serious about sirius

I am spoiled. There, I said it. You'll learn that relates to more than just one part of my life but in this case - I have satellite radio in my car and I just can't live without it. When I take rental cars for work and they don't have Sirius or XM, it ends up being a torturous drive. It's almost always to New Brunswick and if you've ever driven to New Brunswick and forgot your iPod or CDs, you'll know what I'm talking about. You're constantly switching channels and if you're like me, normal radio stations just don't meet your belting-out-tunes-in-your-car-by-yourself needs. (I often arrive at my destination with little to no voice, something that is somewhat awkward to explain when you are meeting with important people). It's come to the point that I've actually done something that I swore I would never do - I regularly listen to talk radio (CBC Radio One) in the absence of satellite. I've come to enjoy and rely on it to an extent but that doesn't mean that I don't try to hide it from passengers that join me in my car. I also do it on my way to and from work but that's because I need information and I now feel somewhat obligated to the Information Morning and Mainstreet hosts.

My station is AltNation with presets also set to Lithium, 90s on 9 (very guilty pleasure which allowed Robyn's Show Me Love to get me through a touch and go trip across the Confederation Bridge and rewarded my safe arrival with the Gin Blossoms Follow You Down), Iceberg, The Blend, The Pulse, The Loft and CBC Radio One because Jian Ghomeshi's voice is comforting and Q is always on the satellite version. My iPod playlists are now solely based on my subscription finds, I often try to write them down while driving. (I need that Shazam app pronto.)

Through Sirius I have met The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Constellations, Florence and the Machine, Against Me! and The Airborne Toxic Event. We're now BFFs. Bet you can't say that about Kelly Clarkson on C100 (insert local Top 40 radio station here).

PS. Shout out to CBC Radio Two's Rich Terfry and his colleagues who are keepin' it real on regular radio and improving musical tastes nation-wide. You're exempt from my radio complaints discussed above.

PPS. I just watched the season finale of Glee for the third time and got goosebumps when I heard that heartwarming Journey tune. I will be discussing Glee in future posts. Please don't let my adoration for the show lead you to question my musical tastes. My songful enjoyment is based on emotion, nostalgia and subconscious reactions - such as singing the lyrics to an entire song without actually knowing what it is - not necessarily the quality of the performance or composition.