XM vs. Sirius

[bellenseb]

Interesting to read the replies. My main fear is that they aren't idiosynchratic enough and don't really cover the stuff I like (mainly, the less-loud side of the underground - alt-folk, psych, pop, singer-songwriters) with any depth, and that, like a previous poster replied about Blink 182, there's a lack of cohesive stylistic vision on the stations.
 
 When I used to live in Pittsburgh there was a AAA station that was sometimes good and also very frustrating for the same reason. They would play, say, Sugar and the Red House Painters, and then play Sheryl Crow and Sting and Melissa Ethridge for the next hour. No one can expect to hear nothing but songs they like, or the same style of music throughout a show, but it's nice to hear a mix of music that's carefully chosen by someone with taste that's in the same universe as yours.

[grotty]

Originally posted by bellenseb:
 
 When I used to live in Pittsburgh there was a AAA station that was sometimes good and also very frustrating for the same reason. They would play, say, Sugar and the Red House Painters, and then play Sheryl Crow and Sting and Melissa Ethridge for the next hour.  

WYEP eh? Sometimes you do wonder if they've ever heard of the latest innovation - the electric guitar.

[J'Mal]

Originally posted by bellenseb:
  Interesting to read the replies. My main fear is that they aren't idiosynchratic enough and don't really cover the stuff I like (mainly, the less-loud side of the underground - alt-folk, psych, pop, singer-songwriters) with any depth, and that, like a previous poster replied about Blink 182, there's a lack of cohesive stylistic vision on the stations.
 
 . . . No one can expect to hear nothing but songs they like, or the same style of music throughout a show, but it's nice to hear a mix of music that's carefully chosen by someone with taste that's in the same universe as yours.

You should do great with XMU (43), XM Cafe (45) (the deeper AAA station, as opposed to their poppier AAA station), The Loft (50), maybe folk village (15) though i don't often listen to that one...

[markie]

Woxy for work
 
 ipod on shuffle for the car.
 
 
 Bliss.

[kosmo vinyl]

i'm with grotty on this one... don't think xm would hold my interest that long.  much prefer to program it myself than be programmed too.  which is why emusic is still the better option imho. i can download and keep music anytime i want and then listen to anytime i want.  plus kosmette has an ipod so taking loads of stuff isn't an issue.
 
 based on smackies experiences with napster i'd check that out as well, but alas there's no osx support yet.
 
 edit - i also tend to use the time driving in the car to audition new cds, because i'm less distracted in the car than at home..

[grotty]

Originally posted by J'Mal:
 
 XM Cafe (45) (the deeper AAA station, as opposed to their poppier AAA station), The Loft (50),

These can be very good stations, but back to my original complaint: be prepared for a healthy dose of Sarah McLachlan/Shawn Colvin type tunes sprinkled in there.
 
 You can peruse sample rock category playlists here that should help you decide:
  XM programming

[J'Mal]

kosmo, you can only program what you know, and what you've got.  XM solves both of those issues.
 
 the ipod clone is just something i use to work out.  the XM has really put a huge dent in my CD listening and guided what remains of it (and, by extension, what goes on the mp3 player).

[mankie]

Originally posted by grotty:
   

Originally posted by J'Mal:
 
 XM Cafe (45) (the deeper AAA station, as opposed to their poppier AAA station), The Loft (50),

These can be very good stations, but back to my original complaint: be prepared for a healthy dose of Sarah McLachlan/Shawn Colvin type tunes sprinkled in there.
 
  [/b]

Agreed, and Fred od's on Depeche Mode sometimes too....but for fear of being repetitive, you can simply flick to another station and not be disappointed....that's if your finger isn't too tired grotty.
 
 My 'only' complaint is whenever I've heard the Pogues on XM it's ALWAYS been "Tuesday morning" which doesn't even have Shane singing for crying out loud!!
 
 
 All in all, it's the best thing that's happened to music (IMHO) in years.

[bellenseb]

Thanks, Grotty. Just checked it out. The Cafe is a nightmare for me - total WYEP, Sting, Santana, Natalie Merchant, safe mainstream adult contemporary fare.
 
 The Loft looks much better - Dylan, Elliott Smith, good quality singer-songwriters.
 
 I was hoping for a station that was sort of a little more eclectic and indie version of the Loft - with a playlist with lots of say, Will Oldham, Pernice Brothers, Volebeats, Dave Pajo, Microphones, Sufjan Stevens, Magnetic Fields, Damien Jurado, Mirah, Mark Eitzel, Mark Kozelek, Mekons, etc, etc, mixed with eclectic classic songwriters like Roky Erikson, Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence, and so forth.
 
 XMU looks decent but seems to broad and fixed on "hot new bands" rather than DJs assembling carefully chosen sets of their most-loved songs, a la college radio.
 
 
 

Originally posted by grotty:
   

Originally posted by J'Mal:
 
 XM Cafe (45) (the deeper AAA station, as opposed to their poppier AAA station), The Loft (50),

These can be very good stations, but back to my original complaint: be prepared for a healthy dose of Sarah McLachlan/Shawn Colvin type tunes sprinkled in there.
 
 You can peruse sample rock category playlists here that should help you decide:
  XM programming [/b]

[mankie]

Originally posted by bellenseb:
 [QB] Thanks, Grotty. Just checked it out. The Cafe is a nightmare for me - total WYEP, Sting, Santana, Natalie Merchant, safe mainstream adult contemporary fare.
 
 The Loft looks much better - Dylan, Elliott Smith, good quality singer-songwriters.
 
 I was hoping for a station that was sort of a little more eclectic and indie version of the Loft - with a playlist with lots of say, Will Oldham, Pernice Brothers, Volebeats, Dave Pajo, Microphones, Sufjan Stevens, Magnetic Fields, Damien Jurado, Mirah, Mark Eitzel, Mark Kozelek, Mekons, etc, etc, mixed with eclectic classic songwriters like Roky Erikson, Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence, and so forth.
 
 XMU looks decent but seems to broad and fixed on "hot new bands" rather than DJs assembling carefully chosen sets of their most-loved songs, a la college radio.
 
 
 

 I think you should probably look into starting your own sattelite station if that's what you want.
 
 "Fine Tuning" has some great stuff too, can't remember the channel number though.

[kosmo vinyl]

Originally posted by J'Mal:
  kosmo, you can only program what you know, and what you've got.  XM solves both of those issues.
 
 the ipod clone is just something i use to work out.  the XM has really put a huge dent in my CD listening and guided what remains of it (and, by extension, what goes on the mp3 player).

ok i'm being a snot here... but isn't quite possible that xm isn't for everone?  do they have a station that plays 60's soul other than Motown and Stax?  60's Garage? A station like Little Steven's which plays rock music from the 50's onward and dares to mix punk in with the classic rock?  sure xm could be useful tool in finding new artists, but so is this forum, reviews, emusic, and cmj new music monthly.
 
 when i'm listening at home I tend to listen to records in their entirity.  when i like something i generally like all the tracks.  those people who claim records only have one or two good tracks are buying the wrong product, because either i dig or loathe the whole record..
 
 and i heard one of the xm 80's stations while shopping at a record and tape traders recently, and it had this obnoxious dj yakking between songs..

[grotty]

Originally posted by bellenseb:
 
 I was hoping for a station that was sort of a little more eclectic and indie version of the Loft - with a playlist with lots of say, Will Oldham, Pernice Brothers, Volebeats, Dave Pajo, Microphones, Sufjan Stevens, Magnetic Fields, Damien Jurado, Mirah, Mark Eitzel, Mark Kozelek, Mekons, etc, etc, mixed with eclectic classic songwriters like Roky Erikson, Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence, and so forth.
 
 

Exactly! This is a great example of the type of station that I would like to see them have. I have NO problem with any of the music they play. It's the segmentation. Put all the Sarah McLachlan types on one station. All of the Blink 182's on another.
 
 You called it "a lack of cohesive stylistic vision on the stations" above. I think that's right on. I just think that their genre classifications are still too broad. An amazing complaint considering that they have ~ 200 stations.
 
 Hopefully they'll morph into that stylistic cohesiveness as they continue to grow.
 
 Maybe I'm just being a snot too Kosmo.   :p  
 I think I'll go listen to a couple of mix cds...

[bellenseb]

Agreed. I just threw those bands out as examples, but a more general way of putting it might be "bands that might get booked at the Black Cat and/or Iota, and their influences". Maybe this is too narrow for XM's target audience.
 
 Again, if they had a feeds for great independent stations, like KCRW or WFMU, they wouldn't even have to program anything.

[grotty]

And I think Kosmo is also hitting on the fact that there are many different types of music listeners.
 
 Some people just like good songs. They don't care about the relationship between the songs.
 
 Others prefer a more organized approach - entire records, similar 'tones' etc.
 
 Nothing wrong with either of these. But XM is definitely utilizing the good songs approach: 'if you like this one, try this one.'

[bellenseb]

Also, some of their stations do seem to be pretty focused. Their "Village" zeroes in on the 60s Greenwich Village folk scene like a laser beam.
 
 I wouldn't necessarily want hyper-specific stations, but would want a cohesive vision.
 
 Little Steven's Sunday Night show is an awesome example of a great eclectic mix that has that vision and cohesiveness. It's so fun much to listen to because he's obviously playing songs he loves, smartly sequenced, many of which haven't been heard for decades.