Do I HEAR coffee? No, I smell music...

Today XM 75 Hear music had it's debut. I am glad to say that I heard this channel from almost the very beginning. I missed the first 3 minutes or so, but the first full song I heard was Diana Krall and Ray Charles singing a duet. I was surprised from the beginning. Today I was very pleased to hear music from Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Lyle Lovett (AWESOME!), Bill Monroe (I'm not making this up), Emmy Lou Harris, Black Eyed Peas...I was totally blown away...Jazz, Soul, Bluegrass/Gospel, Country and on and on...no genre tied to this music...except to say that most of the tunes were a little mellow (which I loved). The channel spots were the biggest downfall...they had one dude's recorded voice all day long, which is no big deal, but it seemed like he was announcing the channel pretty often. What I DID like was the music sets PICKED by artists. It's interesting to hear what kind of music other musicians would listen to if given the choice. All in all...great music. I think I can keep this channel around as a preset...at least for a few weeks to see if it develops any. Otherwise, an AWESOME start for XM's newest music channel.

The Torch...

I grew up listening to country music, but when I got into my late teens until my mid-twenties I spent the majority of my time listening to Christian Music. Here in Tennessee I would listen to WAYFM, but when I was stationed elsewhere my radio was set to country or classic rock. Still, until my mid twenties I mostly bought Christian music CD's. I have a ton and think the music is great. I stopped listening though, I thought that a lot of it began to sound the same...

My favorites were Jars of Clay ( I still think that their first album is TREMENDOUS!), Third Day (Again, their first album was their best, haven't heard any of their stuff in years), and of course RICH MULLINS (Rest In Peace) who had an insight into the heart of God like no one I've ever heard.

Hank's Place! YEE HAW

This is just great country music. The old stuff that people make fun of. Lost my wife, drank a beer, wrecked my truck, she broke my heart so I broke her windshield! The Honky Tonk theme is neat, but the beer/coffee pouring can get a little old. I prefer XM 10 America (the true sound of country music) but after that channel this is my favorite country channel.

Even though this channel mainly covers Country music from the 50's and 60's it also has some newer stuff. It plays newer (70's early 80's) artists who still have the "old country" sound. I also heard some very recent music such as Daryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten".

The Bowel movement on MOVE

This station sucked. One song the entire day. I don't care what you say...this music is repetitive and unimaginative...plus, I do like to hear lyrics...

All That Jazz...

This was the first time I had listened to Real Jazz (even though I do enjoy the genre). I am pleased to report that I loved the station. It was very easy to listen to. However, this is another one of those stations that serve best as background music (would be perfect to have on while chatting with visitors at the house). I like more lyrics though, but for that I generally turn to a different Genre.

Someone else noted that he found it hard to picture that this music was ever considered scandalous. It does seem awfully mellow...very different than the picture painted by the popular musical "Chicago". Of course, like every type of music there is more than one side. I'm looking forward to seeing what other gems the rest of the Jazz & Blues neighborhood have in store for us (Especially Bluesville).

There's no place like Chrome

Even though Disco is still corny...I had a great time listening to this channel. It was fun to picture the decade...I was born in 75 and still remember some of the music from my early youth.

One thing about disco is that it shows that society had gotten sick of taking itself seriously after the Vietnam era....so they decided to turn into silly morons for a while...(at least that's my opinion) and while the lyrics weren't very deep...the music has a place in history that will never be ousted. How many people still recognize so much of this music? A LOT! Over all, a fun (if not edifying) day at Bootcamp.

DEEP!

I love Deep Tracks too. It was a pre-set when we started BOOTCAMP (NOTE: PRE-SETS have been temporarily moved around due to Bootcamp) and will likely be one when the dust settles. I have enjoyed a lot of the channels but I am confident that Deep Tracks will still be standing (right beside Top Tracks). I love the Genre, I love the music, Love the fact that a lot of the music is new to me...even though most of the artists are not...this is good radio.

Classics....AH...

Ah...XM Classics...

what more needs to be said than...

Classy and Classic.

Enjoyed it a lot.

Rubbed RAW...

I posted a small rant dealing with what I thought of RAW xL XM66. I will cover it again here. I need to catch up on my Bootcamp blog.

I found very little redeeming value in the "music" aired on this channel. Now, before I get the whole "You're intolerant" or "you just don't appreciate the culture" or "How can you not like this kickin' beat" or "Man, that bass is bad ass" or whatever other BS you can think of...here's why I feel this way...

1) No real instruments. I know this is a weak argument...technology has changed the face of "instruments". Anything can be used as an instrument these days...but I prefer traditional instruments...it shows some sort of talent...creativity...humanity that is lacking from Hip Hop (not to mention techno, and a lot of other crap out there.)

2) Screaming isn't singing.

3) Neither is talking in rhyme. That...is...rhyming...PERHAPS if it's good you can call it poetry.

4) The social commentary that is so blatant in these "songs" is IMHO racially charged, hedonistic, ignorant, hateful, vindictive, aggressive, selfish, self-righteous, and just down right rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.

It demonstrates how ignorance breeds ignorance, Hate breeds hate, poverty breeds poverty...and how humanity today (not just those in the community surrounding RAW's music) would rather point a finger at themselves and say "Look at me, I'm the shit." and then point a finger at someone else and say, "Look at you, YOU'RE JUST SHIT."

The unabashed idolatry...revelling in money, cars, women, drugs, weapons and open acceptance of outright debauchery shows that many in this social class/circle are losing sight of what it truly means to be free...and are allowing themselves to continue to be manipulated, oppressed, and repressed...OH FORGET IT, I CAN'T COMMENT ANYMORE...

BLAH.

SQUIZZ?

Ok, I joked on XM411.com that I preferred music that was "Self-Loathing" verses the "Hateful" sounding music on Squizz. The truth is the music on Squizz wasn't "BAD" but I got a sour taste early. I would have been more likely to listen if one of the first songs I heard this morning didn't sound like the guy was homicidal (I mean that literally). Then I heard another song...I don't remember the artist, but I think the song was called Suffocate (I think I heard this during lunch) it was just ANGRY and HATEFUL.

I may have missed the actual message, but I don't think I did. The simple truth is that I have no desire to hear music that is this hateful. I don't want to rant, but the human race is hard enough to tolerate without focusing on how shitty we treat one another. The mentality that was expressed to me through some of these songs displayed in full force the selfish loathing asshole that is present in most people today. Now, a lot of you will point out that Country Music (the self-loathing music I referred to) is depressing or negative. I would have to disagree with that generality by saying that it focuses on Sad or Negative things that happen in life...and discusses how they affect people...it's reality check. This is different from the "GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU WORTHLESS SHITHEAD" sentiment that I felt was common today.

Now, I will say that I may have been reluctant to give this channel a better chance because of a couple of songs, and if so...well then..."GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU WORTHLESS SHITHEAD"! (Just Kidding)

U-Pop

Unusual...that's pretty much my only comment.

Nashville

The biggest complaint I have about Nashville, XM 11, is that they play a little too much of the stuff on Highway 16. I wish they'd stay away from the current hits and focus more on top 40 hits of the past two decades...especially the late 80's through the 90's. After that is when Country music started to change (for the worse in my opinion). I absolutely LOVE many of the songs on Nashville, but some of the newer country music puts a bad taste in my mouth. For instance, the song "Save a horse ride a cowboy" Who told these clowns that you could use the phrase "Bling Blinging" or "What? What?" in Country Music? You just can't...it's wrong. I don't care if you have a snappy banjo rift in the background...