Why So Sirius?

Sheila, my new car came complete with a Sirius Satellite Radio 3 month trial.  The end is neigh, and the question looms, to renew or not to renew?  It all comes down to values.  What you value and how much.

What you'll do with ten dollars what you'll do for ten dollars.

Do I value Sirius?  To the extent of the variety that it offers.  As well as the nostalgia, which wore of as quickly as nostalgia can sometimes.  I'm speaking to a very particular station.

90's on 9 is the crown gem of my Sirius Satellite radio experience.  All the songs you remember half the words to but swore to god you loved so much?  They're on.  Back to back to back.  No commercials.  I guess that's huge when you're suddenly concious of it.  However for 90's on 9 particularly, seems woefully repetative.  With an entire decade of eclectic, quirky music (in it's own right) to pick from, every session listening in on 90's on 9 recounts the listener with at least one they've already heard that day.

Was it part of the 90's to be repetitive?  Not that I recall.  Not that the 90's were any sort of renascence in America or a rediscovery of the classic music traditions.  Grunge was brand new, alternative was surfacing, indie was flourishing, and dance made a brief sudden impact.  I hardly consider myself a music historian, just recalling what I remember of 90's music.  There was rap in the mix too.  Rap and hip hop have to an certain extent, always been present, lying dormant in the minds of those seeking to poetically express themselves through song without having to go through the trouble of learning an instrument.  I'm being fesicious.  Hip hop has, in my opinion as much potential for artistic expression as any type of music.

Back to the question at hand, to shell out the cost of subscription to Sirius?

Here's the thing.  The value of Sirius to me has the value that Pandora has, to expose me to songs I will love that I have not yet heard.  Then taking those songs, either purchasing the entire album at Bullmoose (provided I've previewed the album and it is appealing enough for me to consider supporting the artist/band) or downloading the individual track via iTunes or the yet to be downloaded Frostwire.  I have an extremely eclectic taste in music that is ever changing, ever evolving.

R.I.P. Limewire.  (May 9th, 2000-Oct. 19th 2010)  She was ten years old.  Lived as full a life as a P2P sharing program could ever hope to live.  Provided millions with illegal Mp3 files, MPGs, JPGs, etc.  I mean Napster lasted what?  Two years?  Fuck you Lars Ulrich.

  Several key differences:

1. Pandora asks for a specific song or artist and then builds around that (I think actually that it does do entire genres as well).
2. Sirius is mobile, that is traveling across states in my car.
3. Pandora has minimal commercials whereas Sirius has none.

I'm compartmentalizing Sirius into 90's at 9 being the only station to which I listen.  The selection is enormous, and I've hardly explored all it has to offer.  Rarely, however am I afforded the opportunity to hang out with my computer and allow Pandora to run for an extended period of time.  That's a complete lie.  I have those opportunities, I rarely take advantage of them.  More often than not, I'm in control of what plays on my iTunes.

The people at Sirius have devised a compromise to which I'm aminable.  Rather than pay the whole $13/month (which is steep for satellite radio) pick and choose up to 50 (I think) stations and pay like $5-6/month.  I'm still on the fence about that.  One thing is for sure though:  It would make wife happy.  In the end, isn't that what it's all about?

That's a trump card if I ever heard one.

Better call the people at Sirius.