Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RBM
No financial interest here but I just got a Sirius Satellite radio and their bluegrass station really plays some great music - Bush on mandolin, Grisman tunes - I am impressed. It is nice to hear essentially uninterupted music - and it is a heck of a lot better thanthe cable TV Bluegrass station so far.
I'm not responding to this particular posting but to the positive remarks about Bluegrass Junction beamed to us earthlings from cyber0uterspace or wherever. The positive responses support my perception that its listeners know very little about bluegrass except the flavors of the month and a handful of newgrass bands from the 70s. Those who go gah gah over Tony Rice and JD Crowe And the McCouries but know little about the work of Clarence White (and the early Roland), Reno and Smiley, Mac Wiseman, Jim Eanes, Bill Napier, Bill Keith - maybe even Al Munde and Tony Tryshka aren't yet on their radar. And most certainly have little knowledge of new material that abounds that Sirius doesn't broadcast. They gush over Chris Thiele and Sierra Hull - but know nothing about Andy Statman. Blind leading the blind. So from my perspective Sirius is doing a huge injustice to bluegrass music by delivering its daily dumptruck load of chiefly polyester "bluegrass" music in which the instrumentation and styles from tune to tune resemble each other so much that you could switch the names of the bands and only the informed would know the difference. It shocks me that mandolincafe subscribers aren't up in arms by the way Sirius runs its taped shows over and over again day in and day out. I'm so sick of hearing the same pop grass tunes from 11 to 1 or so every day. Sure they insert some old tunes here and there but the emphasis is on Top Ten pop grass crap. They avoid anything raw and they sure avoid any bands that aren't touring and/or don't have a top ten "hit" to their name. It appears that the only way to get your work played on Bluegrass Junction is to raise hell on social media like Dave Peterson did. As I recall, WAMU was the only station that made a point of having its djs expose listeners to bands / tunes that they probably weren't aware of. And if I have to listen Dale and his boys chuckling like idiots between tunes I'm going to vomit. I started imitating all that moronic giggling and my wife in the next room cracked up and had to run to the bathroom. Oh, I miss listening to Eddie Stubbs on his evening show on WSM - and sure wish both and Marty Stewart had shows on Bluegrass Junction -- or the corporation hired some knowledgeable DJs and gave them freedom to pick new work outside of the polyester mainstream. And worse yet - the car companies are shoving Sirius down our throats and restricting our listening choices to their channels. I guess I'm a dinosaur but do I have to invest a lot of money in an Ipod to listen to my tunes instead of just stick a CD into the narrow slot like I used to?!
Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kevin Christianson
I'm not responding to this particular posting but to the positive remarks about Bluegrass Junction beamed to us earthlings from cyber0uterspace or wherever. The positive responses support my perception that its listeners know very little about bluegrass except the flavors of the month and a handful of newgrass bands from the 70s. Those who go gah gah over Tony Rice and JD Crowe And the McCouries but know little about the work of Clarence White (and the early Roland), Reno and Smiley, Mac Wiseman, Jim Eanes, Bill Napier, Bill Keith - maybe even Al Munde and Tony Tryshka aren't yet on their radar. And most certainly have little knowledge of new material that abounds that Sirius doesn't broadcast. They gush over Chris Thiele and Sierra Hull - but know nothing about Andy Statman. Blind leading the blind. So from my perspective Sirius is doing a huge injustice to bluegrass music by delivering its daily dumptruck load of chiefly polyester "bluegrass" music in which the instrumentation and styles from tune to tune resemble each other so much that you could switch the names of the bands and only the informed would know the difference. It shocks me that mandolincafe subscribers aren't up in arms by the way Sirius runs its taped shows over and over again day in and day out. I'm so sick of hearing the same pop grass tunes from 11 to 1 or so every day. Sure they insert some old tunes here and there but the emphasis is on Top Ten pop grass crap. They avoid anything raw and they sure avoid any bands that aren't touring and/or don't have a top ten "hit" to their name. It appears that the only way to get your work played on Bluegrass Junction is to raise hell on social media like Dave Peterson did. As I recall, WAMU was the only station that made a point of having its djs expose listeners to bands / tunes that they probably weren't aware of. And if I have to listen Dale and his boys chuckling like idiots between tunes I'm going to vomit. I started imitating all that moronic giggling and my wife in the next room cracked up and had to run to the bathroom. Oh, I miss listening to Eddie Stubbs on his evening show on WSM - and sure wish both and Marty Stewart had shows on Bluegrass Junction -- or the corporation hired some knowledgeable DJs and gave them freedom to pick new work outside of the polyester mainstream. And worse yet - the car companies are shoving Sirius down our throats and restricting our listening choices to their channels. I guess I'm a dinosaur but do I have to invest a lot of money in an Ipod to listen to my tunes instead of just stick a CD into the narrow slot like I used to?!
OK, I'll get off your lawn!
Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lowtone2
OK, I'll get off your lawn!
HA! Now that was funny…
I also subscribed to Sirius for Bluegrass Junction, but I listen to it a lot less than I used to.
I think Mr. Christianson does make some valid points:
They just play new songs until they beat them to death… and many of the songs are completely interchangeable. It’s like there’s some Max Martin of bluegrass who writes every new song. Actually, that’s doing a disservice to Max Martin… his pop songs are more unique and musically interesting than most modern bluegrass.
Still, I’m grateful for Bluegrass Junction… they play a fair amount of Truegrass, and once in awhile I hear a new song or group that is worth listening to.
I think the real problem is with Bluegrass itself… all the bland vanilla new songs, same riffs, similar lyrics… reminds me of modern country, which spiraled into musical irrelevance a decade or so ago, when every song began to sound identical.
I went to the Gettysburg bluegrass festival this spring but spent very little time actually listening to bands…. Sideline was pretty great, but the rest didn’t hold my attention. I spent most of the weekend jamming and meeting new people.
Hey, Lowtone… looks like you better get off my yard, too! :))
Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
For me, it's Bluegrass Junction on Dish satellite TV, ch. 9962.
Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
I will listen to Bluegrass Junction in the car, but I prefer streaming WNRV The Ridge. Its a bit more old school
Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
I started listening to and playing BG in the mid-60's, and was fortunate to see most of the 1st generation bluegrassers. With the exception of live music (of which there was plenty in the N.Virginia, DC, Baltimore, Southern PA corridor), a few festivals, local radio stations which, occasionally, played BG (WAMU, WSM, WBAL-AM [30-minutes from Johnnies Used Cars, each afternoon]) and one's own records or tapes, there was precious little BG on any "air"!
XM radio appeared, and with it, Bluegrass Junction. I have listened to it since! It is an important part of my day, as I listen in my car and, use it as background, when I'm at my desk.
They have something for everyone. For the more BG committed, Chris Jones presents Truegrass, featuring music and info, through the first generation founders; Ned Luberecki with Derailed, gives the Newgrass, etc. a stage, and even features More Banjo Sunday, where he teaches and lauds the 5-string; Kyle Cantrell, is the consumate BG DJ, playing music featured on the lists of the most popular contemporary listeners and, periodically, Kyle features a down-deep and personal show interviewing and playing music from the selections of new releases; and Joey Black, who covers all of the bases. A previous "contributor" referred to one of my favorite hours on BG and spoke of "Dale and his boys chuckling like idiots between tunes". 1) It's Del., 2) The program Hand-Picked, harkens back to the music heard and played by one of the few remaining 1st generation players. One of the best people, and his sons, call upon not only the music that has led us to BG, today, but the personalities they have met along the journey.
Upon re-reading, I feel as though I've written a promotional document for Bluegrass Junction and its crew. I guess I did, but not to promote the bunch at BJ. Rather, this is a way to thank them for the years of enjoyment, education and friendship they've offered over the years! THANKS!:popcorn:
Re: Sirius Satellite Bluegrass
I believe they're trying to mix it up by playing "something for everyone", however their adherence to the "top 40" style programming is hugely annoying. Fortunately, there are many choices on Sirius, and I switch to another channel in a heartbeat when they play something that makes my hair hurt.