The radio I have can give you artist alerts and "Prince" is constantly coming up. Got two alerts on the way to work today - "Delirious" and "There'll Never B (Another Like Me)". The latter was on the lesbian-and-gay channel.

Ace said:

What's the Lesbian and Gay channel? I have XM and I don't know if it is on there also.

daPrettyman said:

http://www.sirius.com/outq

Ace said:

I'll have to check it out. It's on XM also.

The gay and lesbian channel was playing "There'll Never B Another Like Me"? Well got damn, my fellow gay folks got some taste!! I wish I had Sirius so I could hear that!

purplecam said:

You can listen online and I think they still offer a free trial of that. But I don't think you can set up artist/song alerts on the 'net.

Ace said:

That's cool right there. I've thought about listening to Sirius online in the past but this gives me reason to do it again. Thanks.

purplecam said:

Once you get SiriusXM, you'll never listen to regular radio again. The programming is so vast on satellite radio until you can always find something interesting to listen to (music, talk or news).

daPrettyman said:

Totally! I freakin' LOVE it!

They do play Prince but I wish there was more variety than this: http://www.dogstarradio.c...ur=&eampm=

I like Sirius, but find it frustrating. Each channel plays a SPECIFIC type of music, at least that's what I've found.

I love R&B/Soul ballads. I just don't ONLY want to listen to them. I love 70's & 80's music. I just don't ONLY want to listen to them.

What stations have any kind of mix of music?

I'll have to look into artist alerts. That might make things a bit better.

Nothinbutjoy said:

No. You won't find that in popular radio. They have done tons of research and the average person has told them they enjoy a format. You will not find a station that plays music from the 60s to today ever without it being some type of theme format.

The closest thing I've found on SiriusXM that does this is the Love channel. They play nothing but ballads and they play stuff from the late 60s to today (mostly 70s and 80s, though).

My biggest problem with SiriusXM is when they merged they changed the urban programming. I used to love the old soul channel. They played music from the 50s and 60s. I loved hearing artists like Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and others from that era. When they merged, Soul Town (from Sirius) was replaced and I hate it. Soul Town doesn't play hardly anything from the 50s and only concentrates on the 60s and 70s. Not to mention they play a shit-load of Motown and other songs owned by Universal. It really ticks me off after a while. If they want to do a Motown channel, that would be cool, but I don't want to hear the same core Motown songs constantly.

They used to have a channel that randomly sampled the channels - don't know if that's on now. But there are channels that play a variety. Either way, it's never bothered me. On my radio, there are 30 presets. If I don't like what comes up on the channel I'm listening to, I just start hopping through my presets. There is always something good to listen to!

daPrettyman said:

Really? I hear a lot of Sam, Jackie and those kinds of artists.

At my job they play satellite radio every morning while we set up the store. Every once in a while one of the cool managers will throw it on the FUNK station and all we hear all morning are songs like DIRTYMIND, UPTOWN, SEX SHOOTER, 777-9311, SHORTBERRY STRAWCAKE, DELIRIOUS, ICECREAM CASTLES, GET IT UP, NASTY GIRL and many other songs by Prince and his old school protege's . Those are my most enjoyable days at work.
[Edited 4/15/09 9:30am]

Ace said:

But if you listen to them for a long period of time (more than 2 hours or so), it becomes Motown central. Not to mention that the majority of the playlist is now 70s music. I was hoping that The Groove would keep the 70s and 80s while Soul Town would keep the 50s and 60s.

If you look at their page on XM's site, it tells you their core artists. Most of their work is owned by Universal.
Artists You'll Hear

* James Brown (Universal)
* Marvin Gaye (Universal)
* Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
* Diana Ross & The Supremes (Universal)
* The Temptations (Universal)
* The O’Jays (Sony)
* Otis Redding (Atlantic)
* Dionne Warwick (Rhino)
* The Four Tops (Universal)
* Jackie Wilson (Brunswick)

I miss Soul Street with Leigh Hamilton and Bobby Bennett. Those 2 knew their music and history. They always featured educational programming that featured artists like The O'Jays and Temptations where they covered the early years of r&b music. They also told a lot of stories touring, racism, and more.

The O'Jays interview was one of the best I've ever heard. They told stories of their younger years (before Gamble and Huff) and of how the group was formed, the stories behind their biggest hits and more. That's good radio. Repeating the same crap and jocks that don't know their history is not.

daPrettyman said:

But this is a tiny sampling of the artists that channel plays, no?

Ace said:

It is. It's supposed to give you an over view of the artists. When you start listening, you start to see that it's Motown central with other artists thrown in.

daPrettyman said:

Yes you do find that on regular radio. WGCI use to play "Hits and Dusty's" It was my perfect radio station when I lived in Chicago. Radio stations have formats but satellite radio has taken it to a boring extreme.

While you won't hear country on a R&B station ( IMHO) and you won't hear older music on a new music station (regrettably IMHO), pop music can be mixed more.

The Sirius station I find myself listening to the most is the "70's on 7" channel. I can hear Steely Dan, EWF, The Beatles, Carlos Santana & just about anything and everything else as long as it was released in the '70's.

PEJ said:

What station???

Nothinbutjoy said:

All Urban AC formats (like WGCI) play "hits and oldies", but they tend to focus on the mid to late 70s and the 80s. It's rare to find an Urban AC station that will play "My Girl" in rotation with "Whip Appeal". If you think about it, it sounds like a train wreck...not to mention that the songs are for 2 different generations.

When you think about it, radio focuses on a certain audience. The target of most Urban AC stations (like WGCI) is 25-34 year old women. Sure, they try to cover the 35-54 audience, but that age group is not considered a demographic that listens to a lot of radio (especially 45-54). That is why you generally hear music on AC stations that cover a 20 year span.

I listen to XM a lot and I find myself listening to The Groove, 80s on 8 and The Strobe. I like these stations because they tend to focus on the music I grew up with, but they don't stick to the ballads. I get sooo tired of drabby music. I occasionally listen to Heart and Soul, but the programming on that format has gotten so dull and watered down it's pathetic. Not to mention the air personalities are annoying as hell.

Nothinbutjoy said:

I dunno but I'll find out today

PEJ said:

Is it Muzak? I know that have lots of channels that play funk and dance music. They have it at my gym.

Today's Prince alert on the way home?

"Sign O' the Times"!

...Or is that "Sign 'O' the Times"? Never could get that straight.

Ace said:

I heard it 2. We must have been on Heart and Soul at the same time!!!!

PEJ said:

Thank you

Does SiriusXM have a station like JACK(in Mpls its Jack 104.1)?
I really like the mix of songs on there. Not enough Prince, but who does?

If they had a Prince and P related station I'd sign up in a heartbeat.

Nothinbutjoy said:

SIRIUS

daPrettyman said:

I suggest Henry Rollins. He talks alot!!
however, the music he selects is of amazing breadth.
I like the XM radio... but, i too find that they do hyper-focus and tend to go on benders with a given artist or song(s).

luckybullet said:

I've never listened to Henry Rollin' show. Is it on Sirius?