Two XM Music Programs That I Like!

I am going to talk about two programs on XM that I have been enjoying. Both are on Deep Tracks, XM 40.

The first one is Buried Treasure, which is hosted by Tom Petty and is heard Monday mornings at 10:00 ET. This hour long show features a mix of rock & roll, classic R&B and even blues music. The emphasis is on rarely heard songs by well-known acts such as the Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Muddy Waters and many others. It's a great blend of music; Tom Petty does a good job providing which songs to play. As far as him being a DJ, he's okay. He is kind of non-polished (which, actually, I like). He does do some silly "bits" regarding the studio where he does this program. During his talking about the studio, I do get the sense that he has some grumblings with XM. Overall, I really like this show.

The other program is Theme Time Radio Hour, hosted by Bob Dylan. It is on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 ET. Unlike Tom Petty's show, each program is dedicated to a certain theme. One week all the songs were about baseball, another week it was about coffee, and this past week it was about dogs. When the show began it featured mainly obscure songs but I have noticed more familiar songs getting played, yet obscure songs are still being played. I find Bob Dylan's DJ work to be pretty cool. He is doing it kind of tongue-in-cheek - which, if you think about it, fits Bob Dylan quite nicely. He seems to be very comfortable behind the microphone and he seems to be enjoying doing this program. Who knew Bob Dylan had skill in radio broadcasting?

Both of these shows are well worth checking out. It's programs like these that make XM radio to the power of X!

Random Talk About XM

Man, it's been some time since I last posted. Did ya'll miss me? :)

Anyway, there are a few things I wanted to mention regarding XM. First off, the old American Top 40 countdown with Casey Kasem is back on XM! Both the 70's and 80's channels had a Casey Kasem marathon this past weekend. It was good to hear Casey again. I listened mainly to the 70's countdown shows. I heard some songs I had not heard in some time and some I never heard before. These countdowns are now heard 2 times a week. I know the Wednesday countdown is on the 70's channel at 10:00 PM ET. I checked it out last night but it was one of the countdowns from the marathon - couldn't they have played one that had not been played this past weekend? I hope that some "new" ones start playing within these next few weeks.

XM apparantly switched back to the "Beyond AM...Beyond FM...XM" slogan instead of that horrible "Listen Large". I hated the latter because it made it gave the imppression that XM cares more for quantity than quality; plus, it makes NO sense. How can "large" have a sound? I'm glad XM realized that their new slogan stunk.

I have been listening to a lot of Broadminded, a show on Take Five, XM 155. It features three women - Molly, Christine and Sherry. It's not your typical talk radio and it can be very funny and off the cuff. It's fun hearing them trash talk celebrities and discuss what's happening in their lives. It's on weekdays from 5:00-8:00 PM ET.

I'll try to post again when I get a chance. Sorry it's been so long!

Day 106:Laugh USA - XM 151

The final day of the XM Bootcamp is Laugh USA, another comedy channel on XM.

Unlike XM Comedy, Laugh USA is more family-friendly comedy. You won't hear any harsh profanity or graphic sexual terms here. What you will hear is a bunch of comedy bits from albums from years ago through recent years. I don't believe there are any weekly programs on this channel. I don't think it has an on-air host either.

I only listened for a brief bit. There are some funny material to be heard (I kind of enjoyed listening to the old Vaughn Meader recordings which spoofed the Kennedy family) but I'm not a big fan of comedy, mainly because of hearing the audience laughing. So I pretty much just skimmed Laugh USA.

Wow...the Bootcamp is over. It started the day after Labor Day of last year and lasted all the way through today (with a break between Thanksgiving and early January). It was fun but I am happy that it is over.

Will I take part in another Bootcamp? I probably will, but I won't write about it. I have pretty much said what I wanted to say and I'd prefer just to listen.

For anybody reading this blog, I do apologize if the writing was not up to great standards. I'm not a professional writer and I'll admit my blog entries have been kind of dull.

I'll try and make some more blog postings in the future. I'm sure I'll have something to talk about regarding XM. Until I do, take care!

Day 105:XM Hitlist - XM 30

The XM Bootcamp's final visit to the Hits channels and the final visit to the music channels is XM Hitlist.

This is one of the newer channels on XM. XM Hitlist is similiar to KISS. It plays the hottest music of today as well as some older tracks. Unlike KISS, it does have live DJ's. It has two - Michelle and Priestly, both who used to be on the 90's channel (and Michelle also used to be on Top 20 on 20).

Some of the songs I heard were "Rompe" by Daddy Yankee, "Single" by Natasha Bedingfield, "Lose Control" by Missy Elliot w. Ciara, "Savin' Me" by Nickleback, "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez, "For You I Will (Confidence)" by Teddy Geiger, "Buttons" by the Pussycat Dolls w. Snoop Dogg and "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I have been a huge critic of KISS and of XM regarding Hits programming. They have taken a step in the right direction with having live DJ's. However, I'm not sure if XM Hitlist is better than KISS. It doesn't seem to play any interesting older songs. I feel that this channel is okay but should be better. I guess I should not be surprised that I'm not too impressed with XM Hitlist. Hits programmming has always suffered with XM. I understand that repetition is a key factor in this type of radio format but this channel should be playing more older songs instead of the same ones. It's OK to listen to in small doses but XM Hitlist is pretty bland.

Day 104:XM Classics - XM 110

The Bootcamp's final visit to the Classical channels is with XM Classics.

This is where you can hear a variety of classical pieces, from well known composers to more obscure ones. You'll hear complete classical pieces with information of the songs in between songs. It has 2 DJ's that I know of, Martin Goldsmith (the Program Director) and Paul Bachhman.

I won't be listing any of the songs I heard because, since the songs were so long, I'd only be able to list a few. I did hear a piece by Shubert.

I do not know a lot about classical music. I have to kind of be in the mood to listen to this type of music. But I feel that XM Classics is a great channel. XM, I feel, does a great job with this music and XM Classics is probably the best of them.

Day 103:Lucy - XM 54

On the final week of the XM Bootcamp (it seems like the Bootcamp has been going on forever!), we visit the Rock channels for the final time with Lucy.

Lucy is an all-hits Alternative rock channel. It covers the big alternative hits. Lately it seems to be covering more new songs but there's still 80's and 90's music being played. There are no DJ's or weekly shows but it does feature some cool yet nonsensical sweepers.

Some of the songs I heard were "Kite" by Nick Heyward, "I Don't Know Why" by House of Love, "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears, "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days, "Would?" by Alice in Chains, "Work" by Jimmy Eat World, "This Charming Man" by the Smiths and "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots.

I heard that Lucy isn't as good as it used to be now that it is focusing more on newer songs. As I have not listened to Lucy in quite some time, I don't really know if it has gotten worse. It still seems to be a cool hits Alternative channel. While I don't think XM's alternative channels are as good as they were two years ago I still think XM does well when it comes to alternative rock. Lucy is one of the examples of that.

Day 102:E! - XM 162

Returning to the Talk & Entertainment channels for (I believe) the final time, the XM Bootcamp visits E!

E! is pretty much the same as the cable channel by the same name. This covers Hollywood gossip and stories of celebrities. So if you are interested in this type of programming then E! is perfect for you.

Here's the problem I have with E!...it features mainly programming meant for TV. I do not TV rebroadcasts on the radio. I have cable TV; if I want to listen to E!, I'll watch it rather than hear it. I feel that E! on XM is a waste of bandwidth and it should be dropped in the future. I'm not that crazy about it and usually only tune in during the Bootcamp. If it left XM tomorrow I would not miss it.