A few weeks ago I wrote that I had carefully picked out 6 music stations for my XM Radio presets. My idea was to have a wide variety of music to choose from as I sail up and down the Dallas Tollway to and from work every day. I did this for a couple of weeks and I really do like all the stations I chose.
I have to admit to a jazz addiction. It's very hard for me to choose something other than the Jazz Standards station on XM Radio. It is an excellent modern straight-ahead mix of great music all day and night long. Nothing matches the mixture of intellect, intuition and emotion that jazz brings to the musical table.
No matter how much I have played, arranged and listened over the years, there are always many more artists and stylistic nuances to experience. Mixing the new artists and tracks with an occasional track of some old favorite that I have spent hours listening to in my life makes it almost impossible to move away from the station.
I know at some point I'll get unstuck. But for now, it gets me inspired and ready for the day.
Showing posts with label XM Radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label XM Radio. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
XM Radio
I finally broke down and subscribed to XM Radio because the trial that came with my new car ran out a couple of months ago. It comes in handy on my 25 minute commute to work since dodging advertisements and the other distractions of commercial radio is annoying. It's handy to have a dedicated traffic station for DFW, a wide variety of great music stations and a few more news sources such as CNBC and CNN among others to augment KERA on FM.
But the most fun is choosing from the huge variety of music styles. It's taken at least a couple of weeks to audition several music stations of various styles for presets and I only covered about half of them. The ones I have so far include Real Jazz, Classical, Classic Vinyl, Coffee House, The Groove and a Bluegrass channel.
Classic Vinyl is the album rock from the 60s and 70s. Coffee House is a songwriter channel with an acoustic folk tendency, but also includes covers of big hits done in an unplugged style. The Groove combines classic soul from bands like The Temptations to a variety of Funk, Hip-Hop and danceable tracks with a Funk, Soul or R&B flair. The Bluegrass channel was a random find that is very enjoyable. Fast picking banjos and fiddles full of improvisation is great fun listening.
Auditioning the various music channels reminded me of some styles long forgotten. I do like several of the Country channels, but have not been able to choose one for a preset yet. Outlaw Country features styles like Merle Haggard and others. Willie's Place spins a lot of Willie Nelson and Austin City Limits genres like Asleep at the Wheel. Then there are more mainstream Country-Rock channels.
I have about 3 presets still free after choosing the ones mentioned here plus the 3 news, weather and traffic channels. Maybe I'll toss the smooth jazz slot, Watercolors, that is currently renting a spot but very close to getting booted due to lack of passion. No Kenny G yet, thankfully, but the resemblance to muzak may be too close for comfort.
But the most fun is choosing from the huge variety of music styles. It's taken at least a couple of weeks to audition several music stations of various styles for presets and I only covered about half of them. The ones I have so far include Real Jazz, Classical, Classic Vinyl, Coffee House, The Groove and a Bluegrass channel.
Classic Vinyl is the album rock from the 60s and 70s. Coffee House is a songwriter channel with an acoustic folk tendency, but also includes covers of big hits done in an unplugged style. The Groove combines classic soul from bands like The Temptations to a variety of Funk, Hip-Hop and danceable tracks with a Funk, Soul or R&B flair. The Bluegrass channel was a random find that is very enjoyable. Fast picking banjos and fiddles full of improvisation is great fun listening.
Auditioning the various music channels reminded me of some styles long forgotten. I do like several of the Country channels, but have not been able to choose one for a preset yet. Outlaw Country features styles like Merle Haggard and others. Willie's Place spins a lot of Willie Nelson and Austin City Limits genres like Asleep at the Wheel. Then there are more mainstream Country-Rock channels.
I have about 3 presets still free after choosing the ones mentioned here plus the 3 news, weather and traffic channels. Maybe I'll toss the smooth jazz slot, Watercolors, that is currently renting a spot but very close to getting booted due to lack of passion. No Kenny G yet, thankfully, but the resemblance to muzak may be too close for comfort.
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