Doing It Again!!

I just decided to do my Sirius XM journal again. This time I am going to listen to each station for 3-4 hours. It may take several days to listen to each station for four hours, but I think that's the best way since I don't schlep as much as I use to. That way I'm sure to get a real feel for the station. If I like the station, I'll go the whole 4 hours or maybe even more. If I hate the station … oh well, nothing less than 3 hours. I'll start at channel 2 and go from there. I want to do it again to  work on my writing skills and also to make sure that I can finish something that I've started. 

This time I am going to finish!! 

Ch. 145 - SiriusXM Scream

In honor of Halloween, I am listening to Sirius' special Halloween station, Scream. It's a hodge podge of scary sounds, music, voices and screams. It makes your car feel like a haunted house.

Here's what i heard: Heartbeats, man yelling "no, get away from me," a witch laughing, deep voice saying "get away from here while you still have the chance," bells, evil deep laughing, monster growls, men screaming in fear. Howling, evil laughter, church organ playing creepy music, owls, wind blowing, horses walking down a street. Church bells again!!! Lots of crazy laughter, bells chiming, mooohahahahaa! It's a crazy loop.

A little girl saying "Ring around the Rosie" and asking if anyone is there. Then she screams. Thats the scariest one to me. Monster breathing. Clever, clever, clever.

"Somebody help me!!" Over and over and over again with maniacal laughter. Horses. Ghosts going "booooooo." And then the harpsichord!!! Why are harpsichords so scary?

This would be great to play in a haunted house. I guess it is really scary. But just listening to it all day makes you feel like you are sitting in a studio with a couple of people trying to go through the list of scary sounds. I imagine that's what it feels like working at Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. It doesn't scare you after a bit. I volunteered at the Bak Middle School Haunted House for 3 years. The music and noises definitely scared the kids, but it was the kids' screams that made me deaf. It was fun!!

It got repetitive, but all in all, they did a great job!!

Ch. 35 - Sirius XMU

I have listened to this station a little bit over the years. Like when I am spinning through the dial. I listen to 1 or 2 songs and then move on. I always think it will be like that great DC/Annapolis station, WHFS. I loved that station so much when I was in high school, law school and then until I moved (although I listened to DC101 in my morning commute to listen to Howard Stern). HFS played the coolest "progressive" rock with the coolest DJs like Weasel and Damian. I remember the first time I heard REM's first single, Radio Free Europe. My alarm had gone off one morning and that song was playing. I loved Michael Stipes voice and the beat of that song. It was so different and tye beginning of a whole new sound to me. I just googled it and found REM's first national television appearance on the David Letterman show in 1983. I don't know what affected me the most: seeing a very young Letterman, seeing him hold up a record album or seeing Michael Stipes with hair. Anyway, here's the link to the video:
REM's first national television appearance on Letterman in 1983

Okay, pretty pathetic to go off on a tangent before I even discuss today's station, Sirius XMU. It is Sirius' indie rock station. Much like a college radio station. I'm guessing that's where the "U" comes from. Based on my first paragraph, is indie rock really just today's progressive rock from the 80s?

I honestly don't know the difference between alternative rock, progressive rock and indie rock other than maybe the label. I guess alternative rock gets actual playtime on radio stations and becomes more mainstream since they have more money behind them. Both seem to have punk roots. Although this station is playing much more electronic stuff. And I really do not like electronic stuff. I'm sure this is clear by my prior posts.

I like clarity of sound and music. I am such a visual person so I seem to go to clearer sounding sounds. I end up visualizing everything I hear. My favorite artist is Ella Fitzgerald. To me, her voice is crystal clear, like a perfect piece of glass. Not shear, that would be boring. No, it has ripples in it, almost flowing with some bubbles; but you can see through it. So, that's why I have no love for electronic music or liquid metal. I hate feedback and static.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with this station. I have never heard of 98% of the music I am listening to today. SoundHound is doing much, much better than I in identifying artists and songs. It has correctly identified about 95% of the songs so far. I'm impressed.

Yay, Vampire Weekend!! What a fun band. Yes, I know they are considered an indie rock band. But they have appeared on SNL. And I have heard their music on mainstream radio. They have a great beat and totally great lyrics. Kudos to SNL for putting them on-air before most people had heard of them. SNL's music producers deserve more credit for brining little known artists to the national attention. Again with the tangents. Sorry.

I have noticed a lot of female voices in these groups. Is that what the rocker girls have to do to get heard? Sign with indie labels? Such a shame. I guess Florence would be considered an indie girl. And she has made it big. We love her in my house. Youth Lagoon sounds like her. Oh no, I just learned from SoundHound that Youth Lagoon is a guy from Boise, Idaho. But literally a brand, new performance at least.

So, the station just went from the mellow with a beat sound of Youth Lagoon to some punk rock song to an electronic 80s sounding song. I like the name of the song, "Polish Girl.". Again, not digging the drum machine or synthesizer. Let's hear your real voice, dammit.

Lunch time melodies brought more synthesized music. I did not enjoy it. Neither did my SoundHound. I would comment about how happy I was that it seemed to mostly be female artists, but that got me in trouble earlier in the day.

I was waiting at the train station at about 9pm listening to XMU. Then this cool song by a guy I had never heard of, Stephen Malkmus, came on. Stephen Malkmus sings "No One Is (As I Are Be) on YouTube . It was such a cool song with acoustic guitar and a lyric that made me notice. "I don't do sit-ups. Sit-ups are so bourgeois." I'd buy this song. The night DJ, Josiah, was good and told me a lot about the bands he was playing. I learned a lot of useless stuff about music I don't really listen to. So that's good.

I didn't love this station but didn't hate it. I will probably still stop here when dial-spinning but not stay for long. Just long enough to learn a new band here and there. (The band names were the best part!) But definitely not during lunchtime.

Ch. 32 - The Blend

Today my car feels like my junior high bedroom. It's playing the Beatles, Eagles, Elton John, Bread, Carly Simon, Carole King, Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Neil Young and other great 70s artists. I am singing along and "harmonizing." I sound amazing to myself. What a great way to drive back and forth to West Palm.

Again, why did I never learn to play guitar? I'm thinking it it the learning part of it. But these are such great songs to play guitar to. I don't think I would ever be coordinated to play. Or at least play and sing at the same time. I wonder what the research shows on musical instrument playing and memory. I bet playing a musical instrument helps curb the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia. Is it too late to learn to play? We just gave our guitar away. Anyway, look at those old rock stars like McCartney, Jagger and Stewart. They all seem good and they did so many mind-altering drugs. Their brains should be fried but they don't seem to be. Music is good for the soul and the brain. Look at those studies where student musicians do so much better in school, especially mathematics. Hopefully, just listening to music will do the same and have the same effect.

I was sitting here thinking about how much I love music. Then I thought how much I would miss it if I couldn't hear anymore. But I suddenly found the answer to that big question: would you rather lose your hearing or your sight? I've always gone back and forth. But now I know. I would rather lose my hearing. Yes, as much as I love music, I'd be okay losing my hearing. Because I have realized that I have so much music in my head. A whole treasure trove of awesome songs and sounds. I think that 85% of my memory is taken up by lyrics to songs. I can remember the lyrics to a song but not what i did yesterday. I could recreate songs every minute of every day in my mind and never go dry. Music will never leave me. But I could not live without seeing my daughters' faces. Without seeing the ocean and colors. Yes, I have memories of all of these things, but visions seem to blur over time. Not music. It is always clear. So I pick hearing.

Sometimes I worry about losing my hearing just as my dad and his mother lost theirs. It could very well happen to me. But that's okay. Beethoven composed all of that incredible music while he was deaf. It never left his mind.

Strange that the music of The Blend made me think of all this. I love this station. As much as I love The Who, Stones and Zeppelin, I probably listened more to this kind of rock while growing up. This was the pop of the 70s, I guess. I just heard the tag for The Blend: "Legendary Lyrics Crossed with a Mellow Groove." Ok. I'll accept that.

I would absolutely listen to this fun station again and again.

Ch. 30 - The Loft

It's Thursday, October 20, 2011 and I've gotten to The Loft. I love this station. I always have. Mike Marone is the morning DJ. I don't know anything about him but I'm liking his music this morning.

One of the reasons I like this station is that I have always heard new artists that I like on it. Like right now is a woman named Eilon Jewell. Never heard of her but love what I hear so far. Like a cool singer-songwriter. A little country-folk-rock.

Okay, the real reason I love this station is because of the acoustic guitar I hear so often. Contemporary, bluesy, folksy guitar. Not very mellow and not very rock. With great singers. I could listen to this music all day and never get tired of it. But oddly, I never have done that. So we will see if i can stand it all day.

Another thing that I like is that usually I have never even heard much of the music before. While I can't sing along, which will automatically make me like a station, I still like it. For me, it is great music to work to or just hang out to. There is a pretty equal mix of men and women artists. So that makes me happy too.

There are usually great lyrics along with the intricate guitar playing. I love listening to all of the different artists' voices and sounds that their guitars can make. Mostly, it makes me want to learn to play the guitar. Why oh why am I not musically inclined? Why? I should have been born with musical skills. It's not fair. All I can do is listen and now critique.

I wonder how many of these artists are considered successful. Are they making any money? Where do they play? I know I can buy their stuff in iTunes if I really wanted to. But even though I love learning of new artists, I don't think I have actually bought much of their music from this station. I could have this same listening experience on Pandora, I guess. Just pick one of them and start a station. Maybe I've bought 1 artist's music from The Loft. More from the Coffee House (which is tomorrow, so excited).

I heard everything from Fountains of Wayne to Aimee Mann to Patty Griffin to Coldplay in the morning. Brand new stuff from sone of these artists. Great listening experience for me.

At 11:15am, I am listening to Vin Scelisa Idiot's Delight. Interesting, different music. Not what I'm use to on The Loft. I'm not even really sure what to say about it. As I pulled into Spanish River, I'm listening to a song about a drunk piano. Only 1 of the 4 songs I have heard has been picked up by SoundHound. Then the DJ, I'm not sure if it is Vin, played an old Bob Marley and the Wailers song. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the selection of songs in this program. Just an eclectic mix of music. I guess that's where the name comes from: Idiot's Delight.

It's 2:30pm and a show called "Your Roots Are Showing" is on The Loft. There is a female DJ who really, really knows her stuff about whatever kind of music is playing. I don't know. Umm. I'm hearing bluegrass and alternative rock kind of stuff. It really is a mixed bag of stuff I have never heard. Not even my SoundHound
has heard this stuff. But the DJ was going on and on about the gorgeous (her words) voice of a guy named Bonnie Prince something or other who has changed his name like 4 times. Is it the music of wackos? It's not bad music and I am enjoying it.

Ok, and then some of the names of these bands. Pygmy Lush? Where does that come from? I'm not sure how these songs all fit together. But they apparently make sense to the DJ.

So, after a day of listening, I couldn't figure out how to characterize the genre of this station. I decided to look it up online and learned that Sirius calls it "contemporary eclectic rock." Now I get it.

I will listen to this station again. But I realized that music that I love is really hit and miss. No wonder I have never left the dial in The Loft for the entire day.







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Ch. 28 - The Spectrum

It's a chilly, rainy, gross day. I hate this weather. Look at the temperature in the photo below. It's actually says 76 degrees. But a day like this comes so rarely in South Florida that I almost welcome it. It's a stay in sweats, drink hot chocolate and watch movies kind of day. I will dress in something cozy and pretend I live up north for a few hours. I will even make myself a hot chocolate with marshmallows and hopefully get a lot done. Can't wait.

Anyway, The Spectrum. The first thing I noticed about this station is that they are finally playing women. In the first 15 minutes of my ride, I heard Sheryl Crow and a woman named Kathleen Edwards, who I have never heard of but liked. In the last week or so, the only women I heard were Chrissie Hynde, Pat Benatar and Joan Jett. And only one song from each of them. I was so disappointed by Sirius. They could have played the Runaways. Or Souxsie and the Banchees. Or Janis Joplin. Or played these woman more. Or other women. But then again, there were not many women who actually rocked in the 60s and 70s.

What's strange about those other stations is that they had female DJs. I think that Meg Griffin was a DJ on each of the last 3 stations. And there is a female DJ on this station: Kristine Stone. Same deep, soothing voice.

Here's the tagline for this station: "music you grew up with." Who grew up with this? I'm confused. Everything so far has been brand new or from the 2000s. Then they say this tagline and play Jackson Browne from the early 70s, "Doctor My Eyes." That was followed by a brand new song from a group I never heard of: Portugal, The Man. And earlier they played a great song by Van Morrison: "Jackie Wilson Said."

Here's another tagline for this station: ""You don't stop working and neither do they. New music from career artists." Then they played Scars on 45. I have never heard of them. But I like them. Two vocalists, including a woman. Soundhound has this song on a Grey's Anatomy soundtrack. Gotta love those soundtracks. Always introducing us to new music.

This station is playing new "rock" or what many seem to call "indie rock." I have never heard of several of these artists. Which isn't bad. It's great because I love learning about new bands and singers. I like the new "indie" rock of the 21st century… for the most part. I always wonder how these artists can create new sounds. I love their sound. I have no idea what the true definition is of "indie rock." I always thought it was bands signed to smaller labels, meaning not the big labels like Warner Bros., Sony, etc. Who knows. Because I know many of these bands, like Coldplay, are on bigger labels. I think it could also be categorized as alternative rock. Who knows. Labels, labels, labels.

Oh, Fiona Apple. Such a cool voice. I just realized that Adele sounds a little like her. I wonder how old Fiona is now. She's got to be almost 30. She started at least 10 years ago and so young. Great sound.

So, I'm enjoying this station. Coldplay, The Decemberists and then my favorite Sheryl Crow and Van Morrison. Back and forth and back and forth; old to brand new an back to old.

Well, I only listened to this station for a little over an hour. And about 1/3 of that was time was spent sitting in my driveway in the pouring down rain. I liked it. It's a good mix of old and new. I guess it really is indie rock. Well, here's to indie rock and The Spectrum.







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Ch. 24 - Radio Margaritaville

8:42am: Listening to a DJ named Carson Cooper who says he is live in Las Vegas at an opening of a Margaritaville at the Flamingo Hotel. Maybe he is, maybe he's not. But he is playing Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel. What a great name for a band. I had no idea Willie even had a band. He has such a nice sweet voice. And then i picture him with that stringy, gross hair. Oh Willie. Anyway, I did turn the radio on to the end of a Jimmy Buffett song to start the day off.

I have listened to this station before and I knew going into it that it does not just play Jimmy Buffett songs. It also plays Buffett-like music. Happy, islandy-themed-restaurant music. I'm not being cynical about calling it themed-restaurant music. I am a big Jimmy Buffett fan. But he did create and promote a genre that has become completely commercialized. He even started a restaurant empire based on it. Still, it appeals to me like so many other people. It is the ultimate vacation music!!

Here's a guy singing named John Frinzi. Never heard of him but he sounds like Jimmy. Same happy tunes. Same cool beans let's drink beer and margaritas and girls wear thongs on the beach music. Happy happy island music.

I'm sitting in my car in my driveway feeling like I'm on the Lido Deck of a cruise ship. All the fun lyrics and the steel drums make me feel skinny in a bikini with one of those Bahamamama drinks in my hand. Not that I was ever skinny in a bikini on a cruise. But a momma can dream.

This station reminds me of how much fun Jimmy Buffett is. I haven't been to a Buffett concert in over 15 years. Well, wait, now I can't remember if we went to one since moving to Florida. Crap, is my memory really that bad or I have been here so long that I can't tell the difference in life events anymore. Maryland vs. Florida. Listening to Jimmy Buffett is now making me feel old.

7:40pm: Here is a Jimmy Buffett song I have never heard: "Math Sucks." I'm naturally torn by this song. It teaches such a bad lesson about math in school. I think math is so important to learn. Blah, blah, blah! Well, of course it is. But this song is also so true and funny. Some math does suck. Okay, lots of math sucks. I tried to listen to Jimmy's words and I heard something about teachers and Congress. Is Jimmy get political about education? I think so!!!

David Gray. Jack Johnson. Van Morrison. Jimmy Buffett. Some of my favorite artists. What does this say about me? Well, what do these singer/songwriters have in common? All are men. Of course. Great lyricists, that's for sure. These guys are all poets. None of them has the best voice. They do have recognizable voices though. I can listen to all of them for a long time.

Sum: Great, fun station. I will absolutely listen to this station again. And try to go to another Buffett concert soon. I'm not a complete Parrothead, but I can act like one when it counts.








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Location:Boca Raton,United States

Ch. 23 - Grateful Dead Channel

10:00am - Now here is a station that I totally get. The Dead should have a whole station dedicated to them. They have more than enough music and concerts in their catalog. I bet they can play the entire Grateful Dead catalog for over 1 year without repeating itself.

I do like the Dead. I'm not a Deadhead and I have never been to a concert, but I never mind listening to their music. In fact, we have 2 Dead albums. Their concert recordings are always so clear and crisp. Their music is a great mix of folksy rock and bluegrass. Great harmonies. Great guitar. Great jams. And let's not forget the great Jerry Garcia.

Just heard a song by a guy named Jesse McReynolds. It was a good cover of "Standing on the Moon" which is a nice Dead song. Initially, I was bummed that this station played covers of Grateful Dead songs, but then I realized that it would actually be a great idea for all of these artist dedicated channels to play covers o their songs. Anyway, I just had to look it up to see why they would play this guy on this station. Jesse McReynolds is a famous bluegrass singer who is known for his mandolin playing. He put out an album not too long ago covering Grateful Dead songs. I will have to check it out.

This made me think about how doing this Sirius Journey has exposed me to so many new artists and types of music. Not just me. My mom drove with me the last time I did this through a week of country. It got her hooked on country and now my classical music, Broadway tunes listening mother listens to a country station at home (I apologize if I have already told that story). Doing this truly makes me appreciate the evolution of music and the many different genres. I love the different influences that I hear on different artists' sounds. I wish my mom was here for the Grateful Dead channel. I think she would like it. Well, some of it.

This is another station that makes me think about my past and people I have known. I grew up with a girl whose older sister took her to Dead concerts when we were in junior high. I can picture her in the hallways of Deer Park Jr. High School talking about a concert. I hadn't spoken with her in 30-some years. Today I found her on Facebook and caught up with her. She looks exactly the same. And she still loves the Dead and listens to this station everyday. I wonder how she would feel about her 13-year-old daughter going to a Dead concert with her older sister.

Good station. I'd listen again.






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Location:Boca Raton,United States

Ch. 22 - Pearl Jam Radio

I thought that I would like this station. I like Pearl Jam. I really do. Great band. Great lead vocalist. But there are much better bands that deserve to have an entire station dedicated to them. Maybe if they played other music from the grunge genre this station would be worth it to listen to all day. Hello Kurt Cobain. What a great station that would be. I just don't get why there is this station.

10:15am - I just drove my mom to the airport. I didn't even care if I listened. On the way home, I made a phone call. We all know what that means. The entire ride was a recording of a 6/23/10 concert. It wasn't even a good recording. And then the station cut short one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs - "Just Breathe." I am so disappointed by this station.

Pearl Jam's debut album came out in 1991. The big single from that album (I don't remember the name of the album), "Jeremy," got really big in 1993 while I was pregnant with Carly. I really loved that song and bought the CD. I ended up really loving the entire album and listened to it over and over again during my commute to and from Annapolis. I thought that my baby would be a rocker, and to help, I use to blare the music in my car so he (I was 100% sure my first baby would be a boy) could feel the drums through my belly. It didn't work all the way. First, I had a girl. Second, Carly loves music but not that kind of music. But she loves music.

Well, I'm sitting in my car in my driveway with Billie on my lap listening to a great live cover from 2009 of "Love Reign O'er Me. " I love that song. To me, it is one of the best rock songs ever written. Eddie Vedder and the band is doing a great job.

Lots of live Pearl Jam. So that's how they can have a Pearl Jam station. I have lots of driving to do today. I hope they play a bunch of covers.

3:00pm - I am so done with Pearl Jam. I am going to research the deal that Sirius and Pearl Jam made for this station. I cannot for the life of me figure out why this station exists. It is mostly live versions and some of the recordings are of the worst quality. They are horrible and you can't hear the vocals. I cannot believe they actually play these songs on the station.

Late night - I had to look it up. Sirius and Pearl Jam made a deal exactly 1 year ago for the station. It started on 10/21/10, the 10 year anniversary of Pearl Jam's first live gig. I wonder how long they intend to have this station. The press releases call Pearl Jam iconic and important. I guess for the whole grunge genre. Yup. I'd agree. But they should play other grunge artists too.

I won't be listening again. I think I got my fill of Pearl Jam today to last me a long time. One day I will find my "Jeremy" cd and listen to it again. Great album.






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Ch. 21 - Underground Garage

It started off with a Ringo Starr song. But at the beginning, i had no idea what Underground Garage is. Here's my initial rationale: Underground would imply that it is music from the underground music world, little heard, little known except by a select few in that scene. Garage bands are bands just starting out. They literally practice in someone's (usually a parent's) garage. I don't think this is a station of garage bands.

It sounds like 50s and 60s music. Mostly British. Ringo Starr, Keith Richards. Some band named Rare Breed that started off their "Beg, Borrow and Steal" song with the rhythm/sound from "Louie Louie." But then came on an Everly Brothers song. Ok. So it's not British. But it is 50s, 60s and maybe early, early 70s (like original punk rock). It is a rock and roll station. Not the hits but good, old-fashioned rock and roll.

Okay, I'm figuring out that this is the station for Little Steven's Underground Garage. At least that is what my radio says every time the DJ speaks. I don't know who Little Steven is or was, but I bet he was a famous British DJ from back in the day. I'll look him up later.

The morning DJ is some British guy who was saying that Steve Jobs was an angry man. I don't like what he said, but he is playing some good music.

New song and I actually say this out loud: "Why does everything sound like "Louie Louie?"" I look at the dash and see that yes it is "Louie Louie;" oh. It's done by the Wailers. Never heard of them unless they are Bob Marley's band. But I highly doubt that. Duh. I like the well-known version better but can't remember the Band's name.

Pulled into my garage (pun) listening to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." I never knew the name of this song. But it is from a time when Bob sounded clear and good. Great song.

Soooo, I found out what this station is. Little Steven is Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's band. That guy is great and one of my favorites on The Sopranos. I was right. This is a station of 50s, 60s and 70s rock. It also has great interviews and guest DJs. I was wrong about Little Steven. Absolutely not a British guy.

I had to google this station and found out what a renaissance man Little Steven is. I had no idea. I know he plays guitar, backs Bruce Springsteen and acts. But he also produces music and he has this famous syndicated radio show that Sirius has made a whole station of 50s, 60s and 70s rock and roll. I enjoyed listening to this station and would definitely listen to it again. It has played so many different things that I could listen to it for a couple of days. Add it to the list. I really need to listen to it again so that I can hear some stories and interviews.

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P.S. I turned on my television this morning (10/12) and turned onto The Sopranos. There was Little Steven in his Silvio wig talking to Tony. It was actually one of the best episodes too. The one where the guys take care of an immoral girls soccer coach for sleeping with Meadow's teammate. Great episode.