XM Rolls Out New Merged Station Lineups, Much Weeping Ensues

When Sirius and XM began merger talks in what seems to have been a lifetime ago, we satellite radio heads expected a combination of awesomeness that would rival peanut butter & jelly, mac & cheese, and other delicious edibles. But after going over the new combined lineups that our homies at Gizmodo posted, several of us are passing napkins about–and tears of joy are not the cause.

I’ll be frank: if you didn’t enjoy the modern rock/alternative stylings of “Ethel”, you have a heart of rusted steel.  Channel 47, which provided hour upon hour of quality tunes, has been usurped by Sirius’ “Alt Nation.”  “Fred” has been replaced by Sirius’ “1st Wave.” “Lucy” has taken over “Lithium.” Maybe a “Ricky” station will arise from all of this, but considering how the other I Love Lucy characters have been handled, I wouldn’t bet on it.  But I’m not the only one more than a little bothered by the change. Our plucky Editorial Assistant, Emily Kizer, who alerted me of change by sending me the aforementioned link, has some rather interesting words on the new music roster.

Like Jeffrey, I’m saddened by the loss of our good friends “Lucy,” “Fred,” and “Ethel.” The sudden disappearance of my favorite stations this morning left me in a state of shock and horror. “AltNation” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, nor does it have the same caliber programming as our dearly departed “Ethel.” And don’t even get me started with the multiple Bruce Springsteen stations now cluttering my airwaves. Sure, I enjoy The Boss just as much as the next red-blooded American, but why do I need a station devoted to him (58)and Little Steven (59)?  The very least Sirius could do is add some creativity to the mix to satisfy us XM purists out there.

Indeed. Still, we’re still hoping that Sirius XM can right its money-losing ship and continue producing kickin’ content through the merger and new multi-tiered pricing setup. We’ll have to get ears-on to make a final judgment of the new lineup, but hey, at least XM listeners now have Stern.

Have you been traumatized as much as Emily when you fired up your XM Radio player this morning? Take our poll!