret Agent, Groove Salad, Illinois St Lounge, & Drone Zone before bed.
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I've been addicted to Secret Agent since it first launched (lost track, maybe 2001-2002?). Yep, I'm old-school. It was finally a radio station that felt like my own private theme song. You see, Secret Agent isn't just a radio station, it's a lifestyle.
I love you, Secret Asian. Agent.
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I am done buying or downloading lounge music or chill out discs. SOMA FM and Groove Salad stations are great. Its perfect for background music for anything. Now if I could only figure out how to get these broadcasts in my car and on my ipod. At least i figured out how to get these channels to play from my from my computer to my home stereo system. I think this may be the best internet radio I have heard. The song selection is really excellent.
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Groove Salad saved my husband and I when we were living in Salt Lake City. I heart this station, even the Christmas lounge-y music.
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A W E S O M E
My good friend R took me to the SomaFM party last night and after listening to the LongNow hosted lecture/dinner in the marina romp, it was a rush of enlivening curiosities and creative synaptic charges that fluffed up my hair and spirits (I had only three hours of sleep the night before and already experiencing the floating effect...)
Great vibes and music which expanded up into the rafter of this amazing artist loft space. I came back with several of their Cd's, handed personally by their founder and making new friends with a group that I would probably have never run into otherwise.
Commercial free. Amazing range of diverse music. My personal favorites when I'm at work late is their spacey ambient electronica and if I need to quick pick me up, I click onto Cliqhop. The rhythm is never ending and I can at least deal with spreadsheets with more efficiency. Secret Agent for those dapper cads who are on Match.com for more than 5 years and need a little pep boost to their bachelor pads and smoking jackets. And for people who like music with their coffee date/dessert date, I'd recommend Groove Salad. It puts down the guard and tensions of the psychological date. HAHA!!
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This is the Shoutcast that made me love downtempo/trip-hop. It is consistently great, excellent flow of music, and is perfect for anyone who loves music. If this isn't your genre, you should still try it out as they will make it your genre.
RUSTY is hilarious
and their channels, especially groove salad, are phenomenal
however, i have to subtract one star based on their lack of good, ass shaking, hip hop.
and then i have to subtract another star for his violently negative reaction when a few of us asked him about putting in a hip hop/funky breaks kind of channel
and then i have to subtract ONE MORE star for his telling me that he hates breaks.
but i'll defend him to the death for all musical broadcast rights online and he is a fine, upstanding individual all things considered.
I just want some kind of beat that rocks me, not yanks me, or drips down on to my shoe... that's all
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Hands down the best internet radio station I have ever listened to. I'm a dj and their station, Groove Salad, has been one of my biggest influences for spinning downtempo. I don't know how they put together such an amazing mix of music. The quality of their playlist is higher quality than any sattelite or air station around.
If you need something to chill out to or good background music, Soma FM and Groove Salad are where it's at.
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GrooveSalad at SomaFM has great chill out lounge music with funky beats. Also, it's great stuff to listen to while you write code.
What do you do when you are hosting a holiday party for 20 and you suddenly realize that your collection of gangsta rap probably ISN'T the best music to play for your conservative relatives?
Answer: SOMA FM!
I love so many of the stations here. I myself have a massive music collection of over 12K songs, but sometimes it's nice to just put a station on from SOMA FM and let them be the DJ. It's usually a pretty good mix, good quality and NO COMMERCIALS. Also, I think a better quality mix than something like Pandora, which I also occasionally use, though that is MUCH more high maintenance.
Of note: Illinois Street Lounge station - reminds me of what it must have been like being a swinger in the 60's (or a drugged-out housewife in the 50's). Also Secret Agent is becoming a fav as well, with little Bond movie snippets thrown in. Check 'em out!
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I have listened to Dronze Zone on WinAmp for yrs. Esp when I was working nights- at 2-3am, it was the best. I wish I could take it with me as well. Didn't realize until recently it was part of SomaFM. Will now have to check out their other stations. Awesome-
Absolutely one of the best 'radio stations' on the Internet. My top favs are Secret Agent, Indie Pop Rocks and Groove Salad. I listen to Tag's Trip for a caffeine-like boost from time to time. When the holidays roll-around, their seasonal channels provide a welcome change to the usual. I wish I could listen to their stations in my car... maybe one day.
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It all began because there was nothing good to listen to on the radio...
Broadcasting from a basement in San Francisco, their high quality MP3 internet broadcasts reach around the world. Rusty Hodge, SomaFM's founder, had been experimenting with online radio since 1995. After helping other companies with their streaming media operations, he decided that no one was going to create the online radio station he wanted to listen to, so he did it himself.
I am addicted to the SECRET AGENT station! I HIGHLY recommend checking it out and making it your primary "radio" station. I did.
You can listen on your computer through your favorite media player. I use 2 Linksys Squeezebox players (google it) and have SomaFM playing throughout the house.
What esle do you need. With SOMA, there's no need for cds or Itunes!I will say this though, ever since I started listening to them, I've discovered a whole array of different artists I would've never heard and now I support them by going to their shows and buying their music.
Remember to support them too, they rock!! Don't let up on keeping everyone informed about the Internet Equality Act, why should small internet stations be unfairly targeted and shut down!
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Indie Pop Rocks gets me through every single work day. This, and the rest of SomaFM's stations, are the best internet radio out there.
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Wow!! Thanx to everyone who reviewed this before I did. Now I know about it too and I love it.
My favorite is the Secret Agent channel.
HOOT HOOT!!
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I'm growing concerned. I like Groove Salad so much I'm afraid I may disappear. Is it possible that beneath the neverending great music there's some sort of mental tractor beam hypnotizing me into this constant craving?
It's on at work and at home whenever I'm writing, or resting, or thinking or .... Only place it isn't on is in the car, and that's probably a good thing. Excursions to Secret Agent and Drone Zone have proven profitable as well. I've donated; please do the same to keep Rusty and Big URL in motion.
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MOVE ME LIKE MUSIC!
this is what soma does for me everyday and every night. i can't believe the great variety of music found here. unfortunately when i here something i really just love and try to find it elsewhere to download i cant find it. whether i'm busy yelping or relaxing in bed thinking about the sounds and shapes of everything i'm hearing it's what gets me through to the next day.
somafm is definitely sooo damn sweet, sexy and very chill!
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Groove Salad, will you marry me? I enjoy orbiting around Planet Earth while listening to your tunes. I could do so for the rest of my days.
Recently donated $50 and waiting eagerly for the T-Shirt!
Stay with us Soma.fm, we need you.
P.S. - Beat Blender and others, you're ok too. I just wish you would put out more.
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You really can't beat SomaFM for it's Internet radio stations. This site is constantly streaming into our office, because everyone here can jive to the same thing.
No more awkward glances at co-workers that place that annoying ska all day long - this is the answer to the radio! No ads, fantastic music, 24/7. Thanks SomaFM!
Just have to restate: THIS STATION RULES ALL.
http://www.somafm.com
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