Is the track current?

Yes. It comes from SomaFM's now-playing data, refreshed by the pipeline every half-minute, so it matches the live stream.

No — it's a visual now-playing display. Open SomaFM directly if you'd like to listen along.

Why does it use a pipeline?

SomaFM's data has inconsistent browser permissions, so a small background script reads it and saves a snapshot.

Which channels are available?

Groove Salad, Drone Zone, Lush, Indie Pop Rocks, Secret Agent, Space Station, Boot Liquor and DEF CON Radio.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

Is SomaFM commercial?

No. It describes itself as commercial-free and listener-supported, relying on donations rather than advertising.

Why might the track shown differ from what I hear?

Streams are buffered, so the audio can reach you a little later than the metadata, and the display is refreshed on a timer rather than continuously.

What does the listener count mean?

It is the listener figure SomaFM reports for that channel at that moment, not a count of unique people over time.

Now Spinning Screensaver

The Now Spinning screensaver is a turning record showing the track now playing on SomaFM's listener-supported net-radio channels, gathered by the pipeline. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Now Spinning screensaver works

A background pipeline reads what's currently playing on SomaFM, the long-running listener-supported internet radio.

The saver shows a slowly spinning vinyl record beside the channel name, genre and live listener count.

The now-playing track and artist sit alongside it, updating as the music changes.

Choose a channel — Groove Salad, Drone Zone, Lush and more — and it refreshes every half-minute.

SomaFM and independent internet radio

SomaFM is a listener-supported internet radio station based in San Francisco, founded by Rusty Hodge. It grew out of a micropower broadcast at Burning Man in 1999 and has run as a full-time internet station since 2000. Its channels each have a distinct musical identity, spanning genres such as electronic, ambient, jazz and holiday music. The station is commercial-free and is supported by donations from its listeners.

The now-playing information comes from SomaFM’s public channel list, which carries each channel’s most recently played track as artist and title, along with a current listener figure. The labels are only as accurate as the metadata the station publishes. The listener figure describes a channel at one moment and should not be read as a count of unique people.

Metadata can lag slightly behind the audio. Streaming buffers can delay what you hear compared with what the station reports as playing, and the saver refreshes at intervals rather than continuously. Some content, such as station identification, may show up as an unusual track name. The display describes what is on air on SomaFM and says nothing about your own listening.

A worked example

A black record turns beside GROOVE SALAD, the now-playing line reading a downtempo track and artist, the listener count ticking quietly — the ambient-electronica station spinning on as it has for two decades.

Settings & tips

Channel picks the SomaFM station.
Background sets the backdrop behind the record.
Run automation/run.py somafm on your pipeline machine to refresh now-playing.

Frequently asked questions

Is the track current?: Yes. It comes from SomaFM's now-playing data, refreshed by the pipeline every half-minute, so it matches the live stream.
Does it play audio?: No — it's a visual now-playing display. Open SomaFM directly if you'd like to listen along.
Why does it use a pipeline?: SomaFM's data has inconsistent browser permissions, so a small background script reads it and saves a snapshot.
Which channels are available?: Groove Salad, Drone Zone, Lush, Indie Pop Rocks, Secret Agent, Space Station, Boot Liquor and DEF CON Radio.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
Is SomaFM commercial?: No. It describes itself as commercial-free and listener-supported, relying on donations rather than advertising.
Why might the track shown differ from what I hear?: Streams are buffered, so the audio can reach you a little later than the metadata, and the display is refreshed on a timer rather than continuously.
What does the listener count mean?: It is the listener figure SomaFM reports for that channel at that moment, not a count of unique people over time.

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