the radio still sucks
Sep
16
Please please please please please say it ain't so!!!
This afternoon on my way to lunch I noticed that my XM Satellite radio (which is normally playing classic punk rock) was blaring AC/DC. I looked down nonchalantly expecting to see my dial set to the classic rock station rather than it's punk rock norm. Instead I see the words "AC/DC Radio!" on channel 53 where my punk rock "Fungus" should be.
Here's the story according to Punknews.org:
With the XM and Sirius merger in full swing, the first casualties of the partnership are starting to appear. First on the chopping block are the two punk rock satellite stations, Fungus 53 and Sirius Punk which are both being replaced with an 24 hour a day station dedicated to Australian hard rock act AC/DC. While the all-AC/DC station is slated to expire in January, there is no word on what will replace it going forward. Sirius' former punk page is directing listeners to their Extreme Sports station which will include punk, hip hop and metal.
Both stations provided a mixture of vintage and recent punk rock, with Sirius promising acts like "Sex Pistols, Ramones, Misfits, Black Flag, The Clash, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, Suicidal Tendencies, Pennywise, Fugazi and many more" while Fungus 53 hosted shows DJ-ed by Rancid, Joe Sib's Complete Control Radio and others.
NOFX's Fat Mike even weighed in on the station, noting: "I hate the radio but I like Fungus/The only punk rock station, it's humongous." . . .
I have so so so many thoughts on this matter that I can't even begin to form them into full sentences. There is no other station out there that even comes close to matching what Fungus offered to punk rockers. It was a gem. The fact that they would take it away and replace it with AC/DC is absolutely laughable and disgusting.
Long live corporate rock, right? In the words of Fungus "fuck off and die"
P.S. Lou Brutus, please don't go away forever. I'm not quite sure what I'd do without my Skanorea on Thursdays. : (
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1 comments:
The response I received from XM:
Thanks so much for taking the time to write with your comments on XM 53 Fungus.
We recognize and appreciate the fact that Fungus and punk, ska
and hardcore has loyal fans like you, but because we have limited space on our platform for music channels, we're often faced with having to make difficult decisions when it comes to what's available on our channel line-up. Fungus was one of the channels that had a very loyal but also a very limited audience.
Some of the music heard on Fungus can be heard on other XM channels including Fred (XM 44) and Ethel (XM 47).
Again, we appreciate you being a fan of Fungus and hope you listened to enough other XM channels to stick around as a subscriber.
Thanks again for writing and for being part of the XM Nation.
Best regards,
Jon Zellner
SVP Music Programming
XM Satellite Radio
(202) 380-4040
Um, yeaaaaaah, I find it hard to believe there are more people out there who would rather listen to AC/DC non-stop for 24 hours than would rather listen to Fungus.
Nice move dickheads! Good luck with your merger!
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