[BrianAe]

OK, about 6 or 7 months ago, after reading about it here on this forum, my wife and I decided to get in to satellite radio. I did a brief audition of both XM and Sirius and chose Sirius for what is mainly (but not entirely) music listening.

Here is what I now believe to be true:

1) Both Sirius and XM are great. I believe most people would greatly benefit from purchasing either and believe the cost to benefit ratio would be low for most people compared to other discretionary purchases.

2) The differences in play lists between the two services are real. XM does play a greater variety of songs with less repeats than Sirius.

3) Some (even those who like variety) will find the variety and lack of repeats on some XM channels to be too great.

4) The variety on Sirius (and XM) channels varies greatly. The best channels provide a great deal of variety, approaching XM levels but with a little more repeating, perhaps the perfect mix. The worst channels approach FM but are still a good deal better in terms of plays and repeats.

5) For Rock, Sirius has a much better selection of channels than XM, including a jam band channel. If you like Rock and don't mind occasionally switching channels this might make up for the less diverse play lists on Sirius.

However, I think there has been enough talk and hyperbole about which service is better for the music listener. So here is what I propose:
:A thread where every HTF member who uses Sat. radio posts listener diary entries of what songs they heard during listening sessions of 1 hour or more.

I think this will be a fun little thread that will give people a good feel for what is being played on both services and how great both services really are. I will post my first diary later today or tomorrow.

Rules:

1) Your listening session must be a minimum of 1 hour
2) You must record and post every song you heard. No skipping the Elton John or Flaming Tomato's rendition of Viva Las Vegas. If your in the car and can't record or remember every song then wait until next time.
3) Changing channels up to 3 times per hour is allowed.

Format for posts:

Service:
Start Time:
Channel:
Artist, Song
Artist, Song
Artist, Song
Channel:
Artist, Song
Artist, Song
Artist, Song
End Time:

[Chris]

Ok, I'll play along to what extent I've got.. you're asking for too much info for me to jot down, though :0

Took the wife & kids shopping this afternoon, so lots of breaks in between, no start/stop time, but roughly from 4:25-6PM

1st Wave (Channel 22) (until we switch below)
Peek-A-Boo Siouxie and the Banshees (Request)
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
Just Like Heaven - Cure
The Walls Came Down - The Call (Request)
Head over Heels - GoGos
StarShine (didn't catch band name)
Video Killed the Radio Star EP - The Buggles
China Girl - David Bowie
Man in the Moon - REM
I'll Tumble For You - Culture Club
What I Am - Edie Brickell

(then we switched to Radio Disney)
Why Not - Hillary Duff
Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas
Teenage Drama Queen - Lindsy Lohan
Coming Clean - Hillary Duff
Hamster Dance - Hamtaro
Naked Mole Rap - Ron from Kim Possible
Superstition - Raven Simone



Update:

Since we have 5 hours of driving on Turkey day, I'll try to post the log then.

[Chris]

Having compared the two, and this doesn't often go mentioned, but I'd take Shade 45, Eminem's hip-hop station, over any rap station on XM at this point, they really have put it together in a good fashion.. their on-air live "rap duels" are hilarious call in segments, worth the station alone

[TheLongshot]

Quote:

5) For Rock, Sirius has a much better selection of channels than XM, including a jam band channel. If you like Rock and don't mind occasionally switching channels this might make up for the less diverse play lists on Sirius.

Well, personally, I think that's a matter of what you are looking forward. Sirius definitly has the edge in Classic Rock. XM has the edge with "alternative" channels. If you just like Hair Bands, Sirius is for you. If you know that there was more metal in the 80s other than Hair Bands, then XM is probably for you.

Sorry for the non-subject E-Mail, but I thought I should add this. I'll put in my entry here tomorrow evening.

Jason

[BrianAe]

Thanks Chris. Good job. Looking forward to your post Jason. I encourage everyone to participate. Also, feel free to post multiple times.

[TheLongshot]

Well, let's get started!

Commute into work:

Fine Tuning:
Arcady - Bretton Reels
Yes - Magnification
Tornadoes - Telstar

70s on 7:
Linda Ronstadt - When Will I Be Loved?
Elton John - Island Girl

Fine Tuning:
Yussi - Yaxchillian
Jimi Hendrix - Drifting

The Loft:
Allman Brothers - Midnight Rider (Live)
Ian Mattews - Shady Lies

Fine Tuning:
Los Lobos - Angel Dance
David Darling - Restraint Begins

Lunch:
Fine Tuning:
Renaissance - Prologue
Tony Levin - Tequila
Chet Atkins - The Girl Friend

70s on 7:
Van McCoy - The Hustle
Chicago - Old Days

Fine Tuning:
Rick Wakeman - Live@XM

70s On 7:
Meatloaf - Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad
Hot Chocolate - Every Ones a Winner

Squizz:
Stone Temple Pilots - Down
Alter Bridge - Find The Real
Staind - Price To Pay

More comming later...

Jason

[BrianAe]

Jason, very nice. I was only able to listen for about an hour today online. Didn't have very good luck with The Vault but Jam On did it for me as usual...

Service: Sirius
Start Time: 3:40 pm
Channel: The Vault
?-? Some song I had never heard but really liked.
Yes – Love will find a way
Dylan – Tangled up in blue
Steve Miller – Going to the country
Elton John – Switched because I’m not too fond

Channel: Jam On (for those of you that don't know, many of these tunes are very long)
Give me three steps – Good cover but not sure by who
John Scofield – Swinganova
String Cheese incident – Black and white (common band on Jam On but first time I’ve heard this song)
Big Head Todd & The Monsters – Broken hearted Savior (possibly first time I’ve heard this band)
Dereck and the Dominos – Jam IV
The Band – Blind Willie McTell
Dylan – Queen Jane
Phish – Possum

End Time 4:52

Doing a road trip over the long weekend. Hopefully I can record some of what we hear on the trip and I can post it Monday. Keep em coming!

[TheLongshot]

Had a really long commute last night, so I have a lot here.

XM Music Lab
Yes - Time And A Word
Coheed And Cambria - The Velourium Ca

Da Boneyard
Metallica - Thorn Within
Giant - I'm A Believer
Kiss - Rock Bottom

Top Tracks
The Band - Up On Cripple Creek
Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen
Supertramp - Breakfast In America
CCR - I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Da Boneyard
Firehouse - Don't Treat Me Bad
Extreme - Our Father
Queen - Keep Yourself Alive
Yngvie Malmsteen - In The Name Of God

Deep Tracks
Aerosmith - Love Me Two Times
Eric Clapton - Before You Accuse Me
Dan Folgleberg - It Doesn't Matter

80s
Ozzy Osborne - Crazy Train
AC/DC - Back In Black
Outfield - Your Love
Men At Work - Down Under

Fine Tuning
Karl Jenkins - Mare Astralis
Tim Buckley - I Never Asked To
ELP - Tarkus
Moya Brennan - River
Gioacchino Ros - La Scala di Seta

I've got some more I've captured on my player that I haven't written down yet from last night...

Jason

[BrianAe]

Start Time: 12:15
Jam On:

Artist: Jerry Garcia & Howard Wales
Title: Venutian Blues

Artist: Blues Traveler
Title: But Anyway

Artist: Widespread Panic
Title: Walk On

Artist: Phish
Title: Reba

Artist: New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Title: Willie and the Hand Jive

Artist: Keller Williams
Title: Kidney In A Cooler

Artist: Dave Matthews Band
Title: Lie In Our Graves
Time: 1:15

Classic Rewind:

Artist: Queen
Title: Fat Bottomed Girls

Artist: Cheap Trick
Title: Surrender

Artist: AC/DC
Title: Highway To Hell

The Spectrum:
Jackson Brown

Artist: Peter Gabriel
Title: Steam

Artist: Counting Crows
Title: Accidentally In Love

Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Title: Crossfire

Artist: U2
Title: Pride (In The Name Of Love)