Music: More On XM/Sirius And Other Odds’n’Ends

As a follow up to the poll question on the XM/Sirius merger, I found this post from the Derby Viewpoint interesting. I also thank this blogger for the links to Orbitcast as well. I’m adding that one to my lists for sure.

http://wesderby.blogspot.com/2009/01/post-merger-state-of-satellite-radio.html 

I have to say that not all my time post merger has been wasted. While I prefer the XM style of things, I have to say that I did hear some stuff on the other side that has now made it into rotation in my offline listening. Here are a few bands I want to shine a spotlight on that are never too far away from my MP3 Player. 

Blonde Redhead: The band would fit right at home in between Radiohead and Starsailor on a playlist. Or even next to Kate Bush if I’m feeling retro. Check out the song “23” as it was the one that I heard first and moved me to find out more about the group.

 http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=31272122

Pendulum: Some people never left the land of “drum’and’bass”. If you are searching for a more melodically inclined 80’s new wave throwback with a little ELO syth voice then you have to check out this group. For nothing else but the fact that they make the Realspeak voices say nasty things on Youtube with some killer grooves. 

http://www.myspace.com/pendulum

Billy Talent: While XM did play this Canadian fave of mine, other Sirius channels played them a bit more often. I’m looking at you Faction. The band has a new single out and it continues there take on the Millennial Punk style. Their early work is fantastic too. So going deeper into their discography will be a treat if you like what you hear from the link below.

http://www.myspace.com/billytalent

Polkadot Cadaver: I miss Faith No More. And try as I might Mike Patton’s 5,000 side projects doen’t give me that fix for the old FNM sound. Dog Fashion Disco, however, does fit the bill quite nicely. I hadn’t kept up with this band and I was stunned to hear that this new group is a reforming of some of the members out of DFD. Manic, frantic and even a bit Zappa like the band will keep you guessing on what comes next.

http://www.myspace.com/polkadotcadaver