XM Complaints

~~~It is an unwelcome surprise when I turn to Deep Tracks and hear Tony Bennett singing. Nothing against Tony...I like him well enough...but if I want to listen to him I'll go to High Standards. Deep Tracks is supposed to be a ROCK channel. And whenever this happens I know it can be only one thing...Bob Dylan's show is on. Don't get me wrong, I love Bob Dylan. I've been a fan ever since I first began to seriously listen to music. But I HATE his radio show. A little bit of that old-timey stuff goes a long, long way with me, and there's just too much of it on the "Theme Time Radio Hour". I was excited that Dylan had been given a show back when I first heard about it...but words cannot adequately describe how disappointed I am with it.

~~~FRED, the classic alternative channel, play Midnight Oil to a degree that is wildly disproportionate to the level of success (or importance) that they ever achieved in their career. During the first couple of years that I had XM the channel did the same thing with Oingo Boingo. No, I don't care for either of those bands, but that makes no difference. It's not about whether I like 'em or not, it's about using that air time wasted on such meaningless rotation to feature other artists who were important to that genre. Not that they don't play a good representation of those bands, but I'm sure I could, if given some time, think of a few others I haven't heard much there (Teardrop Explodes, Cowboys International, Magazine, Pere Ubu). They DO play a lot of good stuff...I could just do without so much Midnight Oil, Echo & the Bunnymen, Siouxsee & the Banshees...

~~~One more complaint about Deep Tracks...you'd think that Eric Clapton held a controlling interest in XM stock as much as they play that guy's music. No one can dispute his greatness, but I'll let the casual fans in on a secret...a lot of the stuff he's done that could be considered "deep tracks" just plain sucks.

~~~This may seem like a trivial complaint, but if you listen to Audio Visions as much as I do you will most likely concur. It's great that there are no commercials...they would ruin whatever atmosphere the channel manages to conjure. But the staton ID tags are stupid and there are only about 7 of them that they rotate. "Audio Visions: a place filled with peace", "Audio Visions: this is the land of the dreams", "Audio Visions: follow me through the looking glass", "Audio Visions: the best way to travel", "Audio Visions: the earth in stereo"...that's 5 of 'em...there are probably a couple more that I'm fortgetting. I've had XM for 3 years now and nothing has changed there. No new slogans, nothing. Oh well, I do like the music a lot. It has it's place. I'll try not to go crazy when these tags are played.

~~~I love Beyond Jazz, but I do have two or three problems. First of all, the term "MoJa" is just plain stupid. I dearly wish they would stop using it. Next, and this is just a personal hang-up, I really wish they wouldn't play so much vocal jazz (and the same goes for the Real Jazz channel). Not that they play an excessive amount of it, but once every few hours is more than sufficient, IMO. And finally, this is another case where the station ID tags get on my nerves. Especially the one with a processed female voice saying, in a sultry voice that echoes from left channel to right, "Beyond Jazz: it's a brave, cool world". Come on, now. Is there ANYONE listening to this channel who doesn't think that's just the dumbest thing in the world? Then there's the tag for Friday's fusion line-up. "Beyond Jazz: listen to the lords of fusion"...LORDS OF FUSION??? Who thinks up this stuff?

~~~They never should have changed "Hank's Place" to "Willie's Place" and every time they play a song that came out after 1975 I get a little miffed. XM10 America should have a lock on that stuff. Furthermore, and this irritates me even more, is when they play a brand new song by a brand new artist just because they think it fits the format of the channel. I want to scream it from the rooftops: IT'S NOT ABOUT FORMAT! It should be about a place to hear all that good old classic country and honky tonk songs from that era, the stuff that you can't hear anywhere else because it's too outdated to be played on the radio. I hate Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, but I guarantee that if I DID like 'em I'd rather hear their original song and not some version by Asleep at the Wheel. And don't think I can't tell the difference or spot the new crap immediately. Those old songs just didn't have the same sonics, the same fidelity as the new ones, and that, IMO, is one of it's charms.

~~~They pulled the progressive rock & jam band channel from the regular line-up and banished it to XM Online. The XM Music Lab had it's faults (WAY too much Frank Zappa and Primus), but it was one of the few channels in the rock stable that was really interesting. I hope they bring it back. Maybe lose Ethyl or Lucy, give it one of thier slots. Those two channels are, from what I've heard of them, pretty much interchangeable.

~~~3 techno style dance channels and no straight electronic music channel. I know there's enough IDM, drum and bass, other non-dance electronic music out there to justify such a channel. Personally I think they should kill Chrome, the late 70's early 80's dance channel that primarilly focuses on disco. But then again, I can see how Chrome is appealing. Nevertheless, an IDM channel would be nice.

Oh, I'm sure I could come up with a few more complaints, but the truth is that these are actually minor when you take into consideration all the really good stuff that's on XM. It offers too much good stuff to let these relatively minor gripes become anything more than minor inconveniences. It's been one of the best entertainment investments I've ever made...I knew it would be when I first bought it about this time 3 years ago.