Listen To Your TV
by Stiffy Biceptz

Ever since the demise of quality alternative radio (like the Jersey Shore's late lamented FM106.3), there haven't been any alternative music outlets on the radio dial. But there is an excellent 'alternative choice', and that's the Music Choice product offered on the DirecTV satellite TV network. The network carries two excellent alternative music selections, the Retro-Active Channel and the Alternative Channel. I believe the Retro-Active channel is the best, for it features great stuff from the late 70's, 80's and early 90's.
 
As an example, while listening yesterday only for about two hours, I heard the following: Bob Mould, the Replacements, Killing Joke, Frank Zappa, the Fall, Luscious Jackson, Boomtown Rats, Roman Holliday, Concrete Blonde, the Police, Wolfgang Press, Echo and the Bunnymen, P.I.L., Lloyd Cole, the Cure, the Clash, Art of Noise, the Jam, Siouxsie, and Husker Du. It sounded so much like 106.3 in its heyday I expected to hear Matt Pinfield or Loretta Windas cut in between sets. And the tracks they played were not all the 'best of' either. Earlier in the week I heard during a half hour period the Godfathers, Adam Ant, the Cure, Sinead O'Conner and the Bolshoi. I guarantee that alternative music refugees will love this station.
 
As I mentioned before, there's already an Alternative Channel, on which I heard the Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, Radiohead, old REM, and the Replacements, all within 1 hour! They also play some 'new' alternative stuff, so its not just an oldies station.
 
Finally, there's a bunch of other cool channels to check out, which feature every other type of music, including trance, dance and hip-hop.
 
With the DirecTV package, you get a diverse selection of music channels along with the vastly superior satellite TV picture, all for a price significantly BETTER than cable. Music Choice is available from your local cable monopoly, but I recommend satellite TV for the reasons stated above. Stiffy don't like cable...
 
Still, it's a great thing, since the spiritual and artistic death of FM radio gives little choice to the music listening audience. The audience was theirs to lose.
 

 

©2002 Stiffy Biceptz