Mixlr: Europeia's Heart
Written by Kuramia
"Make me your radio / And turn me up when you feel low"
Gym Class Heroes - "Stereo Hearts"
Mixlr
Ira Glass, public radio personality best known for being the host of radio show "This American Life", emotes perfectly the rapport of a talk show's personalities with their listeners when he states, "[...]radio is like a machine for empathy and intimacy, in a way that is hard for almost every other mass medium to recreate. [...]There is a feeling, when you listen to radio, that it's one person, and they're talking to you, and you really feel their presence as one person." In 2014, Europeia's government opened up a Mixlr account and began to teach the region how to run radio shows. At that time, the stream mostly consisted of music, run in a continuous playlist. This soon evolved to not only a twenty-four hour radio station but also talk shows, interviews, and games, both humorous and informative. Mixlr has become the true heart of Europeia, revealing its dark and zany sense of humor, twisted and fervent opinions, and the most positive and negative of commentary that is sometimes lost on Europeia's forums.
Dark and Zany Sense of Humor
Some of the first comedic sketches that have managed to stay the test of time are the "Dramatic Readings". These consist of overly dramatized readings of various and sometimes questionable threads on the forums. Context isn't needed when voices pantomime in grandiose tones concerning dates, avatars, and dubious acts in vehicles that do not exist. From listening to someone break out in raucous giggles as they try to seriously repeat "Say what you will about Bachmann, but she's a total MILF. And you know she's going to be freaky in bed with all that repression and whatnot" to the habit of speaking aloud emoticons such as "frowny face", Dramatic Readings can be replayed to the delight of new and old alike. They are a time-honored tradition that should continue into the future.
On the other side of the spectrum of humor, we have shows such as "Europeia After Dark": a show that comes with its own content warning for those adults who enjoy staying up late and cracking lots of innuendo and twisted humor. This no-holds-barred radio show sets the bar pretty low, and gets pretty dirty. While there might be comments that it goes too low and too dirty at times, many agree it is quite popular and humorous. It is an adult show for adults who love to become childish late at night.
Twisted and Fervent Opinions
If Europeia is known for anything, it's for having an opinion. New opinions can be found on Discord on the forums at any given time of day, but there are also radio shows developed and moulded around various opinions, sometimes the opinions of one, sometimes the opinions of many. One such show known and loved by Europeia is "Notty Talks", a special show hosted by Notolecta which features often fervent opinions of not only the host but also guests he brings onto the show. Notolecta is known for having a strong and hardline opinion, and usually uses his radio time to speak of relevant topics occurring in Europeia and to both criticize and push government and citizenry alike.
While some radio shows focus on a more detailed-oriented approach to opinions, others give the option of getting out a rather quick and dirty opinion, with no real need to even formulate a true discourse. "Skeptic or Believer" gives its guests a simple choice. You either believe a negative or a positive about the statement the host makes. The statements can range from the bizarre, such as 'Sopo will coup Balder this term' to the serious as in 'The Senate will prove to be active'. The guests then proceed to answer 'skeptic' or 'believer' in a manner of their choosing, which can lead to sometimes humorous results. The gameshow bent of this radio show lends to a more casual air, which allows some guests to feel more comfortable stating their opinions and the reasons behind them.
Positive and Negative Commentary
As weekly shows go that have lasted several years in Europeia's Mixlr, "EuroToday" is perhaps the best known of these. A radio show that focuses more on a 'what's going on in Europeia' format, "EuroToday" gives its guests a chance to comment on current events in Europeia. This hasn't occurred without some feedback from the community, including debate on the forums, articles, and positive and negative reviews. "EuroToday" stands strong as a source for re-living and remembering what Europeia is and should be for its community: open and ready to take on the challenges presented to it, despite criticism from any source, whether fair or not.
Last, but certainly not least, Europeians thrive on not only the elections and the swirl of politics and gossip surrounding it, but also the debates. The debates are perhaps the most hotly followed topic for Mixlr, resulting in not only a fair attempt to get everyone involved that can be, but to have organized and reasoned discourse so that all the candidates get a fair shot at answering questions and rebutting their opponents' responses. Whether it be the Senate, the CA Chair, or even the Presidential race, debates detail the importance of Mixlr in our culture for information and ideas.
Europeia's Heart
Being a source of our culture is the way that Mixlr is Europeia's heart. Our culture, our people, the way we thrive and interact with one another, is the glue that holds us together, and Mixlr is the source of that glue. While the written word can be powerful, Ira Glass is right. There is something personal about hearing someone speaking to you, about things that interest you, and perhaps even joining in on that discussion. The fact that not only can you listen to Mixlr broadcasts, but you are encouraged to participate in them, speaks for our inclusiveness as a region. Europeia will always be challenged to go further, do more, and show itself to the NationStates world through Mixlr.
We could not appreciate Mixlr enough.
Resources
Dramatic Readings:
http://s6.zetaboards.com/Europeia/topic/8928630/1/
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/showreel/dramatic-readings-of-the-rs-10-2/
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/showreel/dramatic-readings-of-the-rs-20-4/
Europeia After Dark (NSFW):
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/fluffy-after-dark - Latest
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/euro-after-hours - First
Notty Talk:
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/notty-talk-011 - Latest
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/notty-talk-001 - First
Skeptic or Believer:
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/sceptic-or-believer-gp-edition-1 - Latest
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/skeptic-or-believer-guest-cpt-carrot - First
EuroToday:
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/eurotoday-29052023 - Latest
http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/europeia-today-1 - First
Debates / Discussions:
Senate Election Jan. 2015 Pt 1 http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/senate-election-discussion-hyanygo-cpt-carrot-sopo-and-mouse
Senate Election Jan. 2015 Pt 2 http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/senate-election-discussion-hyanygo-cpt-carrot-sopo-and-mouse-part-2
Resignation of Mousebumples http://mixlr.com/ebc-radio/resignation-of-mouse-discussion
