Sirius Radio has a ton of great rock  music stations. Most terrestrial radio formats are either New Rock, Classic Rock and then “Oldies Rock” type stations.

With Sirius, you have great rock stations on expanded programming formats. The two best comparisions that demonstrate this are Sirius Classic Vinyl 14 and Sirius Classic Rewind. Classic Vinyl is essentially the format of a Classic Rock Station from terrestrial radio but with a ton more variety. Classic Rewind is the second generation of Classic Rock. So with Rewind, you have stuff that is more recent but has made way into the Classic Rock category.

Sirius 19 The Boneyard is Classic Hard Rock with a sprinkle of Classic Heavy Metal. This is great for fans of Metal who might be getting on in years. Metal fans getting old? What a concept!

The Sirius rock stations under the decades category give a great time machine example of the development of rock and roll. When you start at 50′s on 5 up through 90′s on 9 you see the evolution of rock and roll music. You get the best examples of popular songs which cracked the Billboard Top 40 lists.

Check out all the Sirius Rock Stations on the dial. How often can you hear multiple rock and roll formats on terrestrial radio? No more than 2, I am sure of it.

The King of All Media triumphantly returned to his channels in the New Year after signing another deal with Sirius which keeps him on their airwaves for another 5 years guaranteed. Much to the delight of the majority of Howard Stern fans, and shareholders of SiriusXM.

There is one noticeable change in the format to the show. The show is now one hour less, with Robin Quivers starting the news block at 9 a.m. instead of 10. Despite the loud complaining of some fans on Stern Fan Network, this new formatting will actually work well for the show and here is why.

On the shows best days, you will have a great guest on where the interview is rolling along really well. Or, you could have no guest and the show could be on a roll by talking about some major event in the news world and having all of these great humours twists added in to it. On the busy days you have a ton of stuff crammed into a short period of time. What these scenarios do is take listeners up to levels where they are responding well to the humour, taking in the stories and listening to the interviewing. Then because of time constraints the listeners are left wanting more of what was going on.

Many will argue with me that this really is not different than the older formats of the show even dating back to the days on Terrestrial Radio. I suppose there is some truth to this. Think though for a minute if you can. What if the show is having an off day? So far 2011 has started out great for the Stern Show but there will be an off day. Even Howard will admit when he has an off day with the show. You could be listening to the show and the humour is not hitting out of the park like it usually does. Or you are listening to a really drab interview with some idiot who should not be on the show. In these instances listeners have the relief that they now there is a further time constraint now in place. So at some point a seemingly bad part of the show will have to wrap up sooner in order to meet that time deadline.

To the fans who complain, I am just happy to have Howard back and on the air. It is better right now than no Stern show at all.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council recently ruled that the Dire Straits classic “Money For Nothing” was to be pulled from Terrestrial Radio Stations due to an “offensive word”.

A listener in Newfoundland complained about the song  and incredibly succeeded in convincing the council that it be pulled.

The complaint revolves around the use of the word “faggot”. Those that know the history of the song know it was not written from the perspective of the musicians who wrote and performed it. It was written telling the story of a discussion between someone watching music videos and getting disgusted at the way music was headed with these videos. While the other person in the conversation is responding back to the criticism saying that it is a good thing. “Them guy’s ain’t dumb”.

This is the reason we all escaped to satellite radio in the first place. So we can hear content uncensored and open. The way it was meant to be.

I am encouraging all readers to write the CBSC to voice your opinion on this attack on free thought and speech.

I have a difficult time with Talk Radio on Terrestrial Radio overall. I loathe the news, so I am genuinely disinterested in listening to much talk radio on Terrestrial Radio. So I just avoid it altogether.

With Sirius, we are fortunate as customers to have such a variety of options available for our listening pleasure. I never thought much of talk radio until hearing the King of All Media in my high school days. And Stern still rules!

I’m going to mention a handful of Terrestrial talent who I would love to see from from the Terrestrial Newsroom to Sirius Radio. I think honest journalism is dying in this world. These are 2 of the few Talk Radio greats  remaining in Canada.

David Rutherford of AM 770 Calgary is one of the most upfront journalists to ever get behind the mic and in front of the camera. He lets people speak while getting the whole story into the audience for everyone to understand. I think Dave would be even more blunt with listeners if he did not have the restraints of CRTC rules.

Jordi Morgan is a politically experienced former CBC journalist with a demeanour that is honest and thorough. He was one of the most underrated broadcasters during his time with the taxpayer-funded corporation. Morgan returned to the airwaves in October of 2010 hosting Maritime Morning which is heard at http://www.news957.com
http://www.news919.com and
http://www.news889.com .

Talk Radio without restrictions is one of the reasons we look to Sirius as part of our entertainment. Any other names you would like to see from Talk Radio?

Sirius 15 Classic Rewind and Sirius 14 Classic Vinyl recently started to bring forward new music by the classic artists. They say that it does not have to be old to be good, just has to be classic.

Nothing really could be further from the truth. I have said that many of the greats are the ones who are still putting out the better music. Most of the other music being put out by newer artists to be sounds unoriginal and has a been there done that sort of attitude. and feel.

I appreciate and value the format particularly on Classic Rewind. It is the second generation of Classic Rock. When you look at Classic Vinyl though as well, you have the absolute best format for a Classic Rock Station anywhere. This is the foundation of what and how a Classic Rock Station should be formatted.

The Boneyard Sirius 19 has the Breaking Bone segment, has had this for quite some time. Great to again hear newer music from classic hard and heavy acts.

Many of the newer releases are really worth hearing from these artists. SiriusXM is providing a launching pad for the spinning of this music which sadly is being ignored by most of Terrestrial Radio.

Hoping every-one’s holiday season is rolling along well as mine is.

I gave everyone some food for thought for this coming week surrounding pop music. Most of us have a subscription to Sirius or XM in order to get away from the drudgery of popular music that exists on Terrestrial Radio. In order for Sirius to capture that market share it makes sense to have a Top 40 Station which is easily accessible and located well on the dial.

I make no secret that I loathe most of the popular music that gets spun on this station, let alone Terrestrial Radio. For those that still need to have access to this format, Sirius has everything covered here. Including a somewhat cheesy yet entertaining to some morning show for the week.

Popular music still makes a ton of money. We have today an industry where there is less value placed on music. Fact is though that to the average listener, a catchy cook written by a slick producer who knows how to get things done can create something memorable.

Terrestrial Radio is a horrendous ground for spinning the stuff on a horrendous programming format every few hours. Where I have to salute SiriusXM on their version of the format is that they will bring in a mix of tracks that were Top 40 hits over the course of the last 2-3 years. They ultimately end up doing the record industry a major favour by keeping a few memories of some one-hit wonders alive, or alternatively they might play an earlier song from say, Taylor Swift, then within a same block play something newer to remind listeners she has new material that is catching ears.

If Top 40 Radio is not for you, as it really ain’t for me, Sirius 1 is not worth the time. At least it is covered for those who would actually use it.

Due to the extended holiday week, and my being on the road for the majority of this coming week, I will return to these pages in one week for the first column of the New Year. The best again to all readers, and thank you.

On December 13, 2010 Paul McCartney played a packed show at The Apollo Theater in New York. This was a SiriusXM event in recognition of the 20 millionth subscriber to SiriusXM.

The last 5 years has seen a tremendous amount of growth for the company. Finally the company seems to be turning a corner. Shareholders are starting to see dividend payments, albeit small, but they are a start.

Hopefully the next 5 years will see the company look to the long term for ways to keep listeners interested and entertained. Customer service issues hopefully will improve for those who are still finding difficulty in this area.

I will share my most recent experience. Keep in mind, that I do NOT work for the company, nor is this website affiliated directly with the company.

My vehicle kit stopped working in my car. I could not figure out why. My thinking was that it was so worn down it was just not going to work anymore. I was able to borrow the exact same type of vehicle kit from a work colleague and hooked up the radio to my other vehicle. It worked for a bit, then stopped working.

I went to Twitter with my frustration. I sent a Tweet directly to @siriuscanada , which was picked up by someone at the office in Toronto. Meanwhile as all this was going on, I contacted customer service who suggested it was the vehicle kits themselves. I ended up ordering a radio at a huge discount because I figured the one I had was causing the problems.

The Public Relations people who contacted me a few days later offered to send me two cig lighter adapters for free. I told them that I am sure it was the radio itself. Since I had already ordered the radio, it was ok and they did not have to send the adapters. Thankfully for my trouble, I was offered a small credit on my account, and in addition received two months free towards the 2011 subscription.

On December 15th, I ended up receiving the cig lighter adapters anyway. So I ended up with a couple of extra parts which is fine by me.

I appreciate that some of you have been experiencing some service issues. I say to you that you can and should escalate those issues to Public Relations at 1-866-347-4036 and they will go out of their way for you as they did for me. To Lillian and Neela, I thank you both for your courtesy!

In the meantime, I want to wish all readers a Merry Christmas. This is a time of year where I look around and reflect on how grateful I am for what I have. It is a privilege to write for this site. Please continue to send your kudos and criticisms my way. I read every message even though I am unable to respond to each one.

I will return to these pages on December 27 with a piece about “pop” music. Food for thought, we all listen to Sirius to escape the horror of Terrestrial Radio playing such horrendously unoriginal pop. Yet, Sirius smartly caters to that market with Sirius 1 Hits.

See you soon.

Dann

As I indicated in some previous posts, I followed radio from a young age and have maintained an interest in the business.

There is a tremendous amount of talent in Terrestrial Radio in this country. I would love to see some of these voices end up at Sirius. If these people had some freedom they would be able to produce and perform some excellent shows. This is a small list so I am inviting readers to submit some ideas and names under comments.

Gerry Forbes – Calgary’s wildly popular Terrestrial Radio station CJAY92 has a dreadful format despite being one of the most successful stations in Canada. Gerry Forbes is the straight-shooting leader and host of the morning show. Easily one of the nicest people in the business. I met Gerry at a rally for the then injured former Wrestler Bret Hart. Gerry could easily make a home at a station on Sirius where he could perform freely and say what he wants.

Samantha Stevens – A veteran of several Alberta and Ontario Terrestrial Radio Stations, Samantha has a kick-ass delivery that would be a pleasant break to listen to in between commercial free music on Sirius. This brilliant and super hot talent has a detailed website at www.samanthastevens.ca .

David Rutherford - The conservative leaning talk show host has a long-time home at AM 770 CHQR in Calgary. He is respected across the country for having a cross-appeal to people of different political views. I could only imagine how awesome Rutherford would be in a free format. Rutherford could easily out-duel any of the American talk-show hosts on any of the talk stations on Sirius.

I could go on, but want to hear from readers as to who they would send to Sirius and why.

Those of you who also read BeerNation.ca know that I posted a piece about me finally introducing myself. I am going to do so here this week in a 2-parter. I actually wanted the challenge of writing different pieces on a similar theme. That theme being boring and sometimes funny to a few, me.

I am a freelance writer living somewhere in Northern Ontario. I am originally from small town New Glasgow, Nova Scotia . I have a day-job while moonlighting and weekending in the freelance game.

I have a major passion for music and radio. Thanks to Geddy Lee from Rush, the tag of bassist has been with me since I was 8 years old. Love the instrument and make a point to keep up the very basic concepts so I can say, “I can still play”.

When I was a kid, I used to dream of the idea of hearing music that I would want to hear on radio. I kid you not when I tell you that I figured a person would probably have to pay for the kind of content I would want to hear.

In my younger days I used to listen to the local AM Terrestrial Station CKEC New Glasgow. This station is now on the FM dial as East Coast FM (ECFM). I used to phone into Terrestrial Radio on a nightly basis during the week to play requests of the best stuff at the time.

On nights I was at home, I read a ton of books and listened to a ton of music. I mean really listened.

One distinct memory I have is asking CKEC to play a Guns N Roses classic called “It’s So Easy”, from the classic Appetite for Destruction Record.

Those of you who know the song know why it will not get played. It got me thinking further about hearing content I would want to hear.

to be continued

Radio still works. No matter what form it is in. Be it Terrestrial Radio or Satellite. Regular Radio while I believe is slowing, still reaches a significant audience. Advertising in Radio still pulls in a significant chunk of station revenues.

Terrestrial Radio has to hire and pay good talent, which there is a rare handful in this country. I will spend time in a later piece towards Christmas as to who I would like to see at Sirius from Canadian Terrestrial Radio stations.

Sirius has the appeal to people of enjoying commercial free music content. SiriusXM charges big dollars to allow advertisers on the entertainment channels. Still, people will pay for the content they want. I am constantly aggravated by the state of some Radio Stations in this country. Especially when they change formats in some idiotic management decision.

Many people have argued with me over Sirius. Why should they have to pay for something? It is simple, because you have choices and more freedom with a Sirius unit. I rather enjoy being able to rotate the dials and hit my pre-sets knowing I will find something to land on that is worth listening to.

Radio still works because it is theatre of the mind. Good music invokes positive memories from many, and good entertainment provokes good thought and even a laugh or two. If you do not believe me spend a few minutes just randomly going through stations just to hear what is out there. On both Terrestrial and Sirius for that matter! Compare!

Next week, I am going to finally introduce myself to readers.

See you then.