Ever twiddled the dial on a short-wave radio? Sure you have. We all know Karlheinz Stockhausen has. But what it is to be made of "the toneless recitation of random strings of numbers" sometimes heard on the shortwave bands, as the much-imitated (and, as noted in reprobates entries passim, often-bettered) Onion referred to it in this article that followed the 2000 Florida election debacle? I remember hearing these stations as a lad, and have occasionally since pondered their meaning, but British newspapers aren't even allowed to cover this topic any more, not that they ever did before, really.

However, Radio Netherlands has a great article about it, and Akin Fernandez's Irdial-Discs has even, if you have $250 to spare and really want to hear this stuff first-hand (or a simulacrum thereof), issued a 4-CD set called "The Conet Project" that also contains an 80-page booklet.

Of course, if you'd rather hear it live (and save yourself $250 and the shelf space occupied by 4 CDs and the accompanying booklet), you could always tune in and hear one of the more durable examples - the Lincolnshire Poacher, presented here courtesy of one Simon Mason. More stuff here.