New XM Lineup April 17th!

[Slinky]

www.xmradio.com/lineup/

Good news for CHR fans: XM will now boast 3 CHRs (though one will have commercials) and 1 Rhythmic.

A second Hot AC is also coming aboard: Flight 26. Mix will now have commercials, so Flight will be a commercial-free alternative to it.

[tico]

I hope some of them will be added on DirecTV version of XM. Flight 26 may be a good one.

[derek]

That's great news! Esp the 3 CHR's (Top 20 on 20 was getting EXTREMLY boring).

[No Brake$]

That's effing sweet.

[slyfox]

The addition of channels like Liquid Metal, the Heat, Viva and Chill are good moves. Hopefully Hitlist will play some songs from the late 1990s and early 2000s like Kiss does now. If I ever get a car, I'll probably end up getting XM instead of Sirius. I'm just concerned with how the Message will sound now that Christian rock channel the Torch is going away. Hopefully the Message will play some upbeat music every once in a while and not just be the Fish with a new name.

[lsutigerfan]

I'm looking forward to these new channels. :)

I sure hope Flight has a deeper playlist than Mix currently does. I also hope Hitlist will be less rhythmic, especially since Heat (currently The Eye) is hopping aboard the satellite as well.

[slyfox]

Lsutigerfan, I read on an XM message board that Hitlist will be less rhythmic. XM is adding the Heat just so that Hitlist won't have to be rhythmic-leaning and the City can keep a true urban format. So it seems that XM is going to try to compete with the Sirius Hits 1 channel, a channel that does have a more even mix of pop, rock, and urban music.

[top40dj]

I still like 20 on 20 :)

[top40dj]

XM Hitlist description:
Forget the hype. Find the music. Turn up XM Hits, where all that's played are the Top 40, chart-topping, groove-grinding hits that are unmistakably now. And undoubtedly the moment's best. You'll hear Usher, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Maroon 5, 3 Doors Down, Green Day.

Ummm...Usher, Gwen, 3DD, GD, and M5 are soooooo unmistakably NOW! LOL!!!!!!!

[derek]

I heart The Hitlist.:)

[Slinky]

It is a lot better than Kiss, although I wish one of the CHRs would be more active on new music. I did hear stuff like "Ms. New Booty" and "Gone Going" on Hitlist, but it's eclipsed by the older music.

[The Music Man]

slinky said:

It is a lot better than Kiss, although I wish one of the CHRs would be more active on new music.  I did hear stuff like "Ms. New Booty" and "Gone Going" on Hitlist, but it's eclipsed by the older music.

And you nailed it. Hitlist seems like it *could* be a bit more interesting than the yawn-fest that is KISS, with the Jeff Berlin voiceovers, DJ's and slightly more gutsy playlist, but something has to give. I'd kill for a real CHR, complete with the attitude and music mix that comes along with it, something like Sirius Hits 1.

What's the word on Flight 26? Not MIX reincarnated, I hope... XM 22's playlist is so unbearably stale and unoriginal. I can barely listen as it is.

[Slinky]

themusicman said:

I'd kill for a real CHR, complete with the attitude and music mix that comes along with it, something like Sirius Hits 1.

Me too. Hits 1 is a CHR made for radio and music fans.

Hopefully as the programmers get reaction from the audience, this is the way Hitlist will be tweaked.

What's the word on Flight 26? Not MIX reincarnated, I hope... XM 22's playlist is so unbearably stale and unoriginal. I can barely listen as it is.

The few times I've turned it on today, it's sounded a little more aggressive than Mix, but I haven't really listened enough to draw a conclusion. I'd like to see Flight go more into the rockier side of Hot AC, be a AAA/Hot AC hybrid. There's demand for a station that plays stuff like Jack Johnson and David Gray without going off the obscurity deep end like XM Cafe does.

[tico]

On the DirecTV version of XM, Mix has been replaced with Flight 26. Kiss has also been replaced with the the Hit List.

[tico]

slinky said:

What's the word on Flight 26? Not MIX reincarnated, I hope... XM 22's playlist is so unbearably stale and unoriginal. I can barely listen as it is.

The few times I've turned it on today, it's sounded a little more aggressive than Mix, but I haven't really listened enough to draw a conclusion.  I'd like to see Flight go more into the rockier side of Hot AC, be a AAA/Hot AC hybrid.  There's demand for a station that plays stuff like Jack Johnson and David Gray without going off the obscurity deep end like XM Cafe does.

I've been listening for a little while now. Here's what I've heard:

KT Tunstall, "Black Horse And the Cherry Tree"
Fatboy Slim, "Praise You"
Teddy Geiger, "For You I Will (Confidence)"
Avril Lavigne, "Don't Tell Me"
Coldplay, "Speed Of Sound"
Counting Crows, "A Long December"
No Doubt, "Hella Good"
All American Rejects, "Dirty Little Secret"
Weezer, "Beverly Hills"
BoDeans, "Closer To Free"
John Mayer, "Bigger Than My Body"

[derek]

Will the Hit List and other new stations be measured on Mediabase?

[Caviar]

When did they delete The Flow and made it an on-line exlusive only? I used to LOVE listening to it while in my car.

[friday]

Yuck, XM music stations have commericals? See, that's what I love about Sirius, that's not the case. I was at Best Buy the other day comparing the two and XM's music channels just seemed confusing to me. Like what's Top 20 on 20? Is that just 20 pop songs played continuously? Or, why are the three alternative channels named "Lucy," "Ethel," and "Fred?" I mean, is the I Love Lucy reference supposed to be ironic or something? Another thing about that is they have "Alternative Hits" (Lucy) and "Alternative Rock" (Ethel). Now I guess the former is just whatever's found on the national alternative charts, while the latter is supposed to be "true" alt rock, similar to Sirius' Alt Nation. But that just goes back to what I said before; Sirius just seems more organized and clearer in the classification of their music channels. I could be wrong about XM, but that's just my impression.

The only reason I'm considering XM is because of the MLB package so I can listen to as many Yankees games as I'm able to, rather than being enslaved to ESPN and the local Fox affiliate. But Sirius does have the NFL and NBA, so I'm probably leaning in that direction right now when it comes time for me to get a satellite radio.

[Nostalgia Kills]

slinky said:

www.xmradio.com/lineup/

Good news for CHR fans:  XM will now boast 3 CHRs (though one will have commercials) and 1 Rhythmic.

A second Hot AC is also coming aboard:  Flight 26.  Mix will now have commercials, so Flight will be a commercial-free alternative to it.

Good news unless you are a XM subscriber in Canada.  They got rid of KISS and are not adding Hit List.  That just leaves 20/20.  They also got rid of MIX, but did however add the new Rhythmic and Hot AC stations.

[Slinky]

friday said:

Yuck, XM music stations have commericals?

Only four of them, and all of them have duplicate commercial-free versions.

See, that's what I love about Sirius, that's not the case.

Ah, but XM has more commercial-free stations than Sirius. It's just that a handful are not.

I was at Best Buy the other day comparing the two and XM's music channels just seemed confusing to me. Like what's Top 20 on 20? Is that just 20 pop songs played continuously?

Here's the breakdown on CHRs:

20 on 20 - 50 currents with a few recurrents thrown in. The whole channel probably has a 100-song rotation. It's not just the same 20 songs all the time though. The "countdown" changes every time it's presented.

Hitlist - an equal mix of currents, recurrents and gold from the 00's.

Kiss - recurrents and gold with commercials.

For CHR though, Sirius has the edge. Hits 1 is a better station than XM's 3 stations combined.

Or, why are the three alternative channels named "Lucy," "Ethel," and "Fred?" I mean, is the I Love Lucy reference supposed to be ironic or something? Another thing about that is they have "Alternative Hits" (Lucy) and "Alternative Rock" (Ethel). Now I guess the former is just whatever's found on the national alternative charts, while the latter is supposed to be "true" alt rock, similar to Sirius' Alt Nation. But that just goes back to what I said before; Sirius just seems more organized and clearer in the classification of their music channels. I could be wrong about XM, but that's just my impression.

I agree with the organization comment. It takes some actual listening to figure out which channels are which, but I think, especially in the Rock arena, that XM has the edge over Sirius, which is a little too tight.

Ethel is a current Alternative station that throws in a lot of 90's and 00's gold. No 80's. The nice thing about Ethel is that they mostly avoid the overplayed stuff from the genre. They're my most-listened to station on XM right now.

Lucy plays Alternative hits from the 80's, 90's, and now. That could mean anything that charted top 20, or was a big recurrent or gold on the format, minus the "extreme rock" that dominated the charts in the early 00's. This makes for a huge variety. Even though it's a "hits" channel, the playlist is very expansive.

Fred is a very deep 80's Alternative station. I rarely listen to this one because it's just too obscure for me. I prefer to get my 80's fix from the "hits" on Lucy.

The only reason I'm considering XM is because of the MLB package so I can listen to as many Yankees games as I'm able to, rather than being enslaved to ESPN and the local Fox affiliate. But Sirius does have the NFL and NBA, so I'm probably leaning in that direction right now when it comes time for me to get a satellite radio.

I would suggest listening to the samples online to help you make your decision. XM offers streaming of some of its channels through the AOL website, and there have been backdoor links to other channels posted her before.

[queensporsche]

Seems like people don't really check or add to this particular message thread very often but I thought I'd throw in my two cents about Sirius. I have had the service for approximately 3 months now and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the variety of the channels with no commercials. The channels I listen to the most are Sirius Hits 1, The Big 80's, Starlight, and of course Howard 100 and Howard 101. As I've heard various artists that I love played on the radio i've programmed my Starmate Replay to beep me when a song comes on by any of these artists. A few of the ones I've programmed are: The Beatles, Madonna, Heart, Elton John, Abba, Kelly Clarkson, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel, Anna Nalick, Carrie Underwood, and Leann Rimes. Those artists keep me quite busy throughout the day as my receiver beeps at leat 20 times an hour between the various stations playing my favorite artists. That's not to say I always switch when a song comes on, but it's very nice to hear the radio beep and then look and see that it's "Breathe" by Anna Nalick or "Crazy On You" by Heart. I absolutely LOVe that feature of the Sirius radio.

I am not here to advertise for Sirius, I just thought I'd offer a few opinions after having listened for 3 months. I don't know what stations are the same on both services. I would assume that some of the news and sports channels are on both, such as fox news, cnn, espn, etc. If you are a baseball fan and want to listen to games, it sounds like XM is the way to go. However, if you love the NFL, the NBA and Nascar, you won't want to be without Sirius. The music stations are all commercial free, except the few that are combination music/entertainment channels, like Cosmo, which is geared at teen girls but plays a lot of the current pop hits.

One more thing...suppose I am a HUGE fan of MLB, the NFL, Howard Stern, AND Oprah...couldn't I have both XM radio AND Sirius radio in my car if I wanted to??? Just curious.

[bamafan2102]

I am going to start making my dad pay for his two recievers starting September first therefore freeeing up the cash to get a Sirus unit. I am only doin this for the NFL and College Football. XM does not carry the SEC nor does it carry the NFL and starting next year XM will no longer have Nascar. I hate Howard Stern so he was not brought into the equation. As far as music it's almost the same I would figure. My Roady 2 stays on 202 90% of the time anyway (Opie and Anthony). Now to find a way to get the wires put in a good spot as not to cross them or tear them up!

[die Lotterie]

queensporsche said:

Seems like people don't really check or add to this particular message thread very often but I thought I'd throw in my two cents about Sirius.  I have had the service for approximately 3 months now and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the variety of the channels with no commercials.  The channels I listen to the most are Sirius Hits 1, The Big 80's, Starlight, and of course Howard 100 and Howard 101.  As I've heard various artists that I love played on the radio i've programmed my Starmate Replay to beep me when a song comes on by any of these artists.  A few of the ones I've programmed are: The Beatles, Madonna, Heart, Elton John, Abba, Kelly Clarkson, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel,  Anna Nalick, Carrie Underwood, and  Leann Rimes.  Those artists keep me quite busy throughout the day as my receiver beeps at leat 20 times an hour between the various stations playing my favorite artists.  That's not to say I always switch when a song comes on, but it's very nice to hear the radio beep and then look and see that it's "Breathe" by Anna Nalick or "Crazy On You" by Heart.  I absolutely LOVe that feature of the Sirius radio.

I am not here to advertise for Sirius, I just thought I'd offer a few opinions after having listened for 3 months.  I don't know what stations are the same on both services.  I would assume that some of the news and sports channels are on both, such as fox news, cnn, espn, etc.  If you are a baseball fan and want to listen to games, it sounds like XM is the way to go.  However, if you love the NFL, the NBA and Nascar, you won't want to be without Sirius.  The music stations are all commercial free, except the few that are combination music/entertainment channels, like Cosmo, which is geared at teen girls but plays a lot of the current pop hits.

One more thing...suppose I am a HUGE fan of MLB, the NFL, Howard Stern, AND Oprah...couldn't I have both XM radio AND Sirius radio in my car if I wanted to???  Just curious. 

LOL, I love the beeps I get too.

I've programmed all of the singles from TEOM on there, except FLAB, and some of the dance remixes.

I'm really into my Sirius. I probably listen to Sirius Hits 1, The Beat, Pulse, and the Chill station.