Sirius is where it’s at.
I ended up with two Sirius satellite radios in my possession for Christmas, I had bought one for the lady who always seems to show up in my bed and my parents managed to show off a little hipness in their old age by purchasing one for me. Life is complete. If you don’t yet have access to satellite, I feel obligated to tell you just how amazing Sirius programming really is; wicked amazing for my Worcester brethren. Now I’m more than comfortable admitting my decision to go with Sirius over XM was Stern, but after looking over the channel list I can see me calling Charter Cable by the end of the week to cut back on the crap they seem content pumping into my house (that’s assuming they don’t call first looking for the money I owe them for the last two months). Most of what I ‘watch’ on cable these days is CNN, CSPAN, FOX News and a little bit of local programming just to keep in touch with where Julie Tremmel has manged to cart her camera off to today. But with the exception of the local programming, Sirius has me covered. TV has for the most part become background noise while I’m in the house finding other ways to avoid finishing my kitchen, and I like it that way. Theres a strange potential for satellite radio providers to really muscle in on the cable providers for just that reason. The introduction of terrestrial radio into the American home had an odd effect on the family unit, drawing them closer together. Television on the other hand seems to have had the exact opposite effect. You could be in a room with 30 people and with the exception of that one jerk who has to ask stupid questions about everything that happens on the tube in real time, you can’t interact with others much with two pretty important senses being at the mercy of the magic picture box. Radio is so different, having CNN on Sirius, an actual conversation can take place without feeling that you’re missing anything. I don’t need to SEE Anderson Cooper or Lou Dobbs and Congress doesn’t get any more exciting if I’m looking at them. Never mind the spectacular music and comedy programming, they’re better heard than watched with the obvious exceptions of Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas and Gallagher. My point is that I can see myself getting more done and spending more time with my family by peeling my eyes away from the television and still being able to avoid the sense of anxiety I’m subject to if there is even a remote possibility of missing real time coverage of a panda being born, penguin being stolen or yet another middle class white woman going missing. I never had a real radio experience from a social perspective; outside of the car TV has been king since I’ve wandered the earth. I’m not so naive to thing that American Idol is going to go out of business, I don’t think the average American would be able to handle that cut in sensory input. And the technology wont be well understood by the average consumer until it’s installed in their car for them as a standard feature, which is underway but hasn’t reached any sort of meaningful saturation point. But once the hardware becomes more accessible I can see the potential for a sort of retro-revolution in American media. If content is going to be King, then it needs to come the way I want it. Between Sirius and Netflix I feel just a little bit more in control without feeling I’m missing out on something. But enough about my moment of media Zen. Tissue time with Heidi Cortez is about to start.
12 Schekles a month well spent from where i sit.
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