How are the NW Channels on the Satellite Radios?

[StormyPetrel]

Sirius vs XM.

I am thinking about signing up for one of them. If you have one, how is the New Wave channel? Do they play any obscure stuff? Or is it all Cars, Mexican Radio and Safety Dance?

Thanks!


Brad Day
Atlanta, GA

-~Obscene dreams in rusty beds.~-

[patchyfogg]

I've had Sirius hooked up for a week, and haven't budged (when not listening to "terrestrial radio") from 1st Wave on Channel 22.

[noodles]

xm. ch 44 fred is all the good old stuff..good mix, they just played an obscure boomtown rats song and now its mike oldfield..you can listen for hours and only hear a few of the overplayed songs.

you can also try lucy and ethel, they are the same kind of selections just updated for the 90's and beyond.


good luck with whichever you pick!

bv

[Surly]

[quote]Originally posted by StormyPetrel
[br]Sirius vs XM.

I am thinking about signing up for one of them. If you have one, how is the New Wave channel? Do they play any obscure stuff? Or is it all Cars, Mexican Radio and Safety Dance?

Thanks!


Brad Day
Atlanta, GA

-~Obscene dreams in rusty beds.~-
[/quote]

1st Wave on Sirius is great. Yes, you get plenty of "the hits" but they also pull out lots of rarities as well. They're very good about taking requests. I've had Sirius for a year and a half now, and I love it. All of the other music channels are great as well. I have XM via my DirecTV, but I have to say that I'm just not all that impressed with it. I didn't hear too many rarities on their new wave channel.

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

[avcool4u]

I also vote for Sirius, 1st Wave. Over the course of a few days you may hear some repeats, but you'll hear a not of rare ones too. Seem to play a lot of Adam Ant.

-Tobes
Check out my new wave cover band in Western New York:
www.roar84.com

[raserx]

I love my SIRIUS ! Richard Blade(KROQ),Larry the Duck(WLIR) are there. Fred from the B52's has a show. There is a "dark wave" segment that plays Bauhaus,Cure and other moody stuff.

And ...Howard and the gang are back! Sirius rules!

[NuWaveRx]

I may have a unique perspective as I have Sirius on my home sat and I have XM for my car. I listen and like both, but in my opinion XM is much better for the following reasons:
1. When I listen to First Wave it's primarily the hits. Yes I do hear more deep cuts and rarer bands, but Fred on XM plays a much broader mix of classic alternative.
2. Both XM and Sirius are good about requests
3. You essentially have three good alternative stations on XM Fred is Classic alternative (up to about 1990), Lucy is alternative hits from 79-today (everything from Sparks to Gang of four up through The Killers and Beck), and Ethel is more recent alternative. I switch between the three and am rarely bored.
4. You do have the advantage of "star" DJs on Sirius (Richard Blade and Fred Schnieder come to mind) but Fred (XM) also has specialty shows like "One revolution around the sun" which plays NW from a given year and (my fav) "Hangover Medicine" on Sun morning with a mellow mix. This tips the scales in favor of Fred IMHO.
5. A lot of NW bands are also played on the XM live channel (I heard a Big Country 1984 live concert on that channel just a couple of weeks ago). These are regularly announced on FRED
In summary, both are good to hear the more common NW stuff, adn are certainly better than most earth-bound radio, but I prefer XM--I know if I had to pick one or the other Sirius would be out the door.
My $0.02

[LovePlusOne]

All this got me thinking about the music directors at these respective stations. Like, what kind of person is running the show, picking the music, etc? Perhaps someone from this very board [:o)]

Seriously, though. In order to run a good New Wave playlist I would imagine someone would have had to have been a faithful follower of the scene and have listened to New Wave/alternative formatted radio in the '80s. Otherwise it would be like the original poster wondered, nothing but Cars, Mexican Radio, and Safety Dance.

[birdmadgirl]

[quote][i]Originally posted by NuWaveRx[/i]
<br>I may have a unique perspective as I have Sirius on my home sat and I have XM for my car. I listen and like both, but in my opinion XM is much better for the following reasons:
1. When I listen to First Wave it's primarily the hits. Yes I do hear more deep cuts and rarer bands, but Fred on XM plays a much broader mix of classic alternative.
2. Both XM and Sirius are good about requests
3. You essentially have three good alternative stations on XM Fred is Classic alternative (up to about 1990), Lucy is alternative hits from 79-today (everything from Sparks to Gang of four up through The Killers and Beck), and Ethel is more recent alternative. I switch between the three and am rarely bored.
4. You do have the advantage of "star" DJs on Sirius (Richard Blade and Fred Schnieder come to mind) but Fred (XM) also has specialty shows like "One revolution around the sun" which plays NW from a given year and (my fav) "Hangover Medicine" on Sun morning with a mellow mix. This tips the scales in favor of Fred IMHO.
5. A lot of NW bands are also played on the XM live channel (I heard a Big Country 1984 live concert on that channel just a couple of weeks ago). These are regularly announced on FRED
In summary, both are good to hear the more common NW stuff, adn are certainly better than most earth-bound radio, but I prefer XM--I know if I had to pick one or the other Sirius would be out the door.
My $0.02


[/quote]

Wow. You just said everything I would have said--only you said it much better![:)]

I had Sirius in the house for several months and listened to First Wave. I'd get bored and turn it off. I never get bored in the car with XM and Fred, Lucy and Ethel. It's well worth $13 a month. I'd probably pay double that.

[NuWaveRx]

Thanks BMG [:I]

I should add you can try XM for free for a limited time on their website www.xmradio.com

[cementkite]

I've have had XM radio for a year now. The 3 stations that reflect my taste are:

Channel 8 - The 80's - all 80's music including some mainstream new wave.

Channel 44 - Fred - classic new wave, album cuts etc. I'm discovering songs here where I knew the artist, but never heard the song. The latest song I've heard like this is the live version of "Film" by Gary Numan. Totally blew me away.

Channel 54 - Lucy - some good new wave, but they occassionally play 90's alternative which at that point I change the channel.

Usually between the 3 stations, I can find something I like.

[siouxmoux]

I had a chance to try out Sirius for week, And was quite disappointed with the their selection of Sirius new wave stations. I found them playing to much mainstream music from that era, they did not play enuff cool ultra rare stuff and too many repeats. Also I really shock to heard djs and these stations! (So that why Sirius charges so much each mouth) all in all In my own opinion I would never sign up for this Satellite radio service.

I have to say I am going stick with my comcast digital music service from music choice. They only offer 60 channel of music but its Included free in my Digital cable service and it Commercial and DJ Free. and their 80's Retro Active channel 922 Plays hugh collection of rare mix from 70's 80's and early 90's of all the gernes new wave music.


http://geeklinks.net/ttvm - Where Tech TV Lives On.

[WoodlandParkPunk]

Forgive me for my dumbassness, but how much is Sirius and how do I go about getting it?
thanks,

[Surly]

[quote][i]Originally posted by WoodlandParkPunk[/i]
<br>Forgive me for my dumbassness, but how much is Sirius and how do I go about getting it?
thanks,


[/quote]

Sirius is only $12.95 a month. I pay for a year at a time, which I believe saves you a little bit. While their new wave channel may be a bit mainstream at times, but they do play plenty of album/obscure cuts, and the other Sirius music channels blow XM out of the water. I have about 18 different channels in my presets and I'm discovering new music daily. Plus, no commercials on the music channels, and you can listen online for free! (I think you can get a preview for free at sirius.com). I've had this service since August of '04 and I am addicted to it - I almost never listen to CDs in my car, and I certainly never listen to old-fashioned radio anymore. And now that I have my Howard Stern Show back, it's the best ever! You'll find the original MTV VJs on the '80s channel, Little Steven, Kid Leo and Kim Fowley on the Garage channel, and tons more. As I said in an earlier post, I have XM on my DirecTV, but to my tastes, it just pales in comparison. I have a tuner built into my Maxima, and another tuner in my apartment. (Second tuners are only $6.95 a month). You can actually just get one tuner and then adaptors for home and car, but my car was pre-wired, so I got the factory unit which gives me a true digital signal and puts the song info right onto the screen in my dash.

Fred Schneider's new wave show "Party Out Of Bounds" on Friday nights is great - he plays all kinds of great vinyl from his collection.

You can buy a tuner at stores like Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, or online.
"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

[WoodlandParkPunk]

Thanks Surly, I will look into this fer sure.