(no subject)
Some of you may have heard some time ago that XM radio and Sirius radio (the two major satellite radio companies, for those in the know) were undergoing a merger and becoming one company, Sirius XM. I had my share of worries with this news, worries which, in the end, turned out to be completely justified.
In the merger, all of XM's music stations were scrapped in light of airing Sirius' music stations instead on both selections of radio. This might seem insignificant, but is, in fact, horrible news for me and many other XM owners. The short story is that Sirius' music stations eat a fat cock.
The longer version means that stations I have grown incredibly fond of over the 3 or so years ive had XM, stations I really loved and identified with, are gone now. Ive talked at least once before in this awful blog about how amazing XM54 Lucy was. The "Hits of Alternative Rock" station had an incredible playlist selection (with the exceptions of maybe a few bands I dont really care for) and its call tags were will written and hilarious (XM54, the best music from when you lived with mom and dad -- all the way until you lived with mom and stepdad. Lucy). In its place now is simply "Lithium" which has a vague skeleton of Lucy's playlist with absolutely none of its charm (either a guy saying "The best of Grunge - Lithium" or a short soundbyte from 90's pop culture like Waynes world or the terminator). So far, though, my biggest problem with Lithium is the fact that they play so much fucking Bush it makes me want to eat a hornet's nest. I was nuetral on Bush prior to this, they were a band I didn't quite like but didnt hate enough to dive for the dial whenever they came on--this has changed now, EVERY TIME I set foot in my car this station plays a fucking Bush song. I am not exaggerating.
Sirius' playlists are also significantly shorter than XM's were (XM's rotated every 6-36 hours, Sirius' 2-8, it seems) with a much more narrow focus. its a non-issue if you dont drive a bunch, but if you do, like me, it becomes noticable way more quickly than youd think. 2 Wednesdays ago, I was delivering for an 11-5 shift, and listening to music whenever I was on the road. In this time, I heard Alt Nation (which is the modern alt rock station, a 'hits' station, so its subject to a shorter playlist) played Cath... by Death Cab for Cutie (a song I like, admittedly) four times. This is, for the record, without me in my car the whole time, or listening to that station the entire time--simply, over 6 hours of non-constant driving, while channel surfing between 5-6 channels, I manages to hear this dogshit station play the same fucking song four times. If this seems petty, I remind you that Satellite radio is a service with a monthly fee.
Theyve had the good sense to not fire Opie and Anthony, at least, but im greatly considering cancelling my account with them nonetheless because now it seems like the only thing im paying for is commercial-free radio, which i am unsure is worth 13 dollars a month. Really though the thing that really gets me is how much I miss some silly radio stations. Lucy, Ethel, Big Tracks, and the Boneyard were all incredible radio stations and I will miss them. Whats most disheartening is that its not like a show thats been cancelled or a comic thats been discontinued because these stations have no tangible evidence of their existence to leave behind. I'll never be able to hammer out a shitty essay for some jerkoff class to Lucy ever again, or simply enjoy its playlist over a long drive.
It's more depressing than you think.
In the merger, all of XM's music stations were scrapped in light of airing Sirius' music stations instead on both selections of radio. This might seem insignificant, but is, in fact, horrible news for me and many other XM owners. The short story is that Sirius' music stations eat a fat cock.
The longer version means that stations I have grown incredibly fond of over the 3 or so years ive had XM, stations I really loved and identified with, are gone now. Ive talked at least once before in this awful blog about how amazing XM54 Lucy was. The "Hits of Alternative Rock" station had an incredible playlist selection (with the exceptions of maybe a few bands I dont really care for) and its call tags were will written and hilarious (XM54, the best music from when you lived with mom and dad -- all the way until you lived with mom and stepdad. Lucy). In its place now is simply "Lithium" which has a vague skeleton of Lucy's playlist with absolutely none of its charm (either a guy saying "The best of Grunge - Lithium" or a short soundbyte from 90's pop culture like Waynes world or the terminator). So far, though, my biggest problem with Lithium is the fact that they play so much fucking Bush it makes me want to eat a hornet's nest. I was nuetral on Bush prior to this, they were a band I didn't quite like but didnt hate enough to dive for the dial whenever they came on--this has changed now, EVERY TIME I set foot in my car this station plays a fucking Bush song. I am not exaggerating.
Sirius' playlists are also significantly shorter than XM's were (XM's rotated every 6-36 hours, Sirius' 2-8, it seems) with a much more narrow focus. its a non-issue if you dont drive a bunch, but if you do, like me, it becomes noticable way more quickly than youd think. 2 Wednesdays ago, I was delivering for an 11-5 shift, and listening to music whenever I was on the road. In this time, I heard Alt Nation (which is the modern alt rock station, a 'hits' station, so its subject to a shorter playlist) played Cath... by Death Cab for Cutie (a song I like, admittedly) four times. This is, for the record, without me in my car the whole time, or listening to that station the entire time--simply, over 6 hours of non-constant driving, while channel surfing between 5-6 channels, I manages to hear this dogshit station play the same fucking song four times. If this seems petty, I remind you that Satellite radio is a service with a monthly fee.
Theyve had the good sense to not fire Opie and Anthony, at least, but im greatly considering cancelling my account with them nonetheless because now it seems like the only thing im paying for is commercial-free radio, which i am unsure is worth 13 dollars a month. Really though the thing that really gets me is how much I miss some silly radio stations. Lucy, Ethel, Big Tracks, and the Boneyard were all incredible radio stations and I will miss them. Whats most disheartening is that its not like a show thats been cancelled or a comic thats been discontinued because these stations have no tangible evidence of their existence to leave behind. I'll never be able to hammer out a shitty essay for some jerkoff class to Lucy ever again, or simply enjoy its playlist over a long drive.
It's more depressing than you think.