OK, I know I'm admittedly showing my age here... but does anyone else remember back in the prehistoric era when television viewers were literally held captive to the twelve channels of VHF and the roulette wheel of 14 through 83 on the UHF dial? The liberation of cable, and then digital TV, was initially quite overwhelming in terms of choice and quality. Now, the same revolution is occurring with the advent of frequency-free satellite radio. However, instead of the proverbial "57 channels and nothin' on ..." that The Boss so coyly crooned about, listeners are now privy to over 100 channels of everything on — which is especially true of music. Having spent a fair amount of time on both sides of the broadcast microphone and armed with a 10k and counting CD stash, quite frankly I thought I'd heard it all. Boy was I wrong! My ennui-riddled doldrums as a jaded music collector blossomed into a rapacious appetite for media trading. I am now, once again, uncovering rare and otherwise hard-to-find sonic nuggets. Having lived, breathed, eaten and slept with both XM and SIRIUS for a couple of months now, here are some of the more scrumptious morsels from my assessment.

I admit it. I have a fetish for taping and trading live performances. I figured, why should I listen to the same old music that I already have in my collection, or that I can go out and buy for that matter? Upon tuning in to XM Live — which features classic BBC and even more recent in-studio concerts — or SIRIUS Sessions, I knew I'd hit paydirt. So I did what any and every enterprising 21st Century music trader would do and began channeling and downloading sets from artists as far afield as Joan Armatrading to King Crimson. So psyched at the prospect of capturing these gems, I have, on more than one occasion, set my alarm clock for an ungodly hour so that I would not miss a second of the show. Plus, I can easily set up to record and not have to concern myself with editing out any station breaks — as the folks at SIRIUS are quick to point out, their programming contains no advertising. Plus, to XM's credit, they never interrupt their live shows with commercials either.
>For most music-intensive listeners, what is equally important as non-stop music is what actually gets played. Here, both providers truly kick into high gear as their respective programming literally defines the word eclectic. I was simply dumbfounded to hear the likes of Sun Ra's 20+ minute epic "The Magic City" in its entirety backed by Bob Dylan's "Only A Pawn In Their Game" on XM's Fine Tuning — a channel dedicated to creating an ultimate sonic pastiche, drawing upon every conceivable musical genre. Or, speaking of jazz, how about an entire day of interspersed Eric Dolphy sides in honor of the free jazz icon's birthday, as was recently served up on SIRIUS' Pure Jazz channel? Heck, I compulsively stayed tuned in just to play a little 'name that tune' solitaire. Now that, my friends, is entertainment!
The wife has even caught me once or thrice mamboing around the condo to 150 watts of pure P?rez Prado and Enoch Light during one of XM's On The Rocks compulsively motivating sets. Lucky for me, this incident didn't rile the neighbours nearly as much as the 12+ minutes of Teutonic rhythm madness provided by SIRIUS' The Strobe. I had the whole unit pulsating to Giorgio Moroder's extended mix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" — which involved a visit from the local "Boys in Blue." But alas, I digress.

Although my personal tastes and time on the dial leaned more heavily toward rock rather than country, and jazz instead of classical, enthusiasts of the two C's likewise have very solid selections and copious choices from both SIRIUS and XM. One channel from SIRIUS continually caught my ear. Vista — which offers 24/7 chamber music — is a surprisingly subtle sonic sorbet perfect for cleansing the aural pallet. It sits comfortably next to the wide variety of styles on Organic Rock — which stunned me with a three-fer of Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. There are also plenty of choices when searching for the sounds that made radio such a popular medium. These range from the '50s on SIRIUS Gold, as well as '60s Vibrations, Totally '70s, Big '80s, and The Pulse — presenting chart toppers from the '90s and beyond. Conspicuously absent from the SIRIUS chronological countdown, however, are the sweet sounds of the '40s — which can be dialed in on XM's channel four. The inclusion of vintage commercials and actual news reports of the era (especially circa W.W.II) made for an interesting and historically accurate perspective. That brings me to perhaps the most endearing element of XM's Decades channels — the timeless personalities that provide a sonic time warp back to their respective eras. For instance, '60s hosts fully project their voices and over-enunciate in the rapid-fire manner associated with jocks like "Cousin Brucie" Bruce Morrow, or the deep and rich intonations of Gary Owens. For those who lived and breathed the perpetually new, fresh, exciting sounds of the British Invasion, the Motown sound and "Sugar, Sugar" bubble gum pop, these blasts from the past might give you goose bumps, flashbacks ... or maybe both. While each satellite radio service offers comedy, XM provides the decidedly adult Extreme XM as well as XM Comedy — which presents everything from Bill Hicks to Bill Cosby without censoring their words or altering their content. During one of my listening sessions, XM Comedy blended classic routines and material from the likes of Lord Buckley, Redd Foxx, George Carlin, and even segments from the Original Cast Recording of All In The Family — all presented within minutes of each other. SIRIUS Comedy likewise keeps the original intent intact, though their focus is centered more on new and emerging comics. Kudos to both services however for "keepin' it real" while simultaneously keeping me in stitches. Although this just barely scratches the surface, there are other stations and channels which I am quite frankly becoming ever enamoured with. Primary among them is the Radio Classics network — which is carried by both XM and SIRIUS. Listeners are whisked back to the days of radio dramas — like the Adventures of Boston Blackie or Dragnet, comedies such as Burns & Allen or the Jack Benny Programme, the wild wild Westerns like Gunsmoke and Have Gun Will Travel, and the Suspense of Orson Welles' The Shadow, Lights Out, or X Minus One. Indeed, half the fun is being able to unearth little nuggets like these. The only limitation that I have found during my spree is the actual time to digest everything. Being what some might call an "active" listener, not only do I want to hear it all, I instinctively want to archive the live shows, or possibly research the stuff that I'm not as well versed in. My presumption and ultimate verdict is that if someone as media and music-intensive as myself can be so thoroughly turned on, there probably isn't a soul among us that would be at a loss for something interesting to tune in. And with such an expansive array of choices, I dare say that, once you have found your niche, like me, you wouldn't dream of letting satellite radio drop out of your soundscape.